From the very beginnings of the Yale University Art Gallery’s Department of Indo-Pacific Art, it was obvious that the holdings of Indonesian textiles were of special importance, both for their outstanding quality and their breadth of representation. For supporting our research on and analysis of these objects; for providing the funds for not one but multiple staff positions; and, especially, for bringing his collection to the Gallery as a promised gift, foremost thanks must go to Thomas Jaffe. A majority of the textiles catalogued in this publication are at the museum thanks to him. His commitment to our work has been unwavering.
Hunter Thompson and his wife, Valerie, have also been most generous benefactors, as have Robert J. Holmgren and his wife, Anita E. Spertus. Once again, our gratitude goes out to these individuals for not only donating magnificent objects but also contributing funds to support our work.
Throughout this project, I have had continued support from my colleagues at the Gallery. When I arrived in early 2010, Jock Reynolds was the museum’s Henry J. Heinz II Director, and he took a deep interest in the new department’s developments. His successor, Stephanie Wiles, has continued the same accessible approach, and her ongoing support has fostered an optimal working atmosphere. It has been a pleasure to work directly with several departments at the Gallery while cataloguing the over 1,200 textiles for this project. Jason DeBlock and the Collections Department have been most helpful in ensuring access to our holdings whenever needed. The Conservation Department, led by Irma Passeri, has always engaged in collaborative assistance and advice. I want to thank, in particular, Lauren Van Dessel, who joined us last year as a textile conservator and who has been most gracious and conscientious in her assessment of the textiles. In the Registrar’s Office, Anne Moore has been our special contact when any provenance or accession questions have come up.
The outstanding high-resolution, zoomable photographs in this catalogue are the fine work of photographers Allaire Bartel, Christopher Gardiner, Alexander Harding, and Richard House, overseen by John ffrench, Director of Visual Resources. He and his colleagues took on a huge project when they agreed to photograph our entire collection. Despite the quantity of work, they kept up their superb professional standards and good spirits throughout the project. The support of our Department of Publications and Editorial Services—Annika Fisher, Mary Ellen Wilson, Grace Zhou, and department director Tiffany Sprague—has been of foremost importance for the successful publication of this catalogue. Tiffany explored the options for producing it as a digital publication, a relatively new venture for the Gallery’s venerable publications program, and guided us with generous advice and good humor. Our closest collaboration was with Zsofia Jilling, the most sensitive editor one can wish for.
My colleague Arielle Winnik, the Donna Torrance Assistant Curator of Indo-Pacific Art, joined me for the two years of cataloguing the collection. Neither she nor I could have completed this project without the excellent help of Benjamin Diebold, the department’s Senior Museum Assistant. Ben has been the best of colleagues and a real friend. It has been an absolute privilege to bring this catalogue to fruition with this wonderful team in the Department of Indo-Pacific Art.
Ruth Barnes
The Thomas Jaffe Curator of Indo-Pacific Art