Ghereh_51_EnInternational Carpet and Textile Review

N. 51 - Euro 22,00 - [email protected] - Poste Italiane s.p.a - Spedizione in abbonamento postale - D. L. 353/2003 (Conv. in L. 27/02/04 N. 46) art. 1 comma 1 DCB - Torino N. 1/ 2013

In this issue: Timurid rugs. F . Fiorentino. The Cypress, the Rose and the Parrot. B. Biedronska Slota.

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Tappeti Antichi e Classici
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FIVE CENTURIES OF CARPETS WEAVING IN

KERMAN
by Taher Sabahi ENGLISH EDITION

The name Kerman immediately conjures up the splendour of the spring, a flowery weave of wool depicting flower beds, trees and rose gardens. This is the miracle effected by its skilled, patient craftsmen, for distant Kerman, mentioned by Marco Polo in the 13th century for the quality of its yarns and for the legendary ability of the local spinners, rises on the edges of one of the most arid deserts of the world. And yet its rugs are the most flowery of the whole of the Orient, almost as though the master weavers had wished to blot out the sad monochrome nature and desolation of the landscape surrounding the city by creating rugs full of light, joyous colours and thousand flowers and scents. This book pays homage to four generations of ustad designers, weavers, patrons and traders who have helped to spread the name of Kerman throughout the world and make it synonymous with splendour and refinement.

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ISSUE N.51

INTERNATIONAL CARPET & TEXTILE REVIEW
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TIMURID RUGS
From the Mongol hordes to decorated rugs (Part I)

Francesca Fiorentino

A detailed study of the development of the art of the rug under the dynasty of Timur. Using rugs, ceramics, fabrics and miniatures, the author guides us through a packed analysis of historical and cultural references.

23 THE CYPRESS, THE ROSE AND THE PARROT
Persian silk tapestries and carpets in Polish collections (Part I)

Beata Biedronska Slota

A detailed analysis conducted with her usual scientific rigour by the Polish scholar, is transformed here into a voyage, following the strange routes followed by the images and colours from old Persia to reach European fabrics.

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News

INTERNATIONAL CARPET & TEXTILE REVIEW

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An update on the latest events, exhibitions, awards and study days: previews of the forthcoming ICOC events calendar, an award to the Fatiyeh family, the report of an original exhibition held in London and then Turin, plus the days Turin’s Museo di Palazzo Madama will dedicate to fashion and the restoration of textile articles of the 18th century in its collection.

Exhibitions

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Important exhibitions in Rome, with a major event at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni about the Silk Road; in Vienna, with splendid British fabrics of the late 19th century; and in Washington, with contemporary art textiles in dialogue with South-East Asian tradition.

COVER The Clark “Sickle-Leaf”. Vine scroll and palmette carpet, probably Kerman, South Persia. 17th century. The important and revered 17th century Clark Sickle-Leaf Carpet sold by Sotheby’s New York for an astounding price of $33.8 million, a new world auction record for any carpet by a significant margin. That price also establishes a new benchmark for any Islamic work of art at auction.

CHAIRMAN & EDITOR:
Taher Sabahi

Auctions

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EDITOR IN CHIEF:
Farian Sabahi

The results and exceptional items to go on sale in recent auctions dedicated to rugs and textiles.

ACADEMIC COMMITTEE:
Murray Eiland Jr., Carol Bier, Jennifer Wearden, Siawosch Azadi, Wielfred Stanzer, Oktay Aslanapa, Feng Zhao, Beata Biedrońska-Słota, Parviz Tanavoli, Jennifer Scarce.

Books

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A small and entertaining monograph on woad, the plant which provides the most precious of colours: blue. The book on Afshar rugs by Parviz Tanavoli will be of great interest to scholars and collectors.

CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS:
Beata Bedronska Slota, Francesca Fiorentino Natalie Kleber
© Copyright 2013, GHEREH INTERNATIONAL CARPET & TEXTILE REVIEW - Torino All right reserved. Unauthorised reproduction wholly or in part of text, photographs and graphic material herein is forbidden world-wide. Sub-section 27, Art. 2, law 549/95 Poste Italiane s.p.a - Spedizione in abbonamento postale - D. L. 353/2003 (Conv. in L. 27/02/04 N. 46) art. 1 comma 1 DCB - Torino N. 2/2008 AUTHORISATION OF THE COURTS OF SALUZZO n. 127 del 3/2/93 Opinions expressed in articles in this magazine are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher. Printed: Tipografia Testa - Torino

Chaykhané

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The passionate tale of the complex restoration of a rare 14th-century Japanese Taima-Mandala.

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Ratzinger and Pope Francis in the Vatican. Accompanied by a splendid floral Kerman from southern Persia.

EDITORIAL

RUGS: AMBASSADORS FOR IRAN
There is a close connection between art and politics. Persian art can indeed have great political impact, to the extent that is has prevented Iran from ending up like Iraq and Afghanistan, invaded by the US-led coalition. Because it is the cinema, poetry and rugs to have ensured that the citizen of the Islamic Republic is not identified with an unknown, alien world, but has instead become a closer, recognisable individual in the Western mind. Thus creating some sort of resistance to the idea of war on Iran. In recent months, newspapers have written quite a lot about the tenth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. In the same way, it is ten years now that Iranians have warily feared a possible US (and Israeli) attack with the pretext of Tehran’s nuclear programme. And yet, despite the many threats, for the moment the Islamic Republic seems to have avoided repercussions. The factors that have prevented another war in the Middle East are many, not least the engagement of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the P5+1, meaning the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany. Leaving diplomacy aside, another factor that has saved Iran so far is its art. As a famous filmmaker declared, “if Iraq had a cinema like Iran, it would not have been invaded”. Iranian films had humanized the Iranian people to the West. Thus, they would not be seen as the 'other' whose country Western troops would invade. Consider Abbas Kiarostami’s feature film, Where is the friend’s house (1987), in which the little Ahmad does everything he can to return an exercise book to his schoolfriend to prevent his being punished for the loss. And the more recent A Separation by the 40-yearold Asghar Farhadi, which won the Golden Bear in Berlin and an Oscar in 2012 as best foreign film. Set immediately after the controversial presidential elections of 2009, this film offers an image of the Iranian society that is not so very different to the Western model: in Tehran too, couples separate, the old suffer from Alzheimer, adults work and have to make use of carers for their ageing parents. Poetry has played a leading role in spreading a positive image of Iran: these verses by the Persian poet Sa’di (AD 1184 -1291) became a motto and decorate the United Nations building entrance in New York: The sons of Adam are limbs of each other, Having been created of one essence. When the calamity of time affects one limb The other limbs cannot remain at rest. If you have no sympathy for the troubles of others, You are unworthy to be called by the name of a Human. Within this context, the textile arts also have an important role to play. It is certainly less conditioned by politics, but the rug remains the most significant ambassador of Persian culture. Because in the living rooms of millions of Westerners, Persian rugs represent the link between two different yet close worlds, and every day heads of state (Pope included) walk on and cannot but admire the precious artefacts bequeathed by their forebears. Farian Sabahi

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TIMURID RUGS
Francesca Fiorentino

From the Mongol hordes to decorated rugs
Part I
Born in Padua (Italy) in 1963, where she studied music, she completed her higher studies in the practice of ancient music in Amsterdam. She is a graduate of the humanities and philosophy, with a thesis in the history of art criticism. In recent years, she has been studying the figurative language of Oriental rugs and has dedicated herself to making this noble art more widely known.

Fig. 1. Above, Seljukid art, E. Kuhnel, The Arabesque, Graz 1949. Fig. 2. Below, Ilkhanid tile rug, Shahnameh Demotte 1330/1335 Tabriz.

T

he fierce, charismatic warrior, Timur (13351405), a descendant of Gengis Khan, sought to revive the earlier empire, and by his death had reunited Tran-

soxiana, Iran, Azerbaijan, the Caucasus, Georgia and northern India. He brought the heirs of his Mongol forebears to the peak of political success and gave the nomads

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red populations, embracing Islam, reducing the practice of nomadism and embracing Persian culture and traditions. The fruitful cultural activity of the Tabriz scriptorium, and in particular the numerous transcriptions that began to be produced there of the Shahnameh, Ferdowsi’s classic of Persian literature, are proof of this. Tabriz also witnessed the revival of Persian painting thanks to the influence of Chinese painting, which arrived from the Orient with the conquerors. The new naturalism in depicting nature and human forms, the dazzling colours, the flow and elegance of the brushstrokes also provided the base for the Timurid school of miniatures, which constitutes a fundamental source for the art of the period.

the notion of an empire in which to feel proud. The first Mongol hordes had swept the Turkish dynasty of the Great Seljukians (10371187) out of Persia, where they had adopted Persian culture and laid the bases for medieval Islamic art. The principal decorative elements of the Seljukian style were to persist in many areas in which knotting rugs was undertaken. These include monumentality, a decorative calligraphic style, large knots interwoven in a variety of ways, repeated tile motifs, a love for the depiction of

flora and fauna, and the spread of Kufic writing within the decorations and frames. (Fig. 1). The dynasty established itself in Anatolia (10601308), encountering the Byzantine Greek and Armenian civilisations on the way. These nomadic warriors brought with them the strong images of the Asian steppes, which would intermingle with the local traditions. The following Mongol dynasty, the Ilkhanids (12521335), chose Tabriz as capital and worked to govern and integrate better with the conque8

RUGS BEFORE THE RISE OF TIMUR The first group of uniform rugs to date from the Middle Ages come from the Anatolian mosques of Konya and Beyshehir. For some scholars, the term “Seljukian” indicates an Anatolian manufacture, while for others it defines the period of origin and a broader geographical source. These knotted rugs reveal a marked taste for geometry in the decoration of small
Fig. 3. Seljukid rug, detail, Türk ve Islam Eserleri Müzesi, Istanbul.

