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The Bartholomew Collection
After 35 years of dedication to a dream which began in 1972, MarkO Bartholomew has amassed the largest and most comprehensive collection of Bhutanese textiles in the world.
Having collected these treasures since moving to the Himalayas in 1975, he was one of the first people to document and promote the unique culture and textile arts of Bhutan. In 1978, Mr. Bartholomew held his debut exhibition and published an accompanying catalogue for the Museum for Textiles in Toronto, Canada. In the ensuing decade, further collecting and research resulted in Thunder Dragon Textiles from Bhutan, the first major documentation of Bhutanese textile art heritage. The 1985 publication of this book in Kyoto, Japan coincided with the opening of an exhibition hosted by the Seibu Art Gallery in Tokyo, featuring 150 representative pieces from the Bartholomew Collection.
Bhutan's limited open-door policy, instigated in 1975, spawned a global interest
in Bhutan and particularly in it's rich textile arts. This generated renewed
interest from collectors and major museums, many of which have since purchased
important Bhutanese textiles directly from the Bartholomew Collection
to augment their own permanent collections of Asian textile art. Among
these are the following institutions:
- The Osaka Ethnographic Museum -Japan
- Kiryu City -Japan
- The New York Metropolitan Museum of Art
- The Minneapolis Institute of the Arts -Minneapolis, Minnesota
- The Cultural Art History Museum -The University of California Los Angeles
- The Museum of International Folk Art -Santa Fe, New Mexico
- The Royal Ontario Museum -Toronto, Canada
- The Museum for Textiles -Toronto, Canada
Presently, the Bartholomew Collection encompasses an unparalleled collection including the most historically significant Bhutanese textiles known. Included are such treasures as:
- The widest array of the best-preserved Royal Throne Covers in the world
- The Throne cover of the first King of the Wangchuck Dynasty
- An original silk Dragon Crown of the 2nd King of the Wangchuck Dynasty
- Ceremonial shaman tunics formerly worn by some of the most revered holy people of Himalayan Buddhism
- Rare ceremonial dress pieces worn by nobles and royalty
- Utilitarian fabrics that continue to mystify western textile experts with their unique intricacy of design and weaving techniques.
The scope, uniqueness, rarity, and importance of
the Bartholomew Collection is unsurpassed.
Note:
In June/July of 1999, MarkO Bartholomew was extended his third Royal Government Invitation by a Minister of Bhutan, from then Foreign Minister Lyonpo Jigme Thinley. During his five-week stay, MarkO was granted a three-hour audience with Her Majesty, Ashi Sangay Choden Wangchuck.
At that time, both the Royal Family and the Royal Government of Bhutan stated clearly that the propriety and future placement, including sales and exhibitions, of the Bartholomew Collection would be solely determined and executed by Mr. Bartholomew or subsequent owners, without any violation and/or infringement upon the Royal Government of Bhutan.
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