'A World of the Silks’: Discussing the Diversity of Silk Craft

A symposium on the theme ‘A World of the Silks’, was held from the 2 to  25 September 2016 in Hangzhou, China to study the styles of silk handcraft in different regions of the world and shed light on the cultural and technological influences  through sericulture and silk production.

This symposium was organized by the China National Silk museum, with the support of China’s Zhejiang province, to mark the reopening of the museum in its new buildings.  The symposium was officially opened by speeches from the representatives of Zhejiang province, the Chinese Society of Social and Human Sciences, the China National Silk Museum and UNESCO. Experts and researchers from China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mongolia, Tajikistan, India, Iran, the Russian Federation, Bulgaria, Italy, France, Denmark, Finland, the United Kingdom, the USA and international institutions such as ICOMOS and ICOM participated in the symposium to present both the modern and historic status of sericulture and silk production in their countries.

The China National Silk Museum displayed an International Silk Art Exhibition ‘World of Silks:’ to  showcase silk masterpieces ranging from the 8^th century to the modern era, borrowed from various Chinese institutions as well as from the Tokyo National Museum of Japan, National Palace Museum of Korea, the Russian State Museum of Oriental Art and the Padova Entomological Museum of Italy.   

The symposium was organized  in parallel with the annual meeting of  the International Association for the Study of the Silk Road Textiles (IASSRT).

Cultural performances illustrating the Silk production and culture were also organized.