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hooked medallions, rows of stylised flowers, lozenges with stelae, “S” motifs, crosses and animal figures. The highly stylised nature of the drawing is highlighted by the broad frames which, together with the small geometric motifs of the narrower borders (“S”, stelae and serpentines) in which stand out the a greca and boxed motifs and squares decorated with geometric forms and the typical arrow or herringbone elements borrowed from Kufic calligraphy. Strong colour contrasts animate the bands and field, while the decorations appear in more delicate tones. They are large in size and bear witness to a ceremonial or religious function. A fragment preserved in the State Museum of Saint Petersburg (no. IR. 2253) attributed to Iran and the first half of the 13th century supposedly reveals the existence of the multiple prayer “saf” layout. We know from contemporary Arab historians that these knotted rugs were requested and exported as far away as the Orient, where Islam had spread but where earlier cultural traditions still survived.
Fig. 4. Above, diagram of Timurid rug, from A. Briggs, Timurid carpets, Ars Islamica, Vol. VII. Fig. 5. Right, Geometric design of a ceramic tile. K. Critchlow, Islamic patterns, Thames and Hudson 1999. 9

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Their decorative language was intended to be easily understood, as it resulted from a fusion of Islamic notions, in the form of geometric elements, with a wide variety of pre-Isla-

mic elements. And in particular with Sassanid ones which survived during the Arab caliphate of the Buwayhidi (central and western Persia), of the Samanids (Transoxian Persia) and of the Turko-Mongol iconography that had spread from east to west. In the 14th century, polygonal forms emerged in Anatolia, set in patterns with animals (dragons, phoenixes, lions and birds), which seem to reflect a medley of Greco-Byzantine, Chinese and Persian traditions, together with the ancient animalistic art of the Asian steppes and of the local

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Iranian and Anatolian cultures. Konya and Aksaray were famous centres of rug-production. Decorations similar to Seljukian ones, with ‘tiles’ adorned with infinite knots and Kufic borders may be found in pictures of the Ilkhanid period in Persia. Especially good examples include the miniatures of the Shahnameh Demotte (Fig. 2), perhaps produced for the last Ilkhanid sovereign, Abu Said (1316-1335), in the scriptorium of Tabriz, and in the contemporary Kalila va Dimna by Ahmad Mousa, the reviver of Persian painting. Recently, Julia Bailey has found a link between some

Demotte miniatures and a group of fragments that appeared on the market in the 1990s from Tibet. They present borders of a Kufic design and large octagons containing animals with the same animal in smaller form within. The forms are highly stylised and a close similarity in the borders and in the use of colour was discerned with the miniatures. A large fragment was acquired by the Doha Museum of Qatar, another by the Metropolitan, and the others are in private collections. The successors of the Ilkhanids, the Jalayiridi of Baghdad, also left fine miniatures, thanks to Shams al Din, the pupil of Ahmad Mousa, in
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which J. Thompson has noted the presence of two geometric medallion rugs. Written sources list the centres of knotting as being in Luristan, Mazandaran, Khorasan and Fars: in Shiraz in 1295 Ghaza Khan Ilkhanide commissioned new rugs for his mosque. This is just a brief overview of rug production until the arrival of Timur, a production which it is assumed was reserved for the highest strata of society and religious buildings.
Fig. 6. Kesi,Western Iran or Iraq, first half 14th century, The David Collection, Copenhagen, Denmark.

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ART AND RUGS AT THE TIME OF TIMUR The warrior king was well aware how culture could be used to fulfil his desire of a united kingdom, binding together varied cultural traditions into a single nation that was not yet perceived by the nomads living in it as “their home”. He encouraged the creation of cities, oases and gardens in which the nomad could halt, discover their beauties and gradually integrate. He encouraged patronage of the arts and invited craftsmen of various origins, from Armenia to China, to create a sort of “international style” uniting the different traditions. Centre and province were united in the same effort, but the most important role was played by the workshops of the royal library (kitabkhana), in which worked the most skilled craftsmen, first at Samarkand, then at Herat and finally in other, more peripheral, courts, such as Shiraz and Tabriz. Herat, the “pearl of Khorasan” had for some time been a cultural capital to which artists and elite travelled to study; among these were the Seljukians and Turkmen Kara and Ak Koyunlu of Tabriz. Timur’s heirs were cultured, refined sovereigns who creaFig. 7. Ceramic tile from Kashan, Ilkhanid period.

ted sumptuous courts that competed in artistic production, leading in the 15th century to a more mature and refined style, one more varied and harmonious, as demonstrated by the most admired copy of the Shahnameh, commissioned in 1429-1430 by Baysonghor, governor of Herat. Under the last Timurid sovereign, Husayn Bayqarah, the same Herat court created unsurpassed works throughout the 16th century and trained one of the most famous Persian painters, Behzad, who in the second decade moved to the court of Shah Ismail I Safavid of Tabriz. Conforming to precise instructions, the royal libraries
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perfected and codified an official artistic idiom in line with Persian cultural tradition, using its literary texts and decorative forms. Miniaturists, painters, book binders, skilled masters of intarsia and intaglio, designers of ceramics, fabrics and textiles worked together to create luxury for a court that surrounded itself with all sorts of delights. The specialisation of the crafts took place later on in the Safavid workshops (karkhana). This language spread throughout the vast empire, at the same time leaving room for individual creativity, so that each school stood out with its own character. It is also worth mentioning the

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Oriental populations and as a sign of opulence and power, but to date only a few rare fragments attributed to this era have been found. Written sources also have little to say in this regard: G. Barbaro speaks of the splendid rugs at the court of Ak Kuyunlu in Tabriz, while an ambassador, Ruj Gonzalez del Clavijo, who visited the court of Timur in 1404, described some rugs used to cover the kang, the wooden daises typical of homes in Turkestan. In the miniatures of Shiraz and Herat, as in the Turkmen ones of Tabriz, we often find ornaments placed on floors and gardens to welcome the characters of Persian literature or of the court, such as cushions, curtains and decorated pavilions. The stories of the Shahnameh, of Shirin and Khosrau, of Leila and Majnun and of the Khamseh were incorporated by the dominant sovereigns and made contemporary. We thus find settings contemporary to the period of compilation, with a highly naturalistic depiction of details as regards architecture, gardens, interiors, decoration, everyday objects and furnishings. Luckily for us, “rugs” are always shown frontally, without deformation as a result of perspective and
Fig. 8. Floral all-over rug, Khamseh, Shiraz school, 1491.

influence of Chinese art. Already important in Seljukian art and in the revival of Persian painting, it pervaded Timurid artistic expression with its refined naturalism of flowers, plants and animals, with its supernatural iconography, and with its motif of a set of colours, used in a myriad ways . These elements too were absorbed and codified in the new artistic language with touches of pyrotechnical virtuosity typical of a continual experimentation and codification. Generally, their symbolic

value was transformed into pure decoration, although it seems possible that some symbols of supernatural and earthly power were used with their precise meaning for objects of official ceremony. It is interesting to recall that at the time, thanks to the frequent ambassadorial exchanges with the Ming kingdom, a veritable passion for chinoiseries had developed. It is reasonable to suppose that the art of the rug was cultivated in Timurid reigns as a form of furnishing typical of
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showing a great deal of detail. Miniatures have also shown themselves in some cases to be reliable sources, as in the case of the hunting rug in Boston Museum, which found its figurative references in these, as is also the case for some decorated tiles found in reality. By convention, since the studies of Lessing, Martin and Briggs, Timurid rug designs have been assumed to have been gleaned from contemporary miniatures. Two principal types of decoration have emerged: the first with repeated geometric forms, the second with floral decoration. RUGS WITH GEOMETRIC
DECORATION

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This type conventionally represents the “oldest” rugs, dating from the first half of the 15th century, and also forms the most numerous and widespread group. The group betrays the evident influence of the decorative style that may also be found in the ceramics facing public and private buildings, and in intaglio in wood and stucco, but it also shows continuity with earlier rugs. The technique of ceramic facing developed in Islamic lands in the 15th century reached new heights of beauty and complexity thanks to the
Fig. 9. Medallion rug with pendents, school of Herat, second half 15th century.

application of mathematical and geometrical principles and to the design work of court workshops (Fig. 5). The decorative motifs are generated by an interconnection of circles, square, stars and other forms in conformity with clearly-established rules. The repetition of the motif using an algorithmic method becomes the source generating the overall decoration, as noted by Carol Bier in her studies of the use of mathematics applied to the designs of Oriental carpets.
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The tiles may be of different form: cruciform, square, hexagonal and triangular. The design may be enriched with arabesques of small plant forms; it may be enclosed within a single tile or be created by matching or interlocking tiles. The unusual mosaic effect (C. Bier aptly uses the word “tesselation”, derived from the Latin opus tesselatum, or mosaic) is achieved by using various colours in the small portions of surface obtained by interlocking the pieces. The carefully planned ch-

