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Tilleke & Gibbins, a law firm founded
in 1890, has had a long history in Thailand. But it wasn't
until two decades ago in 1989, when the firm moved to its
new premises in the center of Bangkok, did the idea of using
textiles as office decoration begin to form. Its new interior
of gray marble walls, gray carpeted floors, and gray furniture
became an excellent backdrop for showing off the traditional
and natural colors of lac red and indigo blue, the two predominant
colors of mainland Southeast Asian ethnographic materials.
The acquisition of 78 rare textiles
of museum quality from northeastern Laos four years later
changed the initial objective of using textiles as permanent
office decoration. Since then, textiles have been displayed
on a rotational basis, and tours of the collection were given
to staff, clients, and visitors alike. A Mission Statement
began to develop to collect, display, and educate, as well
as to preserve the pieces so they remain close to the geographical
area in which they were created.
Today the Tilleke & Gibbins Textile
collection has multiplied from the original number of 50 to
1,650 pieces, representing both majority and minority groups
from all mainland Southeast Asian countries, with a small
group from Indonesia.
Tilleke & Gibbins hopes that these
textiles not only offer beauty to the working environment,
but also serve to enrich the lives of the staff as well as
clients and visitors to the premises.
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