Designs in the exhibition were grouped into landscape, ethnic and nature themes. Students must provide all their own materials in this course - both the base cloth and dyes when preparing their work for assessment - so the range of colour and fabrics in the exhibition was immediately striking. Silks, cottons, stripes and textured clothes formed the backdrop for unique silk-screened or batik printed designs. Students are taught early in their studies about the basic principles of silk screening and batik and their various techniques. A collection of textile 'templates' was displayed at the exhibition, showing the use of wax, lacquer, cut-out masking and other styles of silk screening.

Being larger in proportion, the landscape designs presented immediate potential as soft furnishings, such as upholstery or curtains. Bold colours used in repeated large designs lent the pieces an international feel. The ethnic collections featured traditional themes such as masks and bamboo, exquisitively detailed batiks, and mixed themes with maps of Sarawak overlaid on repeated patterns. A striking design in the nature collection featured soaring eagles above a jungle, printed black against a white background.

Working from a foundation of more than 30 years' teaching, the MIA and its experienced staff are guiding the next generation of textile designers on their creative journeys. Evidence of this success was reinforced recently when an MIA graduate won the KL Fashion Design Award for 2003. As I viewed the exhibition, I was reminded of globally successful textile designs such as the Australian Mambo and Finnish Marimekko. MIA graduates are producing equally creative and innovative work. The design future of Malaysia is secure!
- Sara Boucaut

VISIT TO PORT DICKSON : LUKUT AND CHARPOYS! - 19 May
A group of MCG members paid a visit to Lukut. This small town in Negri Sembilan was once one of the richest commercial centres in the peninsula. At the height of its development in 1860, Lukut had gravelled, well-maintained streets and brick shophouses, while Kuala Lumpur had wood and attap dwellings. A visit to the Lukut Museum revealed details of Lukut's former glory. The history from the early 19^th century to the 1880's when Lukut was separated from Selangor and became part of Negri Sembilan was explained. Tin was the impetus behind the development of Lukut and this was illustrated with some interesting photographs of the opencast mines. As a leading tin mining district, the ruler of Lukut had 2,000 Chinese miners under his control. One of them, Yap Ah Loy, employed as a cook, was later to become Kapitan Cina of KL.

The Museum is located close to the Lukut Fort which was constructed to protect these lucrative tin mines. By 1877 Lukut's economy had deteriorated with the depletion of tin deposits and internal wrangling that the fort was no longer maintained. Artefacts unearthed at the Fort by the Museum department are on display including stoneware from Thailand and Qing dynasty porcelain pieces.

Another attraction of the Museum is the Nassau Gallery, which is dedicated to the Dutch East Indies company ship which sank off Cape Rachado, close to an area now known as Tanjung Tuan. The Nassau was part of a fleet which challenged the Portuguese supremacy in the region and the control of the profitable spice routes. The Nassau was discovered by chance in 1993, when a salvage company was searching for a lost French vessel which they never found. Fortunately, 5,000 artefacts from the Nassau were recovered, some of which are on display at Lukut Museum and Muzium Negara.

Our second stop was to visit the mother and daughter team Raj and Neena Gill who have revived the craft of making charpoys - Indian woven beds. The charpoys are made in a variety of sizes and Raj explained to us how multi-functional they can be. Traditionally, charpoys were made from hemp which was woven onto a wooden frame. Raj, in sourcing a reliable supply of materials, has experimented with a variety of fibres before selecting a synthetic cord, which has the added attraction that it can also be obtained in colours apart from the traditional ecru. A number of trials with the construction of the frame determined that it required a strong timber to withstand the tension of the weave. Now they are experimenting with a stainless steel frame. Sourcing materials is only part of the equation. Finding people who had the skill to weave the body of the bed sent Raj on a trip round the peninsula, searching for those who could pass on their knowledge. We were fortunate enough to be given a display of the weaving process, and could appreciate that it was very much a team effort requiring careful choreography of four pairs of hands to create the finished item.

The final treat of the day was an excellent north Indian lunch cooked by Raj. Both the food and the hospitality was so enjoyable that we were all so reluctant to leave.
- Diana Cooper

Frank Swettenham's Influence on Selangor and the Federal Terrritory - 21 May
Frank Swettenham was by any standards a remarkable man, and certainly one of the four most able British administrators (the other three being Raffles, Maxwell and Low), to have left their marks on the Malay Peninsula. Swettenham's contribution is the greater because he spent his entire career in Malaya. From 1871 until 1903 "there was not a single major issue of importance in the Malay States with which Swettenham was not closely associated", and he continued this involvement during his long retirement till 1946.

Necessarily, with such a long career and only one short hour, we focused entirely on Swettenham in Selangor and did not touch on Perak where arguably he was more influential. There was one picture though of the intelligent and formidable Che Mida, Ranee of Kuala Kangsa who was of great political assistance to Swettenham and with whom he may well have had a liaison.

By introduction to our subject, we started with the famous picture of Swettenham by Sargent which hangs in the National Portrait gallery in London. His arrogant pose with his right hand possessively clutching the regalia of sovereignty exemplifies both the man and the nature of British colonial power.

