by Mary Lee, Assistant Registrar

I love Chinese Dragon Robes. Combining the inherent coolness of dragons with rich color, exquisite detail and an excess of symbolism, they present a visual overload that always attracts my attention. Working at the Oklahoma History Center I never expected to find a dragon robe in our textile collection. I was so excited by the chance to physically examine this robe that I lost control and my obsessive tendencies overwhelmed me, resulting in more information and photographs than needed for a normal blog entry. Acknowledging that everyone does not share my fascination with dragon robes, I have omitted the section where I counted all of the stitches in the dragon’s scales and told the origin of every symbol on the robe. I hope you appreciate this concession and are not afraid to continue reading. (more…)

by Jill Holt, Curator of Textiles

The purpose of Found in Collections is to share information about interesting items that are in our collections. I am going to stray from that purpose to discuss items that we lack. As we developed our most recent exhibit “Another Hot Oklahoma Night, A Rock and Roll Exhibit,” it became very apparent that we lacked numerous items of clothing in our textile collection. While we have many examples of men’s tuxedos and formal wear, we have relatively few examples of everyday men’s clothing. I had to search diligently to track down blue jeans, cardigan sweaters, sport shirts, penny loafers, and sneakers to add to our collection and be used in the exhibit.

Society has adopted a more casual attitude towards saving and preserving clothing especially men’s clothing. As the curator of the textile collection, I realize the need for us to begin a concerted effort to add to our collection of both men’s and women’s clothing with a focus on clothing from the 1950s to the present. I would like to use this forum to make a plea to the public to consider donating vintage clothing items to the Oklahoma Historical Society. So, clean out your closets and bring us your platform shoes, your tie dye shirts, your go-go boots, your disco shirt, and any other clothes that are in good condition.

by Jill Holt, Curator of Textiles

One of the tasks of a curator is to properly identify the object name and function of an artifact. Our database includes a lexicon of object names and functions from which we select, and every effort is made to choose the correct name for an object. (more…)

by Jeff Briley, Assistant Director, Oklahoma Museum of History

Winter in Oklahoma may be well described by the Lou Reed lyric, “ You can’t depend on the worst always happening.” My son learned that cruel lesson this year in Oklahoma: Despite the setting of all children’s books, the arrival of Christmas does not necessarily equate to snow. The sled he dragged around the house for a week remains an undelivered promise of fun. (more…)