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rug features circles, octagons, hexagons, crosses and stars that are all interwoven with knots, timid floral elements with little flowers, tendrils and clovers. In simpler designs, these take the form of repeated motifs with a more or less complex outline. Simple floral elements, stars or crosses often appear within these. The patterns may be more or less complex according to the type of setting. The main borders present decorative variants of a broken-up Kufic type, recomposed in various ways into basic elements: lines, leaves, flowers, tendrils and thorns or hooks. These elements are used to create a repeated motif along the whole of the central band, whose design frequently turns a perfect 45° at the four corners. The lesser borders reveal small tendrils with buds and small leaves, “S” motifs, simple mirrored motifs and monochromatic frames. The calculated play of colours creates a final visual result that is often based on a positive/negative effect and alternation of two decorative forms. The colours are generally intense and saturated (red, blue, yellow, green and light-blue), and offer a conFig. 10. Above, medallion rug, Khamseh, 1491. Fig. 11. Opposite page, compartment rug, school of Herat, 1524.

romatic alternation creates a “negative/positive” effect highlighting the numerous geometric forms resulting in a sometimes kaleidoscopic effect. This feature leaves no “empty” or “background” spaces. In buildings, only some architectural features are faced in ceramic tiles with floral arabesque designs: most of the surfaces

are covered with a geometric decoration. The rugs in question here present a similar decorative approach. Usually, it is of a design repeated infinitely, built up of interweaving modules of various lines, and thus without leaving any part of the surface free of the actual pattern (Fig. 4). The field of the
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trast between the main band and the field. However, the decorative possibilities offered by the vast empire must have been varied if we consider that the stylistic language spreading out from the centres of power and from the court designers combined with the influences of the provenance of the rug-makers, the place of manufacture and the patron, all of which added specific unique elements. Another layout of note is one with multiple niches, as revealed in a “Khamseh” of 1461 in Topkapi, Istanbul (Hazine 761, fol. 106r) and illustrated by E.J. Grube (Notes on Decoratives Arts of the Timurid Period, Naples 1974). A Timurid miniature of 1436 in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris (in J.J. Eskenazy, Il tappeto orientale, Allemandi 1987, p. 65, fig. 53) shows a niche layout with clover-leaf arch similar to that of the fragment of a “saf” attributed to 15th/16thcentury Persia in a private collection (ibid., fig. 54). The oldest design with vertical lines, called moharramat and depicted in Ilkhanid miniatures, appears instead to disappear from rugs in a slow process, as does the pattern with medallions containing animals. COMPARTMENT RUGS The layout consisting of overlaid compartments (Fig. 11) may be included in the transitional phase between geometric and curvilinear forms, based not so much on geometric interconnections as on the overlay of large geometric forms. Very rare in the first half of the century, (for example, in a Kalila va Dimna by Abul Ma’ali Nasrollah, Herat 1429, in the Bibiliothèque Nationale, Paris), this becomes more frequent in the second half of the century and in particular in the works of Behzad and his pupils, appearing at the same time in rugs and coverings for pavilions. The pattern seems to be more focused on the delineation of forms than on the kaleidoscopic “positive/negative” effect, or on an “all-over” design, given that the forms become considerable larger, thereby attenuating the effect. This layout, also called “compass and ruler” (J. Thompson) highlights the curved pattern of the circle and oval combined with the straight lines of rectangles and squares; there are fewer knots at the meeting points. The alternating use of colours in the surfaces created defines new cartouche forms, as in the earlier layouts (rolled, spiral and oblong), and medallions (with four lobes). The major new feature of this type of rug is the widespread use of floral decoration in the form of short, curved tendrils, buds, cloverleafs and curved leaves, as described above with regard to tiles for buildings and in other artistic me16

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dia, and which belong to the “international” Timurid style; these are always bound together in ordered, symmetrical compositions around one point and adorn all the spaces created by the overlays in a colour that always contrasts with the background. They are often enlivened by bright, dazzling colours: light blue, orange, yellow, light green and blue, while the lives are ivory in colour, edged with two dark outlines. The border is always of a Kufic sort. RUGS WITH FLORAL AND CURVILINEAR DECORATION

By convention, floral and curvilinear decorations are attributed to the second half of the century, but there are also precocious examples, as in the case of the rug with floral arabesques and Kufic border shown in the Chahar Mahal of 1432, commissioned by Baysonghor, today preserved in the Turk ve Islam Eserleri in Istanbul (1954, fol22r) and illustrated by B. Gray (Persian Paintings, Geneva 1961). Rugs with floral decoration appear in the famous Shahnameh by Baysonghor of 1429, and in other works of the schools of Herat and Shiraz, including the forms by Behzad and his pupil, Qasim Ali, at the end of the Timurid reign. Alì Hassouri’s reconstructions in his Carpets on Miniatures show how the transition to this type of rug took place in

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a series of steps (Fig 12, Alì Hassouri drawing, carpets). Small changes made it possible not to abandon tradition in a single break. The first steps were the greater use of curved, undulating lines in tracing out a Kufic motif and its characteristic elements: flowers, leaves, knots and twists. The tendril binding them in a continuous sequence is the precursor of the border herati. In the field, instead, the curvilinear element was stressed with the inclusion of small circles and knots that by nature contour the curves and arabesques; the knots bind grids, medallions and tiles and at times determine their outlines. A little later, daisies with rounded petals would appear, followed by other flowers and leaves, used to decorated the tiles that were replacing the elegant linear tracery. The division into tiles, which soon became a proper grid, developed into increasingly curvilinear outlines. The colours acquired a lightness and gaiety that had hitherto been absent. At times, the floral pattern takes the simple all-over form of arabesques with flowers and leaves, while at other times it accompanies single medallions or in a column, with small palms and corner areas
Fig. 12. Disegn, in Carpets on Miniatures, by Alì Hassouri.

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created from a quarter of a medallion. It is never crowded; perhaps it was not yet possible to knot in such a way as to create the virtuoso decorations of calligraphy and ornamental drawing on paper. The field is filled with a free but regular array of arabesques with flowers and leaves. Within the medallions, corner areas and cartouches, instead, one can find a symmetrical
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construction adapting to the outer border, as in the cloverleaf motif that often underlies the central medallion, and in the regular rhythm of the edging. The border often remains traditional, with a Kufic design. The field is in a contrasting colour with the background of the principal motifs. Pink, pale yellow, light green and blue replace the darker tones

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of green, red and brown. And in ceramic tiles, the same dichotomy emerges: in repeated modules, the pattern is organised into a symmetrical composition, and in free spaces such as over arches or in large decorative panels, the layout is more freely arranged. The rich borders of the pages in the Qur’an from the 13th century onwards instead constituted a magnificent test bed for complex constructions of arabesques gathered into a central medallion, in the borders and four corners. THE THEME OF GARDENS IN RUGS In these rugs, one can discern the nascent theme of the garden. We know that gardens and parks were much loved by the Timurid sovereigns, who in this case too adopted a Persian tradition popular with the elite: the imperial “Paradeison”. The broken thread of the loss of the “Khosrau spring” was about to be tied anew. The coincidence with the Islamic vision of the “Garden of delights” promised by Allah would ensure the success of this theme. The curvilinear floral style that developed powerfully with the new Safavid dynasty in Iran had its roots in tribalism and was associated also with the great empires of Persia and
Fig. 13. Opposite page, smallpattern Holbein rug, private collection, 162 x 117 cm.

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China, and the kingdoms of Europe. The same holds true in Anatolia, where the fall of the beylik principalities resulted in the emergence of the new Ottoman dynasty and a new type of carpet. The first Safavid sovereign, Ismail, intended to revive the Persian empire by creating a Persian national identity and a new imperial style, of which rugs were a magnificent expression. In order to do away with tradition, it was necessary to create something that had never been seen before, something that was truly “Persian”. The legendary garden rug of the last great Sassanid sovereign, Khosrau II, the Baharestan, fully expressed the concept of Persian Paradeison, the king’s garden, with its mass of flowers, fruit and plays of water, together with a hunting park in which to demonstrate imperial power over men and nature. At the same time, the curvilinear and floral pattern was the only true novelty in centuries as regards the decoration in rugs. It enabled the depiction of the new imperial content. Moreover, its Chinese stylistic origins, associated the new empire with the mythical Catay. The first refined examples of these rugs were produced in the new court of Tabriz, in which Behzad settled in the second decade of the 16th century. Over the next few decades, the pattern diversified
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into a fine complexity of medallion rugs, hunting rugs, rugs with overlaid grids and floral rugs. The Timurid legacy can be discerned every so often in the field and borders, with a cartouche motif, and with the regular and calligraphic flowery arabesque. There is no certainty that the miniatures described above came from the workshops of the Timurid courts, although it is hard to imagine that the production of such important articles would be left to outsiders. We may thus proceed by exclusion. Christine Klose indicated an effective similarity between the geometric grid-like geometric patterns and some Anatolian compartment rugs, such as the example in the Vakiflar Museum, A-344, which Klose dated to the last quarter of the 15th century, and with others with a double orthogonal and diagonal grid with respect to the edge, as in the case of a rug in a private collection in Manila, and of another in the Treasury of Sion cathedral in Switzerland (in J. Thompson, J. Bailey, W.B. Denny, Carpets and Textiles in the Iranian world 14001700. Proceedings of the conference held at the Ashmolean Museum, 30-31 August 2003, pp. 75, 76, figs. 5-8). Klose rightly stressed, however, that it was impossible that the Persians had copied from the Turks.

