The Mactaggart Art Collection: A Campus Gem

The Mactaggart Art Collection was established at the University of Alberta in 2004 as a result of a donation from Edmonton philanthropists Drs. Sandy and Cécile Mactaggart. The collection comprises more than 1,000 rare works of art, including textiles, paintings, handscrolls, and engravings from China’s imperial period.¹ The Mactaggarts began collecting Asian art in the 1960s, continuing over the next 40 years, resulting in one of the world's finest private collections of East Asian art.

The Mactaggart Art Collection features a nearly complete set of civil and military rank badges, which were recently put on display for a mini-exhibition and tours. A few of these pieces were recent acquisitions and supplement existing donations to complete the collection of rank badges. For two weeks at the end of June I assisted with the incredibly popular tours, meeting members of the public and from the University of Alberta. I helped with set-up and take-down of the items, as well as monitoring the attendees during the tours. 

This was my first experience working in a collection containing clothing, textiles, and accessories during this internship. As a clothing and textiles student, I was excited to be able to apply my knowledge of historic production, dyeing, and embellishment techniques when answering questions during the tours. 

The robe featured in this post is the Blue Silk Brocade Tibetan Chuba (2005.5.103). Although the exact production date is unknown, it is estimated to have been produced in the 17th century, during the Qing dynasty. The robe is made from blue silk and metal-wrapped thread, woven into patterns to create brocade. 

Tibetan aristocrats, such as the Dalai Lama, highly valued the Chinese dragon-patterned silks and sought it as a gift when trading with China.² The symbols and figures on the silk represented Buddhist ideas, as well as the political power of the Ming and Qing empires. 

More information about dragon robes in the Mactaggart Art Collection can be found in the virtual exhibition Dragons on the Tibetan Plateau.

¹ Kate McInnes, “The Mactaggart Art Collection comes out to play,” The Gateway, February 27, 2016, https://thegatewayonline.ca/2016/02/the-mactaggart-art-collection-comes-out-to-play/.

² “Virtual Exhibition - Dragons on the Tibetan Plateau,” accessed August 15, 2023, https://www.ualberta.ca/museums/visit-explore/exhibitions/online-exhibitions/vrdragonsonthetibetanplateau.html.