Masterpieces of Textile Art
From Bali to Timor
11 JUNE – 25 OCTOBER 2026
VILLA MALPENSATA, SPAZIO MOSTRE
The exhibition WOVEN THREADS. Masterpieces of Textile Art. From Bali to Timor explores the extraordinary textile traditions of Eastern Indonesia through two of the most significant Swiss collections dedicated to this art form.
In the heart of South-East Asia, halfway between India and China, lies an archipelago that has for centuries been criss-crossed by sea routes, migration, and economic and cultural ties, and has also been shaped by colonial history. From Bali to Timor, right to the outermost Tanimbar Islands in the Southern Maluku, textiles occupy a central place in community life, preserving identity, memory and value systems handed down from generation to generation.
The exhibition invites the public to discover the richness of these textile traditions through around a hundred extraordinary works from the Breguet and Zuellig collections, to which the MUSEC has dedicated extensive research. The two collections, assembled mainly during the last quarter of the 20th century, reflect different ways of looking at textiles. Georges Breguet took a scientific approach to documenting island cultures and the regional variety of textile production and its uses. Beatrice Zuellig built her collection driven by a focus on the aesthetic quality and rarity of the textile works, favouring pieces of particular impact and technical complexity.
WOVEN THREADS also explores the deep cultural connections that, over the centuries, have linked these islands to the great trade routes between India, China, the Middle East and Europe. A mosaic of influences, exchanges and traditions that emerges in the colours, symbols and techniques of the artefacts on display.
Curated by Georges Breguet and Paolo Maiullari, the exhibition offers a contemporary perspective on the cultures of
Eastern Indonesia, highlighting their richness, complexity and ongoing process of transformation. More than a simple exhibition, WOVEN THREADS is a journey through stories, rituals and ancestral knowledge, where fabric becomes language, memory and a living testimony to the communities that created it.
The results of this complex research project are compiled in an English-language volume edited by Georges Breguet & Paolo Maiullari, entitled WOVEN THREADS. Textile Art from Bali to Timor. The Breguet and Zuellig Collections, which presents a wide selection of the major masterpieces from the two collections (203 works in total).
The exhibition cycle ‘Altrarti’ is dedicated to an in-depth monographic exploration of the complexity of the values of a particular expression of art and culture. Starting from an interpretation of its form and moving on to an analysis of its meaning, value and context, ethnic artworks are studied from as many perspectives as possible.