The Design, Production and Consumption of Scottish Turkey Red Textiles

Mary Schoeser jointly curated this exhibition celebrating the exotic Turkey red textiles that were produced in the West of Scotland from the 1780’s until the mid 20th Century, which dominated this sector of the world market.

Schoeser's contribution focussed on the technical innovation by the Glasgow manufacturers in the complex dyeing process, determining how designs originally produced for South East Asia were adapted for the home and American markets and developing a practice-based analysis of the colourways, pattern repeat, weight and weave of the historical designs which were digitally reproduced for the exhibition.

This study draws upon an overlooked but internationally significant archive in the National Museum of Scotland. This resource relates to other significant holdings in the Glasgow University Business Records Centre, Glasgow Museums, Glasgow School of Art Institutional Archive and the V&A.

The project builds on the initiative, by Liz Arthur and Nasreen Askari, of the project ‘Uncut Cloth’ with Paisley Museum and Art Gallery supported by the Scottish Arts Council Lottery Fund and extends the work begun by the Turkey Red Trust with the local community in the Vale of Leven. The whole Scottish textile industry is under-researched and what little has been done fails to address in any depth the range of variables in the design process and manufacture and how these relate to the wider patterns of marketing and use.

The effect of cultural transfer through Scots emigrants in the Eastern United States, particularly the Quaker connections between the west of Scotland, Philadelphia and Delaware, is significant.

Mary Schoeser

Research Interests

Researches material, social or technological innovation as intellectual and entrepreneurial advance in international textiles and the decorative arts, both historical and contemporary
Current Research

My research revolves around locating innovation - in materials, social and technological imperatives (or barriers), and vehicles for transmission. My research on textiles for the Dictionary of Materials and Techniques, for example, focused on pinpointing points of contact between different materials or technologies. In the case of ceramics and textiles, the development of mineral glazes was shown to be the impetus behind the perfection of mineral dyes; the introduction of Prussian blue dye was similarly shown to have derived from its prior use as an oil paint. Research on technological innovation as intellectual and entrepreneurial advance, rather than linear development within one discipline, reveals shared principles. Here, 'location' is literal; geographical proximity is the key to disseminating experiential knowledge. This premise underpinned the essay in the volume accompanying the Terassa textile museum's exhibition of 1000 years of knitting. An abstract notion of location is examined in the research underpinning my contribution to the mixed media Decadence exhibition, and the essays on American women textile designers and the 'sheathed' leg. In different ways, each project identified the creative freedom that can balance the 'disadvantage' of being located 'at the edges' in artistic, industrial or social hierarchies. 'Disentangling Textiles' looks directly at the processes involved in drawing from different approaches (and their heirarchies), while 'World Textiles' took as it basic premise the identification of broad - and often overlooked - motives for innovations, their key features and their trasnmission. My research continues to explore the location of innovation, as evidenced in the critical essays in three exhibition catalogues (A Field of Centres: Michael Brennand-Wood, Julia Griffiths Jones and the Dangers of Sewing and Knitting: Deirdre Nelson) and the Fashion's Memory exhibition. The latter examined textile behaviours and treatments as a source on innovation for contemporary fashion designers and wearable artists and is the basis of an expanded touring exhibiton and a book (Laurence King, forthcoming). In the same vein a new chapter for The Papered Wall (Thames & Hudson, 2005 2nd ed.) focussed on the impact of digital and other new technologies on contemporary wallpaper design and production. Critiques of contemporary publications and exhibitions contribute to my understanding of innovation: among six reviews for Crafts is "Jack Lenor Larsen: creator and collector' (Museum of Arts & Design, New York) and Arts Under Pressure: Promoting Cultural Diversity in the Age of Globalization by Joost Smiers (Zed Books). I have also begun research on the North American use of late-18th and 19th century Scottish Turkey red dye technology and designs, with a view to understanding how and why this technology was disseminated, and its lasting cultural resonances.

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