National Museums Scotland’s collection of Chinese dress and textiles illuminates transformations of social life and textile crafts in nineteenth-century China. Insights from this collection communicate dress histories of wider social groups, diversifying narratives of Chinese history and materialities.

Last updated: 03 July 2025

About the project 

This project is a collaboration between National Museums Scotland and Dr Rachel Silberstein, a specialist in Chinese dress and textiles.  The three-month British Academy Visiting Fellowship will survey and study a selection of nineteenth-century Chinese textiles and clothing in the museum’s permanent and loan collections.

These include examples of Qing dynasty (1644-1911) imperial and vernacular dress that were collected by Scottish connoisseurs. They also include objects that were acquired and displayed as representations of Chinese textile design and technology in order to improve Scotland’s industry and trade.  

Applying her established method of garment scholarship, Dr Silberstein will combine an in-depth analysis of selected objects with archival and literature research to reinterpret these artefacts as documents of cultural and social transformations in nineteenth-century China and Great Britain. The results of the project will be disseminated through a hands-on museum session (object workshop) for specialist and general audiences, upgraded museum object records, talks, and publications.