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There is also an undeniable similarity with the small-pattern Holbeins, in which the combination of two repeated motifs and use of colour with chequerboard effect sometimes appears (Fig. 13). Usually, however, the motifs are isolated from each other, allowing the single colour of the background to show, and the Kufic border rarely has a pattern enabling it to turn through 45°. Moreover, there is no precise geometric vision of the pattern. It has been suggested that Holbein rugs might be a “provincial” transposition of Timurid court rugs (J. Thompson). Michael Franses (“Hali”, 167, 2011, p. 86) also noted the similarity between the small-pattern Holbeins, ceramic decoration and rugs in miniatures. In nearby India, rugs were not yet being produced, while in the other territories to the east of the empire, there were no important courts justifying the production of rugs of such a complex and refined pattern. As for Persia, historic sources state that rugs were being made in Shiraz, which had been an important cultural centre even at the time of the Ilkhanid dynasty. In western
Fig. 14. Fragment of a Khorasan medallion rug, second half 16th century, Metropolitan Museum of Art (Gallery 455, no. 191145). Fig. 15. Opposite, a Timurid miniature, Samarkand, ca. 1425-1450. 20

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Persia, Tabriz had been a cultural capital for some time, and during the Turkmen dynasties of the 15th century, we find some fine miniature rugs similar to the Timurid ones being produced there. With regard to Samarkand and Herat, which represented the heart of the empire, we know that the court workshops worked on the design of every type of artistic article, but no information has survived concerning the knotting of rugs. However, these articles required a very clear guide being given the knotter in the form of a master designer, and the clear reference to the decorative forms of ceramics and some fabrics confirms their presence. The richest designs also bear witness to great technical skilling in knotting rugs, especially in the perfect resolution of the corners of the borders, which probably required a direct involvement of the knotters during the planning stage of the rug. Also necessary were materials suited to such a high-quality production, which could only be found in the richest workshops. All this suggests a wide distribution of the international Timurid style, and a cultural competition between the kingdoms of the time, with a consequent exchange facilitated by the constant toing and froing of artists.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Alì Hassouri, Carpets on Miniatures, Farhangan Publications, Tehran, 1997. G. Berchet, La Repubblica di Venesia e la Persia, Paravia, Turin, 1865. C. Bier, CarpetMath: exploring mathematical aspects of Turkmen Carpets, in “Journal of Mathematics and the Arts”, 4, 1, 2010, pp. 29-47. C. Bier, Mathematical aspects of Oriental Carpets, The Textile Museum, Washington DC, Symmetry Foundation, Digitizad, 2004. C. Bier, The Legacy of Timur; a small rug at the Textiles Museum, in “Ghereh”, 9, 1996, pp. 98-101. A. Briggs, Timurid Carpets, Ars Islamica 1940, 1946. C. Klose, in J. Thompson, J. Bailey, W .B. Denny, Carpets and Textiles in the Iranian world 1400-1700, Proceedings of The Conference Held At the Ashmolean Museum, 30-31 August 2003. S. Kozin, La storia segreta dei Mongoli,

Longanesi, Milan, 1973. T. Lentz e G. Lowry, Timur and the Princely Vision. Persian Art and Culture in the Fifteenth Century, 1989. J. Lessing, Ancient Oriental Carpet Patterns after Pictures and Originals of the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries, London, 1879. L.W. Mackie, A piece of the puzzle. A 14th. or 15th. Century Persian Fragment, Carpet Revealed, in “Hali”, 47, 1989. F .R. Martin, A History of oriental carpets before 1800, Wien, 1908. N.E. Simakov, L’art del l’Asie Centrale, Recueil de l’Art Decoratif de L’Asie Central, St. Petersburg, 1883. F . Spuhler, Islamic Carpets and Textiles in the Keir collection, London, 1978. F . Spuhler, Carpets and textiles, Cambridge Hist. Iran VI, 1986. D. Walker, Carpets of Khorasan, in “Hali”, 149, 2006. The Richard E. Wright Research Reports, Bukhara and its Ersari, available on: http://www.richardewright.com/09 08_bukhara.html.

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THE CYPRESS, THE ROSE, AND THE PARROT
Beata Biedronska Slota

Silk Tapestries and Rugs from Persia in Polish Collections
Part I

T
Section of tomb cover, silk multiple cloth, enriched with metal thread. The work of Ghiyat, Yazd, c. 1600, from tomb of Shaykh Safi, National Museum, Tehran.

o quote the phrase by Henri Focillon, “at a certain period (ie during the reign of the Safavid dynasty), Persian art was more universal than it was local, more monumental than it was delicate, more traditional than inclined to

initiate new forms”. Under Safavid rule (lasting from 1502 until 1736), the art of Persia, drawing on the heritage of past generations, attained perfection in many disciplines; it also passed on to Europeans new artistic and formal inventions rendered in an idiom which would be understandable to them. The full importance of Persian art’s contribution to the development of the world’s artistic history is demonstrated by the two most distinctive characteristics, ones absent from the art of Europe. The first comprises the consistent use of unchanging forms, passed on to followers with only the most minor modifications; the other - in the fact that, the odd exception aside, most of the creators of this art did not sign their works, remaining anonymous for ever more. The artistic value accorded to Persian art and its role in art history are due not so

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equivalents. These universal forms were used to render imagined forms of considerable refinement and beauty, achieving originality and freshness by representing the perfect elegance of an unreal world. Persian artists would spontaneously render imagined worlds which were often rooted in poetry and its underlying faith that beauty and goodness spring forth from the heart. The shapes and contours of these worlds were strong and definite, full of vitality yet nonetheless constituting a lyrical, delicate whole. A major subject, and a rich source of artistic inspiration, was provided by the natural world of plants and animals; in a variety of relations and arrangements, such motifs filled out the surfaces of miniatures, carpets, textiles, and of architectural decorations. Similar motifs, this time in real life, would also be combined with ponds to create the fairy tale landscapes of gardens – a Persian art form in its own right. Yet the beauty of Persian art

much to achievements in the true-to-life depiction of objects but, rather, to the creation of shapes which, while

departing from those seen in actuality so as to make identification just barely possible, constitute their spiritual
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Tomb cover, silk multiple cloth, enriched with metal thread. Inscribed: the work of Ghiyat, Yazd, c. 1600, National Museum of Tehran (235 cm).

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with all its innate logic could, just as importantly, also be arrived at by way of sophisticated intellectual speculation, finding its ultimate expression in proud poetry, in philosophy, or in mysticism. Persian artists did not actually shun reality in order to give form to the unimaginable music and harmony of the universe – they partook in it by applying in the representational arts the principles which govern arithmetic, logic, and music. It is for this reason that the compositional arrangements seen in the artistic handicrafts of Persia are characterised by mathematically calculated intervals of musical proportions and counterpoint harmonies. The traditional arithmetic knowledge, as set out in the philosophical writings of Islam, presents numbers and figures as existing in three forms, namely archetypes in the divine intellect, in the human mind and, finally, as objective beings. The various artists answering to their calling in Safavid Persia had at their disposal a collected body of knowledge about the

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Taffeta, brocaded, enriched with metal thread. Isfahan, period of Shah Abbas I. Possession Rabenou.

rules of arithmetic and geometry and knew how to put them to good use. Accordingly, Persian art, nonfigurative on account of religious injunction, was characterised by consistency and logic. When determining the arrangement of compositional motifs, for instance, resort was had – as, occa25

sionally, in Europe – to a grid with square or rectangular fields delineated in keeping with the golden rule of division. The application of these rules in the fine arts, however, was a result not only of the proscription on images of human and animal figures, but also of a need to represent a world of arche-

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talking trees, palmettes, rosettes, all manner of beasts and fowls – increases in line with the complication of the compositional arrangements. This is due to complication in the symmetrical principles which govern them. The phenomenon observed here is comparable to a musical crescendo; the composition, beginning with the most simple one relying on a single motif, becomes increasingly complex with the introduction of translational symmetry and the multiplication of rhythms upon diagonal axes. The meaningfulness of these arrangements lies not only in their formal elegance, but – above all – in the fact that they render a world of abstraction by way of compositions and of the rhythms and phrases contained in them. And herein lies the principle of “absolutely pure decoration”, an idea which has never been as much as adequately explained in the West. It is for this reason that Persian art, usually read through its perfectionist formal elegance, is difficult to understand at its significa-

types. Hence the regular geometric forms underlying the ornamentation of carpets, providing a reference point for the various motifs; at the symbolic level, they are nothing less than an invocation to God. For the non-figurative geometric ornaments carry encoded meanings which have acquired the role of an intermediary in the attempts at establishing contact with the absolute. The foremost role goes to the very structure of the motifs and to their arrangements, constructed

as they are in such a way that one is tempted to substitute them with numerical values in accordance with the principles of magic squares. The symbolic import associated with such squares makes for a good fit with any consistent effort at deciphering the motifs and their mutual interrelations. The overbearing wealth of motifs filling out carpets and available architectural space – flowers, leaves, arabesques, Chinese plumed snakes, chi’ clouds, waq-waq
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Silk twill, enriched with metal thread. Isfahan, middle 17th century. Textile Museum of the District of Columbia.

