Textile heritage: Items from Met donation to local museum on display in Bucharest

Fifty items from a donation of more than 1,800 textile pieces made by The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to the Textile Museum in Băița, in Hunedoara County, are currently on display at the National Museum of Art of Romania (MNAR) in Bucharest.

The exhibition Celebrating The Met – Highlights from The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Donation to the Textile Museum covers diverse textile traditions and cultural contexts from around the world, placing them in dialogue with Romania’s textile heritage. The selection focuses not only on the aesthetic value of the objects, but also on the connections between materials, techniques, functions, local resources and forms of cultural expression, the organizers have said.

Founded in 2017 in Băița, the Textile Museum has grown around a collection that now numbers more than 14,000 items associated with traditional textile production, as well as fibers, dyes, documentation and a specialist library. Dr. Florica Zaharia, the founder of the Textile Museum, worked for 28 years in The Met’s Department of Textile Conservation, serving as its head for 13 years.

The exhibition at MNAR also offers an introduction to the next stage in the development of the Textile Museum: the future International Textile Research Centre in Băița.

The exhibition, curated by Teodor Frolu, is on view until January 31, 2027.