THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Organised to herald an imperial revival, the British Empire Exhibition, which ran over two six-month-long seasons in 1924 and 1925, was designed to showcase produce and manufactured goods, arts and crafts as well as historical artefacts from the “jewels” of the empire.
Century-old textile items from the event, which was held at Wembley Park in London, went on display from Tuesday at the Napier Museum in Thiruvananthapuram.
Organised by the British government, the British Empire Exhibition was inaugurated by King George V. Documents about the exhibition, currently with Napier Museum, reveal that the event attracted over 25 million visitors. P S Manjula Devi, director the Department of museums and zoos, said textile items, including intricate French lace work, from the event are on display at the Napier Museum.
“We understood that there are many art aficionados who are keen to see century-old works in gold embroidery and lace. The lace work looks as good as new even after 100 years,” said Manjula.
The British Exhibition also featured Travancore lace, which has its origins in south Kerala. It was started as a cottage industry among Christian fisherwomen in south Travancore. Manjula added that the Travancore lace gained a wide reputation and won awards at various exhibitions in Europe.
The Wembley Exhibition Medal will be among the exhibits at Napier Museum. Struck to commemorate the British Empire Exhibition, one side features King George V, with the reverse bearing an iconic image of the roaring Wembley Lion, with the towers of Wembley in the background and the words ‘British Wembley Exhibition 1924’ engraved below.