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THE CYPRESS, THE ROSE AND THE PARROT

tive level. The art of Persia has been described as “a spiritual ballet of disembodied categories”. This interpretative approach was rooted in endeavours to decipher the composition of miniatures and carpets constituting, each one in its own right, masterpieces in the

Silk compound cloth, enriched with metal thread. Kashan, 17th century, Metropolitan Museum of Art.

logic of artistic thinking – no mere logic, but a “logic of fire”, to use the beautiful term by A.U. Pope. For the appearance of the colourful flowers and fantastic animals depicted on carpets and textiles with a gleaming silk background (oft enhanced with gold or silver thread) changes constantly in response to the surrounding light, and in accordance with the perspective and sensitivity of the viewer. The Safavid period in Persia was one in which all the joys
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of life were held in high regard, a time of courtly manners; it was also a time suffused with the creative zest of the poets which also had respect for the development of knowledge. This was an epoch driven by a passion for perfection in all realms of the arts. Only the poets faced hardship under the rule of the Safavids, with many of them forced to emigrate and to seek favour of the Great Mughals ruling India. The utmost blossoming of Persian poetry had come much

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the gift of articulation, symbolises the poet, and it is in this symbolic capacity that it is oft evoked in figurative art and in poetry alike. Parrots on a Wild Rose is a collective title given to a body of poetic pieces by the translator Władysław Dulęba. The cypress, in its turn, represents ideal gracility of the body and loftiness of spirit, and the narcissus – the eyes. Roses and cypresses make frequent appearances in the lyric poetry of Hafiz, who made flowers one of his mot relied-upon symbols. The period of Safavid rule, the most important one in development of Persian art, was not only an answer to expectations of authentic change in the arts, it was also – and perhaps primarily – a large-scale development of the arts initiated by the rulers. During the early Safavid period, carpet-making, miniature painting, and ornamental decoration of silk fabrics, architecture, and of ceramics all attained unmatched perfection. The most accomplished patron of the arts was Shah Abbas I, known as the Great. Artists,

earlier, bringing forth a multitude of masterly pieces which have ranked among the finest of their sort ever since. Many of the standard iconographic motifs familiar from miniature painting, tapestries, and carpets had been originally formulated by poets writing a few centuries before, becoming part of the standard repertory of

poetic images long before their first graphic rendition. The motif of a parrot sitting in a rose bush, for instance, one frequently used during Safavid times, had been described by Kisai of Marv (952 – circa 1002): “On acacias, nightingales / parrots on the wild rose / speak forth”. In Persian art, the parrot, possessed as it is with
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Twill tapestry, silk and metal thread, detail. 16th century. Czartorysky Museum (275 x 212 cm).

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their basic needs comfortably met thanks to the generous patronage of the court, were at ease to develop their tal-

Printed or painted silk twill. Yazd, 17th century. Collection Mrs. W.H. Moore.

ents, seeking ever more refined forms and developing the world of the imagination. For all his love of the arts, Shah Abbas I did not neglect the economic prosperity of his realm; it was under his reign that Persia reached the peak of her commercial power. Thus, there existed a ruling class with the desire to support development of
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the arts and the wherewithal to do so; it is for good reason that Persia of this time is referred to in the literature as the France of the East. During the time of Abbas I, the cities of Tabriz, Kashan, Isfahan, and the province of Khorasan became famous for their workshops which turned out the finest silks, velvets, and carpets. Among

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the multiple gifts of Shah Abbas was a talent for intuitive tapping of the potential of the various elements constituting Persian society. It certainly is true that some of the Shah’s policies are worthy of condemnation, likewise that the building up

and maintenance of his power owed much to his corps of shah sevenler “those who love the Shah”. Yet it is beyond dispute that, regarded as a whole, his activities during this time in Persia’s history were effective and brought many benefits
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to the land. Abbas I was quick in appreciating the commercial acumen of the

Embroidery, darned in silk on cotton (so called musaif). Isfahan, 17th century. Collection Leigh Ashton.

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Armenian diaspora living in his realm and to stimulate its development. The prosperity of Persia’s Armenian community, however, was preceded by dramatic events in which the Shah also had his part. In the course of the campaign waged by his armies with the Turks, Abbas I ordered the destruction of Julfa in Persia and Erevan in the Caucasus, two major centres of the historic Armenia; after taking Erevan in 1604, he put it to the torch and transferred its population to Persia. These unwilling migrants received land in the vicinity of Isfahan on which they built a city, naming it New Julfa. This new town thrived at such a rate that the period spanning the early 17th and mid-18th centuries is oft referred to as the Renaissance of Armenian art and culture. Another three thousand Armenians who had to their credit experience in the cultivation of silkworms were ordered to settle in an agricultural region; others from among their compatriots were moved west of the capital where they could constitute a bulwark against the migratory Bactrian people. Sizeable groups of expelled Armenians went to Rumelia, Kaffa, the Pont, Moldavia, and Wallachia – each one of them useful way stations in which Armenian merchants

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travelling from Persia could safely stop and sell their wares. Turning his attention to the Armenian community of Gilan, a silk-producing centre, the wily Abbas – drawing conclusions from the fact that these were Christian inhabitants of an essentially Muslim Asia – decided to turn it to his advantage in commercial expansion to the East and West alike. He began by lending the Armenian merchants of New Julfa a quantity of silk for sale abroad; they were to pay the court treasury upon their return, retaining the profit for themselves. For proof that this experiment was a successful one, we need look no further than the various European collections which hold large quantities of silk textiles and carpets from Persia. Events following later are known to us from eyewitness accounts such as those by Jean Baptiste Tavernier (1605-1689). This French traveller wrote that, by the latter half of the 17th century, Persian Armenians were venturing as far afield as Tonkin, Java, and the Philippines – to all the principal conurbations of the world at that time save those in China and Japan. The Armenians put in place a network of trade connections spanning the Far East on the one end and Europe – with the hubs of Venice and
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Marseilles – on the other, progressing through India, New Julfa, Tabriz, Aleppo, and Izmir. According to Jean Pitton de Tournefort, another French traveller writing in 1717, thanks to the Armenians “All the wares of the East were known in the West, and those from the West were renowned for gracing the East”. And it was in this way – principally through the Armenian tradesmen – that Persian art, represented mainly by carpets and silk textiles, became known around the world. It reached Poland in exactly the same way, and the fact that Armenian merchants had been active in Polish markets for some time before only made this easier. Persian carpets and textiles – as testified to by accounts from the time – would arrive in large quantities. Armenian commerce in Poland was regulated by regulations which seemed to favour the Armenians of Lvov; in the 17th century, their existing trading privileges were not only affirmed, but also expanded. Klonowicz has written of Armenian merchants who brought to Lvov “expensive fabrics woven in silk and cotton, finished in gold and silver”. Inventories listing the assets of merchants, noblemen, and burghers from Lvov make

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frequent reference to pieces of “Persian metria with gold and silver”, Persian kontush and zhupan garments, and Persian upholstery – be it “on a carmine-coloured velvet background, with flowers and gold... 20 gores” or “green Persian upholstery with gold and silver”. These sources also tell us of the goods of one Lvov merchant travelling by caravan with “one bale of silk”. Other cities in the Polish commonwealth also kept up a brisk trade with the East. The concurrent coming into fashion, as of the mid-17th century, of noblemen’s attire modelled after Oriental garb as well as of all and sundry articles from the East combined to bring about a state of affairs where such goods accounted for a sizeable portion indeed of all imports into Poland. Silk fabrics, for instance, accounted for approximately 40% of all goods arriving via the customs chamber in Kamieniec Podolski. For this customs post alone, the annual importation of silks from Turkey (many of which, pre-

Floral carpet from the mausoleum of Shah Abbas II at Qumm, Jawshqan Qali. 32

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sumably, originated in Persia) exceeded 6 620 pieces valued at 10 672 zloties. There were also many shipments of finished products such as “ordinary curtains with gold thread”. During the same year, imports of Persian carpets and of the less expensive Turkish ones amounted to 151 pairs. Most of the carpets brought to Poland by Armenian merchants in the early 17th century were of the silk thread variety which would eventually become known as Polish carpets. Such carpets were a staple product of Persian workshops during the reign of Shah Abbas I. They are a fine example of impressive artistic effect relying on consummate mastery of technique. The employing of delicate silk threads of varied, subtle colours meticulously tied in dense knots – sometimes upon a silk warp – yielded amazing effects. Portions of the carpets’ backgrounds were left flat, covered with gold or silver thread applied in the brocaded weft technique. In conjunction with the silk

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Section of silk medallion and animal carpet. Kashan. 3rd quarter 16th century. Polish Government, exhibited Villa Willamove, Warsaw (Formely

pile, this produced an interplay of light and shade reacting to even a slight change in lighting. The gold and silver used in such carpets had to be of good quality so that it didn’t lose its sheen. Carpets of this sort were made in Kashan, Tabriz, and in Isfahan. It was to these cities – with special emphasis on Kashan – that King Zygmunt III Vasa sent his envoy, the Armenian Sefer Muratowicz,
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on a diplomatic mission, with the secondary assignment of purchasing carpets, belts, and arms. In the account of his journey (commenced in 1601), Muratowicz wrote of “the said great city of Kashan. There, I had made for his Majesty the King silk carpets woven in gold, likewise a tent, damascene sabres, etc”. The textiles ordered by Muratowicz arrived at the royal

