The Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) is hosting Golden Spider Silk, a companion exhibition to Fashioning and Empire: Textiles from Safavid Iran, which is also on display at MIA. The exhibit provides insight into the world of golden spider silk, unveiling its exceptional properties and history, from the inception of the idea by Frenchman François-Xavier Bon (b. 1678) in 1709 to contemporary creators. Curated by Tara Desjardins (Curator of South Asia at MIA), the show will be open to the public until the 6th of July, 2024.
The exhibition features four exquisite textiles by Simon Peers (a textile expert from the UK) and Nicholas Godley (an American fashion designer and entrepreneur), spider silk creators living and working in Madagascar. Visitors can feast their eyes on an awe-inspiring embroidered cape incorporating silk from more than a million spiders; brocaded weave lamba (“lamba akotifahana” in Malagasy), a woven fabric of rectangular shape; sheer taffeta; and a satin weave shawl. Making their debut in the Middle East, these unique items have been made of the rare silk of golden orb-weaver spiders native to Madagascar that are famous for the beautiful golden colour of their webs.
The showcased textiles are the world’s only examples of golden spider silk, resulting from more than 20 years of experimentation by Peers and Godley since 2004. To harvest silk from the spiders, they created a hand-operated machine based on a century-old design by Spanish Jesuit priest Raimondo Maria de Termeyer (b. 1738). The creatures were captured in the wild, harnessed to the machine, milked for their silk, and released back into the forest after a day. The silk, extracted in Godley’s workshops, was hand-woven on looms by Peers’ team of weavers to produce the final pieces.
Peers explained that these textiles represent a contemporary story, merging global cultural influences and various inspirations. He stated that the works were created after careful consideration and reflection, and with skills honed over time. Eventually, they are creations where the medium itself carries the message. He highlighted that spider silk, which has a strength greater than steel or Kevlar and can stretch up to 140% of its weight, may play a key role in the future due to its renewable and environmentally friendly properties.
Apart from displaying Peers and Godley’s radiant pieces, the show also presents five manuscripts and folios documenting historical European attempts to study or produce spider silk. In addition, one can watch a 15-minute video of Peers discussing the history of golden spider silk.
To get more information about Golden Spider Silk, please visit its official web page.
While at MIA, we recommend that you have a look at the Damascus Room, one of the highlights of the museum’s vast collection.
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