Courtauld History of Textiles and Dress (CHODA), Courtauld Institute of Art, London, 27-28 June 2008

摘要

The CHODA conference is held to raise money for the MA History of Dress course at the Courtauld Institute of Art which was founded by Stella Mary Newton in 1965 and is now run by Dr Aileen Ribeiro. This year's conference was on the topic of Dress and the Natural World. It attracted participants from over five countries and lecturers speaking on issues relating to six differentrncultures. Speakers included museum lecturers, curators and conservators. The papers can be usefully grouped into five categories. In the first of these, 'Natural Materials, Ethnographic Clothing and their Conservation Needs', Marion Kite (Victoria & Albert Museum) gave the keynote introduction, presenting a detailed summary of natural materials used in dress and accessories. Drawing on her extensive experience and her expertise with leather, Marion presented a range of intriguing materials accompanied by wonderful - and sometimes startling - illustrations. Stephanie Elnarbi and Anne-Solene (Musee du quai Branly, Paris) described the range of natural materials, both animal and vegetable, in the collections in this relatively new museum of non-European art and culture which combines the collections from the Musee de l'Homme and the Musee de l'Art Afrique.