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castle in the year 1602. They comprised “two pairs of carpets, 40 crowns each, together 160 crowns; two carpets at 41 crowns, together 82 crowns. For execution upon them of the royal arms, 5 crowns; two more carpets at 39 crowns for 78 crowns”. But these items were not to remain at the royal castle for long. Come 1642 and the marriage of Anna Katarzyna Konstancja Vasa, the daughter of King Zygmunt III, to Philip Wilhelm von der Pfalz Wittelsbach, Elector of Bavaria, the textiles commissioned in Kashan travelled to Munich among the baggage of the princess; they remain there to this very day in the collections of the Old Castle. In one of these carpets, the central field carries the royal insignia – presumably put in for the aforementioned price of 5 crowns. All these carpets are flat-woven in the technique used by Europeans to make tapestries; their colour scheme and composition, however, places them among the Persian carpets referred to as Polish. Similar textiles were used for good effect throughout the Polish Commonwealth for decorating interiors, according added splendour to residences and to their owners alike. During the World Exhibition of 1878, Prince Władysław Czartoryski included among the highlights of his collection exhibited at the Polish Hall of the Trocadero Palace seven silk carpets brocaded with gold and silver. It was probably on this occasion that the term Polish carpet was coined; the carpets were shown at the Polish section, and it appears that at least some of them would carry the Czartoryski coat of arms. Of the large number of silk carpets once held in collections across Poland, only twelve have survived to this day. This number, however, is not a definite one. In recent years, two carpets were added to the list – one identified in the Wawel Cathedral holdings, the other returned to the Czartoryski Princes Collection after being looted by the Germans during World War II. The provenance of most of what are known as the Polish carpets is thoroughly documented. The one from the Diocese Museum in Sandomierz is traditionally believed to be a gift made by King Jan III Sobieski to the Church of the Virgin Mary Known for Grace in Studzianna as a votive offering upon his safe return from the Vienna expedition. Three carpets originate from the Czartoryski collections; two more have long been the
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property of the Jagellonian University. One of the two carpets now at the National Museum in Warsaw comes from the holdings of the Radziwiłł family; another such carpet forms a part of the Wawel Cathedral collections. Two more belong to the Wawel Royal Castle, one of them purchased for its collection after World War II; the National Museum in Pozna ń has also purchased two carpets. The number of what are known as Polish carpets preserved around the world approaches two hundred. Most of them are different, with their own unique patterns; the pairs of identical carpets executed to the same design are rare. These individual traits notwithstanding, all these carpets bear some basic affinity to one another as regards the technique of execution, the colour schemes, and the composition based on flower and plant motifs arranged in keeping with the principles of geometry. As already mentioned, all realms of Islamic art were subordinated to the basic rules of geometry and arithmetic. The composition of carpets was essentially an open one, meaning that it could be expanded or contracted at will; there are several rules of symmetry which were applied on a consistent basis here. There are those carpets

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whose design conformed with the rule of mirror symmetry, with reflections running along a single vertical axis only. The second group comprises carpets where mirror images appeared along the horizontal axis as well as the vertical one, with translational symmetry coming into play. There were several different ways in which these principles could be applied, depending on the definition of the axes and the number of motifs. The third group is formed by carpets of closed composition, utilising the principles of mirror symmetry and of revolution symmetry. The basic system for deployment of motifs across the surface relied on its grid-like division into squares, rectangles, polygons, and other figures which could be delineated through division of an area obtained by drawing out vertical and horizontal lines at correct intervals. The areas of carpets were defined by sides complying with the theorems about squares and their diagonals. Such utilisation of complex solutions in the composition of carpets, progressing by all appearances beyond purely aes-

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Garden carpet, incomplete, Kurdistan, detail. 18th century. Collection Lord Aberconway.

thetic considerations, begs the question of why all this trouble was taken. The structures of the carpet fields are all derived from the basic form of the square and, as stated above, compositions were plotted through division of their zones. Thus, they emerged through subdivision of central figures; it seems likely that they also assumed the symbolic import associated with central figures in the treatises written by Arabic authors
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labouring under the influence of Greek philosophers, first and foremost that of Plotinus, who regarded the central – and hence most perfect – figures, the square and the circle, as fitting symbols of the divine. It is presumed that the symmetrical positioning of carpet motifs carries hidden messages abut the world and about the universe, incantations for warding off evil, and invocations of the glory of the Creator.

NEWS
ICOC SYMPOSIUM OF PRAGUE
Venue and date yet to be defined

A

t the end of the last ICOC Conference held in Stockholm in June 2012, Peter Bichler, the newly elected chairman of the scientific committee, closed the proceedings by announcing the packed programme of international symposia to be held in the following months. We were already beginning to look forward to the ICOC Symposium in Prague, planned for the spring, but recently the ICOC organisers informed all its members that the date and venue of the Prague meeting were yet to be defined. In actual fact, everything was ready: certainly the programme was, but for the venue too, confirmation was very close. Much work has been done in these months and some information had already emerged as regards the scientific content and exhibitions that generally surround the core ICOC events. We can confirm that the theme of the

Prague Symposium is to be entirely dedicated to Oriental rugs in Czech collections. The exhibitions, instead, will make it possible to admire the Transylvanian rugs preserved in Prague Castle, and a fine selection of Mameluke rugs. The venue for these study days was supposed to be the Prague Castle. An appropriate location not only for its prestigious nature and unique architecture, but also because it would have been the best context from a philological point of view for this international symposium’s themes. Numerous valuable works of art, historic documents and the jewels of the Bohemian crown are preserved in the castle. Since 1989, many parts of it have been opened to the public, and Prague Castle is today also the seat of the Czech presidency and the most important national cultural monument of the Czech Republic. Unfortunately, a problem associated with politi-

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cal events has prevented this happy event from taking place. In recent months, the Czech Republic is readying itself for important presidential elections, the first direct elections, which have taken place on 11th and 12th January 2013. Everything has thus been focused on this delicate moment in the country’s history. So now it is just a matter of waiting. The organisation of the Symposium has probably just been shifted a few months to the autumn of 2013, paving the way for the Vienna-Budapest ICOC Tour in September 2014 and creating a subtle link between the great cities of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire. For the moment, the next appointment will be in

NEWS
Baku on the shores of the Caspian Sea for the V International Congress on Azerbaijani Carpets, to be held from 17th to 18th June, 2013. Two special exhibitions have been set up at the same time. The first, “Azerbaijani Dragon and related Carpets”, allows visitors the chance to see antique Azerbaijani rugs on loan from international museums and private collections in a single venue. The second exhibition brings together the finest masterpieces of the vast collection in the Carpet Museum of Baku (circa 6000 pieces), chosen from contemporary production and presenting both classical and non-traditional motifs. Plenty of news from the world of rugs for you, therefore!

AFTER BLOOMSBURY: RUGS FROM THE OMEGA WORKSHOPS, 1913-1916 Textile Art at Somerset House

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unique event was held last spring for almost a month within the splendid neoclassical framework of Somerset House in the heart of London, between the Strand and the River. The exhibition in question was not large but innovative in conception, with five contemporary rugs placed in dialogue with the original designs. This is the unusual, new element that attracted our curiosity. Organised by Christopher Farr, a producer of unusual contemporary rugs, and the Courtauld Gallery, the exhibition offered the public the chance to admire five contemporary rugs made to the original designs of the Omega Workshop, produced almost a century ago.

Christopher Farr is well-known to rug enthusiasts for having opened a gallery specialising in contemporary designer rugs. He has worked with numerous artists and designers from around the world including fashion designer Romeo Gigli; the English artist Kate Blee; architect and designer Andrée Putman;

Entrace of the Somerset House, the Edmond J. Safra Fountain Court © Marcus Ginns. 37

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Roger Fry, the Omega Workshop was a radical workshop of design ideas, which drew in many of the avant-garde artists of the time, and in particular two members of the Bloomsbury set, Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell. In its brief period of activity, the Omega group produced objects for the home, furniture, textiles, ceramics, rugs and clothing. All marked by a strong design and dynamic, bold use of colour and pattern. The choice of colours and motifs reveals the influence of the contemporary art works then in vogue in Europe, including from the cubist and fauve movements above all, and thus artists like Picasso, Braque, Matisse, together with influences from African art. The Omega Workshop’s activities mainly took place during the First World War, for it closed in 1919, but the six years it was active saw the creation of an impressive series of highly original designs, well in advance of their times. Their freshness is still able to excite the observer today. The members of the Omega Workshop worked anonymously: no artist within the group was allowed to sign his work; instead, the Greek omega sign was stamped on every artwork, textile or painting produced by the
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artists Jorge Pardo and Gary Hume. His 20 years of experience have restored dignity to artistic production and contemporary design in the field of rugs and textiles. Omega Workshop, instead, was an artists’ collective founded in Britain in 1913. Although it did not last very long, it did succeed in influencing one of the most creative moments in the history of modernist production and design in Britain. Founded by artist and critic

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workshop, to make it immediately recognisable. As a consequence, none of the surviving designs in the Courtauld collection has been signed, but the paternity of some of the most powerful compositions can be attributed on the basis of style to Duncan Grant or Vanessa Bell. The Courtauld Gallery possesses the largest surviving group of Omega designs – about a hundred – left as a bequest by Fry’s daughter, Pamela Diamand, in 1958. Most of these designs were for rugs and reveal much of the Omega Workshop’s working methods. However, only a small number of Omega rugs were ever made, probably by the Wilton Carpet company, one of the few British makers of carpets that was still in production during the war. A rare example of a firm attribution is the

Opposite page, pattern design. The Omega Workshop. Hand-knotted weave, hand-spun Anatolian wool and mohair, 2.4 x 3.3 m, limited edition of 15, Christopher Farr. Above, a view of the exhibition. 39

Lady Hamilton Rug, conserved at the Victoria and Albert Museum. The new rugs made for Somerset House were knotted by hand at Konya, in central Turkey, using the oldest techniques of weaving by hand. To produce them, the nest Anatolian yarns were used, rich in lanolin thanks to the extreme winter temperatures in the area. Christopher Farr’s exhibition has drawn inspiration from some research effected a few years ago for another exhibition, again concerning the designs by the Omega Workshop. In observing the designs, with their notes and comments, Farr had the idea, with Matthew Bourne, of producing the rugs themselves. Five of the most lively and stimulating patterns were chosen and translated into working patterns, similar to the cartoons used by weavers. Some of the original designs had been erased by time, while others were incomplete, and after examining the range of colours used by the Omerga group, a range of colours to use for these new textiles was agreed in consultancy with the museum. The surprising results of this collaboration, these large, coloured rugs, are shown off to best effect beneath the vaulted ceilings of Somerset House.