Henry Barlow then swiftly and ably took us round the early life of Frank Swettenham - born 28 March 1850, childhood in 'gentile poverty', his move to Dollar, Scotland in 1860 to achieve a good, low cost, education at the academy of that name. At 11 years old his mother died, and care for the young lad fell to his 17 year old sister Charlotte. The fact that this sister had nothing to do with her brother once grown-up seems to bear out Henry Barlow's assessment "that [Frank] was an outstandingly able and effective man: but scarcely a nice one"

Moving on, we focused on slides of early Malaya: Old Klang, Tunku Kudin's compound there; early KL as just a shanty town in the 1880's; a later one of a rough padang with the Selangor club as a rotunda nestling at the foot of Bukit Aman with the government offices atop; to the final one of 1894 in which the padang is now flanked by the quadrangle of St. Mary's cathedral (in construction), administration and justice buildings and the Selangor Club. Influential ghosts from the past flitted by with Governors Clark and Weld and the wily Sultan Abdul Samad of Selangor who so ably played off all parties to achieve an equilibrium.

Finally we centred on Swettenham as the man whose ruthless ambition allowed none to stand in his way. Whilst his evident ability as an administrator and linguist is acknowledged, his financial probity and liaisons with women exposed him to blackmail over many years. As the husband of the unfortunate and tragic Sydney, he is open to charges of cruelty and deceitfulness, although to be fair the lady also sought solace outside of their miserable 60 years in wedlock. He finally succeeded in divorcing her in his 88^th year because of changes in the 1937 divorce law, but Sydney only found out of the decree nisi when she read the papers later. Swettenham remarried Vera, his long-term partner, 13 months later but Sydney outlived him.

We did not have the time to focus on Swettenham as a historian and artist, but his paintings with George Giles have been collected into a book by Henry Barlow and Lim Chong Keat which we were able to buy after the lecture.
- Hilary Munro

PERSIAN DELIGHTS: CARPETS AND CUISINE - 29 May
Cindy Zeier, our co-host for this event, opened our morning with a little story. Cindy's passion for carpets started with another passion, a charming young Turkish gentleman! I will let her tell you the rest! The gift of a carpet became a lifetime interest in this art form. I have to start by saying that I have studied carpets for almost 20 years now and still find something new to learn. To try to take this subject and shrink it into a morning talk is very difficult. Reza Parhiekar, our other charming host, did a very good job. I will, unfortunately, have to shorten it even further but will hit the important high points and try to do it justice.

Reza started his discussion about carpets with a brief but interesting overview of the history of carpets and the traditional weaving areas. The earliest known knotted carpet is the Pazyryk Rug that dates back to c.500 BC. This beautiful carpet found in the Altai Mountains of southern Siberia in 1949 proves that even at this early date there was a sophisticated level of carpet production.

Reza's specialty is the traditional Persian areas of carpet production. He is extremely proud of his Iranian background and its culture. Although there are extremely good carpets produced in other areas of the Middle East, Turkey and the Caucuses, Reza deals only in Persian carpets. To try to help us understand this vast subject Reza split the topic into two basic classifications:

First the City Carpets: these pieces are of the finest quality and can be found to have as many as 2,000 knots per square inch. The high knot count of these carpets make the incredibly intricate curvilinear patterns possible. This is when the making of carpets becomes the highest art form and can be found signed by both the person who knotted the carpet and the production house. Reza showed us an example from his collection of a carpet signed by Habibian, one of the most famous families in the carpet business today. These family businesses have been passed down generation-to-generation and go back, in a few instances, hundreds of years. Reza showed us that with some study of carpets anyone can learn to recognize the structural and pattern differences between the City Carpets of Qum, Isfahan and Nain.

The second area that Reza covered was the Tribal and Village Carpets. These carpets are usually designed and produced by one person or members of one family. In the case of the tribal carpets these were usually produced for the use of the family and only occasionally were extras made for barter or to sell. As some of these Bedouin Tribes settled in villages, more production became for sale. The knot count in these carpets being much lower than the City Carpets results in the patterns becoming more geometrical and the decorative motifs reflect their nomadic or country life more. Often the main colours of these carpets are deep reds and blues. These carpets with some study can be identified by the different guls used or specific border patterns that are traditional to that tribe or village.

Reza went on to break down the types of carpets that one readily finds on the market: the flat weave kilims and sumakh; the very popular thick piled Gabbeh carpets with simple geometrical patterns and other examples of the many styles of carpets available on the market. He continued with an explanation of the structure of the carpets. The warp and weft base of a carpet are what the knots are tied to, these can be of many different materials and an important way to identify origin. These can be in cotton, silk or wool and sometimes, in the tribal pieces, goat or horsehair. The knots tied to the base can be either in wool, silk or wool and silk.

Many other topics were discussed, such as maintenance and care of carpets, what carpets are best for different areas of your home. Reza continuously gave good examples of what a person should look for in a carpet dealer and a shop. He may as well have been describing himself. Reza has a true love of the business that he is in and a passion for carpets. Each piece that comes into his shop is considered a work of art worthy of respect and care. He feels that the relationship that he builds with his clients will be one of trust and friendship. He suggested that anyone who is interested in buying a carpet should look at many carpets first and at many stores. Compare prices and the business style of different dealers until you find the right person to work with and the right carpet to own. I know that I have found both a friend and one of my favourite dealers and shops in Kuala Lumpur - Reza at Ziba.

We continued the talk about carpets over a wonderful Persian meal and finished a lovely morning with good friends, both old and new and good food. I am a 'Ruggie', a person addicted to the knotted and woven textile art form. I was very pleased to see that twinkle in more than one person's eye and know that they will be back for more information and will learn the joy of flipping stack after stack of carpets.
- Amy Lawson

BOOKING POLICY FOR EVENTS.

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