Program: The Silk Roads: The Enchantment of Unfamiliar Beauty

Culturally Connected

Our thanks to The Fortnightly of Chicago for inviting Illinois Dames to their virtual program.  Seventy-five attendees participated in an absorbing presentation that focused on The Silk Roads in the age of global enlightenment.

Haute Design:   Yarns and Yurts

Few things mark precedence so scrupulously as luxury. An indispensable ceremonial symbol for religion, rites of passage, war, diplomacy, enthronement and death, luxury textiles that comprise refinement. Throughout history, luxury obeyed aesthetic hierarchies: black velvet with an embroidery of pearls, then white velvet embellished with rubies and emeralds, followed by violet velvet decorated with turquoise and pearls. Some Roman emperors even forbade their citizens from wearing purple clothing under penalty of death.

Identifying the wearer’s sex, country, status as well as the rapacious desire for self-expression and beautification, the significance of luxury textiles is immeasurable. The power of opulence transcends boundaries and the proverbial Silk Roads were, and remain, an artistic dialogue across political, cultural and geographic demarcations. And who knew — snails could become the calling card for extravagant wealth!

Join Us

The next virtual event in our summer program series with The Fortnightly of Chicago is a book group discussion featuring author Fredrik Backman’s  “My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry: A Novel”.  Please join us on Thursday, August 13, 2020 at 1 p.m. on Zoom.