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INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION FOR THE ATIYEH FAMILY The Atiyeh family receives the Dean’s Award from the Oregon State University College of Business

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he Austin Family Business programme at the Oregon State University College of Business has assigned the Dean’s Award for 2012 to the Atiyeh family, which is well-known to enthusiasts of Oriental rugs. This prestigious award has been given for the excellence demonstrated in the family business model. Oregon’s former governor, Victor Atiyeh, collected the prize on behalf of the family companies, which operate in the rug business: Atiyeh Bros. Inc. and by

Atiyeh International Ltd. In 1900, the Atiyeh company began to trade in carpets with outlets open to the public throughout the northwestern Pacific coast, and with a division dedicated to importing and wholesale trading in New York. At the end of the 1970s, the celebrated Atiyeh production of Persian Kerman rugs was going through the doldrums because of the Iranian revolution, but over the course of the following decades, the Atiyeh Bros. Inc headquarters in Portland, Oregon, expanded

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thanks in part to the opening of numerous showrooms in metropolitan areas, and the realisation of an innovative cleaning plant south-east of Portland, near Division Street. A second cleaning plant was acquired at Eugene in 1980, and in 2001, the public showrooms were consolidated into a single large space at Tigard, again in Oregon. Tom and Leslie Atiyeh created Atiyeh International Ltd and transferred the production of knotted rugs from Iran to China in the mid1980s, with the aim of keeping alive the heritage of traditional rugs while at the same time keeping abreast of new fashions as regards colours, in order to be able to meet the demands of changing trends in contemporary design. The members of the Atiyeh family have always involved all the family in projects with

the local community, in charity organisations such as the Salvation Army, the Royal Rosarians, the Portland Rose Festival Foundation, Rotary International, and the Opal Creek Ancient Forest Center to mention just a few. The second generation working in the family business comprises brothers Edwards, Richard and the governor, Victor Atiyeh, each of whom has contributed years of work. Now the relay is being passed to the third generation, David Atiyeh (Edward’s son) and Tom Marantette (Richard’s son-in-law), who will be leading Atiyeh Bros. in the 21st century. Tom (Victor’s son) and his wife, Leslie, have ensured that the wholesale side of the business has revived in line with the other family business, and celebrated the centenary in 2000 with a gala packed with special events, including a year-long exhibition at the Oregon History Museum. The essential points of the Dean’s Award concern the leadership in an industrial sector and/or within a community. The prize has been assigned to a family company that has demonstrated excellence in its business practice, a close attention to the family dimension, commitment to its local community and, in particular, which has excelled in all these elements which are essential in a family business. The award recognises the success of an entire family through the different generations. Ilene K. Kleinsorge, Dean of the College of Business at Oregon State University declared: “I believe that the Atiyeh family is the most meritorious for the excellence shown as model family business”.
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TEXTILE RESTORATION AT PALAZZO MADAMA, TURIN

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he Museo Palazzo Madama in Turin has been involved for some time in restoring and promoting its collection of clothes and accessories, with over 160 articles dating from the 17th to the 20th century. In 2012, Palazzo Madama restored ten textile articles in the form of embroideries dating from the 15th to the 18th centuries and a dress from the 18th century. The dress was made using a splendid lampas dating from the second quarter of the 18th century, hemmed with lace made with silver

thread. The model is a robe à la française, also called andrienne, and consists of a sack-back gown with ample folds on the back. It was very popular between 1730 and about 1760 as it was comfortable and assured great freedom of movement. To celebrate this important restoration, the dress went on show on 23rd March, together with the other restored textiles, in the textiles room of Palazzo Madama. On the same day, a conference was held, open to the public, presenting works never before displayed, and exploring the methods used by the restorers to restore and maintain these works. The day opened with a welcome from the museum’s direc42

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tor, Enrica Pagella. The busy programme included papers given by Mario Epifani on the protection of textiles, by Maria Paola Ruffino on the work done behind the scenes to preserve the museum’s textile collections, and by Moira Brunori, who revealed some details and discoveries made during the restoration of the andrienne. The museum has for some time worked on promoting the rich collection of textiles and making it known to a wider public, using it as

Opposite page, below the Andrienne after restoration; above a restorer at work. Above, detail of a restored textile Museo Palazzo Madama collection. 43

a means to explore the history, art and society of the time. Apart from the new layout of the textiles section, the following months will offer an interesting cycle of events exploring the fashions, fabrics, lace and women’s ornaments of the 18th century. These are the forthcoming events, which are well worth attending: on Saturday, 6th April, we will explore women’s fashion in the 18th century, accompanied by Silvia Mira, a fashion historian; on Saturday, 13th April, there will be a voyage among 18th-century fabrics, guided by Maria Paola Ruffino, curator of the textiles collection; and on Saturday, 20th April, visitors will be able to study the details of the decorations of dresses: embroidery, lace, trimming, presented by Gian Luca Bovenzi, textiles historian.

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SULLA VIA DELLA SETA Antichi sentieri tra Oriente e Occidente
Rome, Palazzo delle Esposizioni 27th October 2012 – 10th March 2013
on the China Sea, with Europe and into Italy, thanks to the merchants of the maritime cities of Genoa and Venice. The Silk Road can be regarded as being one of the first examples of globalisation. The caravan routes saw not only goods changing hands, but also major innovations in culture and technology. Curated by Mark Norell of the American Museum of Natural History, the exhibition is not merely an opportunity to admire extraordinary articles, evidence of the trade of the time, but also one to understand the culture of mankind, the migrations of knowledge and technology expressed through the arts and crafts, in the meetings of cultures, religions and languages. The main route of the Silk Road dates from AD 618-907. It wound from China and reached Baghdad. In the 14th century, it expanded, movBelow, entrance of Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome. Opposite page, loose leaf from the Cocarelli Codex. Recto: view of a port. Verso: treatise on vices and virtues. Northern Italy or Black Sea, late 14th century. Miniature, ink and watercolours on parchment.

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mong recent events not to be missed is the major show at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome, Sulla via della Seta. Antichi sentieri tra Oriente e Occidente (On the Silk Road. Ancient ways between East and West). Opening under the high patronage of the President of the Republic, and organised by the prestigious American Museum of Natural History in New York, it can be visited until 10th March 2013. More than 150 works are on show, some of the never before on public display. This is an important exhibition revealing the fascinating history unfolding over the centuries along the Silk Road. A long, complex route that linked the Far East, from the gates of the cities of Canton (Guangzhou) and Quinsai (Hangzhou)

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Decorated drum with domestic ox leather. Bos taurus, China,, late 19th century. Wood, leather, paper, pigments, metal and gilding. © American Museum of Natural History, Anthropology, New York.

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ing further east, to Khanbalik, where Beijing is today, and westwards to Tana, an important Genoese and Venetian colony on the eastern side of the Sea of Azov, above the Crimean peninsula. From there, the Silk Road went by

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Here lived foreign merchants, ambassadors, scholars, and it was a city that played an important role in the production of silk. Here, we can discern the first individuals: merchants, of course, but also archers, mu-

sea, reaching the ports of Istanbul, Venice, Genoa, Pisa, Antioch, Acra and Alexandria. The exhibition offers the public a new voyage through the principal cities of this ancient road. We are introduced to Cahg’an (today’s Xi’an) in China, the easternmost point of the Silk Road.

sicians, dancers, knights, and their articles – flutes, drums, cymbals and fine paintings on silk, showing the working and making of silk

in China. The exhibition continues with Turfan, an oasis in the Gobi desert, very cold in winter and hot and humid in summer, surrounded by mounDalmatic belonging to Pope Benedict XI. The main textile with small golden plant motifs, Ilkhanate Iran tains but situated below sea level. Its key feature was a rich, crowded market, where it was possior central Asia, second half of the 13th century, ble to buy all sorts of goods. Not just the silk overshot taffeta, silk and metallic thread. Inserts brought by the caravans: eastwards, the traffic with pattern of palmettes, quadrupeds and birds, bore gold, ivory, precious gems, metals and Italy, first half of the 14th century, overshot and brocaded lampas, silk and metallic thread. Convent glass, while travelling westwards, they also carried pelts, furs, ceramics, jade, bronze and lacof San Domenico, Perugia. © photo Sandro Collu.
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quered wood. It was possible to find anything at Turfan: exotic fruit, spices, aromatic and medicinal plants, colours and dyes. The virtual voyage offered to the visitor then takes him to Samarkand, famous for being a city of merchants. Tamerlane made it the capital of his empire, which stretched from India to Turkey,
Opposite page, fabric from the grave goods of Cangrande della Scala. Ilkhanate Iran or central Asia, early 14th century. Overshot lampas, silk and metallic thread. Museo di Castelvecchio, Verona. © photo Umberto Tomba. Above, fragment of woven fabric. Ilkhanate Iran, mid 14th-century. Overshot lampas, silk and metallic thread. Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence. 49

and this stimulated its great expansion. It was a home to artists and craftsmen and was the centre of the Silk Road; numerous weavers and the merchants who traded in their goods lived here too. Samarkand was an important centre of caravanserais, splendid way stations in which travellers could find board and hospitality. After leaving Samarkand, we travel to the heart of the Middle East, towards Baghdad. A cultural centre, it was famous for its writers, scientists and philosophers. At the time of the Silk Road, it represented the peak of cultural development. Leading scholars and erudite figures were able to meet in Baghdad and compare their ideas: geography, engineering, astronomy and mathematics saw their greatest developments thanks to the knowledge of men working at the Bayt al-Ḥikma or

