The exhibit Adorned: Textiles and Jewellery from Central Asia is on loan from the National Gallery of Victoria.

It will showcase Asian textile and jewellery collections from traditional Uzbek and Turkmen people in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Ararat Regional Art Gallery director Anthony Camm said the exhibit had been put together for an exclusive presentation at the Ararat Regional Art Gallery.

“Drawing on a large body of recently acquired objects, the exhibition will be appreciated by our legion of textile art followers,” he said.

“The presentation of Adorned foreshadows the ambitious textile programming we will present following a major expansion of our gallery in 2018.”

National Gallery of Victoria director Tony Ellwood said the Ararat gallery’s specialisation in textiles dated back to the 1970’s.

“Ararat Regional Art Gallery is the ideal space for showcasing these extraordinary examples of craftsmanship from Central Asia,” he said.

“It is through collaborations such as this that we are able to share the NGV collection with regional communities across Victoria.”

Adorned features clothing and jewellery from two of the largest cultural groups of the central Asian region.

This includes the mercantile Uzbek people who populated the towns along the Silk Road, and the nomadic Turkmen peoples who lived on the plains.

Highlights from the exhibition include vivid, colourfully dyed silk robes worn by Uzbek men and women, lined with printed fabrics imported from Russia.

These were paired with tunics and trousers in vibrant, clashing patterns and colours, along with finely wrought silver jewellery and lavishly embroidered hats.

Another highlight of the exhibition is the monumental jewellery of the nomadic Turkmen tribes, worn by the women as a form of portable wealth.

Bulky bracelets, heavy pectoral ornaments and dorsal pendants were made in gilt-silver from melted-down coins, and set with carnelian.

There are also hats and headdresses with braiding, beads and metal plaques were worn by young women, with the addition of owl feathers to announce an engagement.

The exhibition is also free to enter for the public.