Delight in Discovery: The Global Collections of Lloyd Cotsen Delight in Discovery: The Global Collections of Lloyd Cotsen and its companion exhibition, Five Ways of Looking, explore the eye of a collector and the anatomy of a collection. Delight in Discovery brings together diverse works of art, primarily textiles, collected by Cotsen over a 60-year period. To better understand Cotsen’s vision and to learn what inspired him to assemble such unusual, but exceptional works of art, a small number of his personal photographs are included in the exhibition [Fig. 1]. The works gathered here are drawn from multiple collections built by Cotsen, but most come from the Cotsen Textile Collection, which was gifted to the George Washington University in 2018 by his wife, Margit Sperling Cotsen and the estate of Lloyd Costen. Five Ways of Looking features 90 pieces from the Cotsen Textile Traces Study Collection [Fig. 2], which was also part of the 2018 gift. The collection was created as a resource for scholars, artists, students, and curators and is housed in the Cotsen Textile Traces Study Center, opening on the museum’s lower level in April 2020. The Five Ways of Looking exhibition demonstrates the extraordinary breadth of information contained in a single fragment of cloth.
Cover | Textile fragment detail, Peru, Nazca/Wari culture, sixth to ninth century, Cotsen Textile Traces Study Collection T-1132
Fig. 1 | Lloyd Cotsen (American, 1929-2017), women weaving a carpet, Greece (Megara or Argos), 1954
Fig. 2 | Girl’s shoulder mantle detail, Peru, Incan culture, Late Intermediate period (800-1000 CE), Cotsen Textile Collection NT-0963
Fig. 3 | Lloyd Cotsen excavating at Lerna, Greece, c. 1975
Lloyd Cotsen
(1929—2017)
Lloyd Cotsen is best known as the
In 1954, Cotsen commenced graduate
marketing genius behind the Neutrogena
studies in architecture at Princeton and
brand. While his success as a businessman
accepted a position as a field architect
made his art collecting possible, it is
at the important Mycenaean Bronze Age
his educational and early professional
site of Lerna, on the east coast of the
experiences that influenced the choices he
Peloponnesus. In 1955–1956 he was a
made as a connoisseur and collector.
fellow of the American School of Classical
Cotsen graduated from Princeton University in 1950 with a bachelor’s degree in history. He served in the Navy during the Korean War and while stationed in Japan, spent much of
Studies in Athens. During that year and over several future summers, Cotsen traveled, studied, photographed, and excavated in Greece [Fig. 3].
his leave time exploring small antique shops.
Cotsen spent much of his adult life
Cotsen’s experience in Asia aroused a life-
travelling the world. His adventures
long interest in Japanese art and culture. He
contextualized his artistic curiosity and
also had a strong appreciation for Chinese
fuelled his passion for education and
art and archaeology, topics he studied while
culture. His knowledge of the objects in
at Princeton. Cotsen acquired some of his
his collections was extensive; he was a
first works of fine art while in Asia, including
scholar first, and it was his recognition of
painted scrolls, sculpture, ancient bronzes,
the cultural and historic relevance of art that
and Japanese prints.
drove his collecting.
Cotsen did not seek to establish the largest or the most comprehensive collections...Rather, he sought to encourage inquiry and to support research.
Fig. 4 | Fragment of Sarasa trade cloth detail, made in India (Coromandel Coast, possibly Tamil Nadu) for the Japanese market, 1650–1725, Cotsen Textile Traces Study Collection T-2854
Five Ways of Looking: The Cotsen Textile Traces Study Collection One of the most unusual
system. The accessibility and
characteristics about Cotsen
the small scale of the textiles
as a collector was his all-
invite close examination: They
encompassing fascination with
draw the viewer in to explore the
weaving and woven structures.
minute, yet extraordinary feats of
He realized the importance of
technical achievement as well as
textiles as mediums for cultural
the captivating flaws.
expression and historical testimony, and grasped that a small fragment could convey almost all the information that a complete piece could.
Using the Cotsen Textile Traces Study Collection, Five Ways of Looking explores many threads of knowledge. While the information contained in any
Cotsen’s perception of the utility
global collection of textiles is
of small and fragmentary items
myriad, this exhibition highlights
led him to develop the Cotsen
four broad topics: iconography
Textile Traces Study Collection,
[cover], origin [Fig. 4], technique
a group of nearly 4,000 textile
[Fig. 5], and material and
fragments and small, complete
innovation [Fig. 6], including
garments and accessories. Each
examples as early as 300 BCE
item in the collection is mounted
and from all over the world.
and stored in either a 14 x 14 inch or 14 x 23 inch archival folio and box. The folios allow the textiles to be safely handled, while the boxes, organized by region and date, protect the folios and allow for a highly organized
This exhibition also demonstrates the purpose of the Cotsen Textile Traces Study Collection: to encourage scholars and students to use textiles as a primary resource. Despite their
Fig. 5 | Sampler detail, England, ca. 1660, Cotsen Textile,Traces Study Collection T-0341
important role in human history,
Cotsen did not seek to
textiles are often treated as
establish the largest or the most
secondary evidence. Prior to the
comprehensive collections, or to
20th century, scholars dismissed
provide an ultimate interpretation.
textiles as peripheral material;
Rather, he sought to encourage
in part because they were
inquiry and to support research.
associated with women and with
Five Ways of Looking illustrates
women’s work. This perception,
the extraordinary breadth of
combined with the scarcity of
knowledge contained in each
textiles in historical contexts
of these textile fragments.
(objects made from organic
Cotsen leaves it to us to realize
materials are inherently transient),
their potential.
resulted in a lack of scholarly research on the topic and denied acknowledgment of their important role in human history.
Philanthropy Over a lifetime as a collector and
very engaged with teaching and
connoisseur, Cotsen maintained
education. Cotsen established
goals that were fundamentally
the Cotsen Foundation for the Art
philanthropic; he wished for each
of Teaching in 2001 to transform
object to contribute to scholarship
good teachers into great teachers.
and to promote an understanding
The foundation offers mentoring
of underappreciated art forms.
opportunities to elementary school
The same care and reverence
teachers in Southern California,
that went in to building his
and as of 2019, has over 1,500
collections extended to their
alumni. The Cotsen Foundation
long-term stewardship. When
for Academic Research was
donating these important works
created in 2006 to provide
of art, Cotsen carefully selected
support for scholars, students, and
institutions that would make them
institutions embarking on projects
the most available to the public
relating to Cotsen art collections.
and support ongoing educational
In 1999, the Institute of
and scholarly initiatives.
Archaeology at UCLA changed
Sharing knowledge about art was one of Cotsen’s primary interests. His philanthropic endeavours were
its name to the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology to acknowledge Cotsen’s transformative contributions to the school.
Fig. 6 | Shihoko Fukumoto detail (Japanese, b. 1945), Shade of the Sun, 1995, Cotsen Textile Traces Study Collection T-1596
In total, there are currently eight Cotsen collections residing with museums in the United States and one in China: Cotsen Textile Traces Study Collection
George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum
The Cotsen Textile Collection The Neutrogena Collection
Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe
The Cotsen Children’s Book Collections
Princeton University
The Cotsen Japanese Bamboo Basket Collection
Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
The Cotsen Contemporary American Basket Collection
Racine Art Museum, Wisconsin
The Cotsen Turned Wood Collection The Cotsen Noah’s Ark Collection
Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles
The Cotsen Chinese Bronze Mirror Study Collection
Shanghai Museum, China
The Cotsen Collection of Cuneiform Tablets
University of California, Los Angeles, Young Research Library
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