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House of Knowledge. A city of such ferment naturally gave great freedom to the most refined craftsmanship and, to give just one example, the glass produced here travelled along the Silk Road as far as China. Before coming to the end of our journey between East and West, the visitor pays a visit to Istanbul, a rich and extremely lively city. It was here that the commercial routes throughout the Mediterranean started. The commercial port for the Silk Road, it was here that goods destined for Europe and Rome were transhipped. In the 15th century, Sultan Mahmud II created the Grand Bazaar, one of the largest roofed markets in the world, which attracted people of all confessions. The last step of this voyage is Italy. The exhibition hosted at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni has been enriched by additional sections created especially for the Italian edition and dedicated to the republics of Genoa and Venice. Curated by Luca Molà, Maria Ludovica Rosati and Alexandra Wetzel, the Italian edition pays tribute to the continuous exchange that took place between East and West, and not just of merchandise, but also of culture and knowledge. Between the 12th and 14th century, Italian merchants broadened their horizons thanks to navigation, then travelling the Silk Road in the search for precious goods in India, China and Persion. Genoa and Venice became the hubs for trade with northern Africa and the Middle East. In these sections, the areas dedicated to ceramics, glass, silMina'i bowl, Kashan, 1100-1200. Fritware with matt white glaze and painting above and below the glaze. Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah, Kuwait National Museum, Kuwait City Kuwait. © The al-Sabah Collection, Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah, Kuwait. 50

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ver and silk are especially fascinating. Concerning the textiles on display, we wish in particular to point out the fine dalmatic from Pope Benedict XI’s ceremonial dress, never before on public show. Made with fabrics of differing provenance, it is characterised by plant and flower motifs succeeding each other on the fabrics. The main textile has a taffeta background with white silk warp and weft; the overshot weave is of gold laminate, with inserts of blue silk and gold designs. It is presumed to have been made with precious fabrics taken from the pontifical treasury. Another fine article is the irregular fabric fragment made by a workshop in Lucca and now preserved in the Museo nazionale del Bargello in Florence. It has a splendid warp in white silk that plays with the background weft and overshot weave. It is decorated with drop medallions inserted into concentric frames, with flowers the length of a vertical stalk. There are pairs of facing animals at the top of the medallions. Finally, the section dedicated to paintings is also extremely interesting. These pictures reveal the presence and use of a certain type of fabric in a historic period, placed alongside the fabrics serving as model. The painted version of precise motifs and textiles reveals the importance of clearly defined fabrics in the imagination of both artists and patrons; for the most part, these fabrics made use of Tartar silk and were made in the East. There are also paintings that bare witness, on the other hand, to the development of textile workshops in Italy. This led to an industry that eventually exported throughout Europe. The velvets made in Venice arrived in the Ottoman empire where, in turn, they were imitated by Turkish weavers. And between the 15th and 16th century, Italian silks arrived at the court of the tsars in Russia.

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both Greeks and Romans. By the 14th century, fabrics of very varied forms were being made throughout Europe. The production of fabrics in 19th-century Britain may be taken as a representative style of an epoch, the reflection of the taste and social models then in vogue, but also of the political and industrial development of a nation. With the A shot of rhythm and colour. English Textile Design of the Late 19th Century, the MAK of Vienna offers the public a representative selection of textiles designed and made in England around 1900. Large and repeated patterns inspired by flowers and plants were then fashionable, and this trend had a strong

A SHOT OF RHYTHM AND COLOR English Textile Design of the Late 19th Century
Vienna, MAK 6th February – 17th October 2013

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abrics and wallpaper used to cover furnishings and the walls of a room can today be the ephemeral witness of a distant world that no longer exists. In reality, in their most refined expression, they constitute a veritable form of art whose origins lie in the Far East. Herodotus tells of textiles with geometric patterns from the Caspian area, and for a long time, the East used to supply fabrics for the furnishings of

C. Harrison Townsend, Omar, decorative fabric, London, 1893. Manufacturer: Alexander Morton & Co. Wool Purchased from E. Kopp & Co., Berlin, 1901 © Branislav Djordjevic/MAK.

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influence on English production of fabrics and wallpaper of the time. The entire collection of the MAK preserves numerous late 19th-century English works of applied art: furniture, glassware, ceramics, metalware, fabrics and rugs. Shortly after its foundation in 1863, the MAK immediately began to purchase a selection of textiles of the period, and today it possesses about 900 examples of English fabrics and rugs from the early 20th century. Decorative textile panels, often metres long, have been collected, to-

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Charles F.A. Voysey, The Pilgrim, decorative fabric, London, ca. 1893. Manufacturer: probably Alexander Morton & Co. Wool Purchased from E. Kopp & Co., Berlin, 1901 © Branislav Djordjevic/MAK.

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nese museum allows the visitor to admire the production of William Morris, alongside that of some of the most famous manufacturers, including Liberty & Co., Silver Studio and those designed by Charles F .A. Voysey, a successful English designer. The objects are laid out chronologically, in line with the project conducted by the MAK Textiles Study Collection, which has skilfully placed late 19th-century English textile production in the limelight. The fabrics by William Morris and Walter Crane are not merely objects of a rare beauty but also extraordinary testimonials of the political commitment of their designers, who through these ob-

gether with books and wallpaper, thereby documenting the level of industrial production. The exhibition offered by the Vien-

Above, William Morris, Wandle, decorative fabric, London, 1884. Manufacturer: Morris & Co. Cotton Purchased from Morris & Co., London, 1907 © Branislav Djordjevic/MAK. Right, William Morris, Honeysuckle, decorative fabric, London, 1876. Manufacturer: Thomas Wardle for Morris & Co. Cotton Purchased from Morris & Co., London, 1907 © Branislav Djordjevic/MAK. 53

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jects sought to convey a social model. The exhibition is rounded off with other objects, such as covered sofas, giving the public an idea of how these fabrics were actually used for interior decoration. Nineteenth-century Britain was a strong nation with great political and economic clout. Its leadership in the development of methods of industrial production, unchallenged for a long time, is documented comprehensively by the Victoria and Albert Museum, founded in 1852. And by the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society, an association of artists founded in 1887, which farsightedly had as its aim the promotion of a design able to offer simple forms in harmony with the materials used. A form of design at accessible prices and fabrics made for a wide public became progressively more available to the expanding middle classes of industrialised Britain, in which many objects during the later 19th century were submitted also to a continuous stylistic development. The various elegant, sumptuous designs, always two-dimensional, present in the decorative English fabrics and wallpapers, provided an important source of inspiration for Viennese artists and craftsmen, as can be seen in some of their works present in the new layout of the permanent Vienna 1900

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William Morris, Tulip & Willow, decorative fabric, London, ca. 1873. Manufacturer: Morris & Co. Cotton Purchased from Morris & Co., London, 1907 © Branislav Djordjevic/MAK. 54

collection. It is also worth noting that the long preparatory work, which has enabled the realisation of A Shot of Rhythm and Colour, has been accompanied by the imposing and valuable process of digitalisation of MAK’s entire collection of English fabrics and wallpapers. The database is accessible via www.sammlungen.MAK.at as of 5th February 2013.

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knowledge from generation to generation, find new significance for future generations? To seek answers to this question, there will be a series of works by Carol Cassidy, by Agus Ismoyo and Nia Fliam – a couple in art as in life – and by Vernal Bogren Swift. There will also be 17 treasures from the museum’s own fine collections shown alongside their most recent work, forming a highly original exhibition making it possible to appreciate the beauty of contemporary textile creativity, and showing how it is possible to preserve these artistic ex-

OUT OF SUTHEAST ASIA: ART THAT SUSTAINS
Washington D.C., The Textile Museum 12th April – 14th October 2013

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n April 2013, the Textile Museum of Washington will inaugurate the last exhibition of the year, as in October it will be

Above left, a woman reeling cotton. Hua Phan Province, Laos, 1995 (Photo by Mattiebelle Gittinger). Right, this Dai weaver is using a loom common to most Tai Lao ethnic weavers. Yunnan Province, China, 1989 (Photo by Mattiebelle Gittinger). Below, shawl, Laos, Hua Phan Province, Thai Daeng People, ca. 1900-1950 (TM 1985.31.6. Ruth Lincoln Fisher Memorial Fund).

closing for refurbishment, re-opening in 2014 with some major new features. Out of South-East Asia will present textile articles made by contemporary artists, in which tradition combines with new work. The aim is to answer an important question: in what way can forms of art today, which have evolved over a long period through the transmission of
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pressions from the world of textiles even in the most innovative interpretations proposed here. As we mentioned above, Out of South-East Asia: Art That Sustains will be the last exhibition to be held this year in its historic building on S Street, while work has already begun on the re-opening in the autumn of 2014, when the Textile Museum will become a

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centre of excellence of the nascent George Washington University Museum in a new site. Out of South-East Asia perfectly interprets this moment of transition from the old to the new, past to the future. Apart from the fine batik work made by hand in Indonesia, it is possible to admire other very interesting pieces from NorthEastern Laos. The exhibition will give the public the opportunity to understand in what way these objects succeed in inspiring new creations today. The exhibition will include six tapestries, shoes and fine furnishing fabrics created by artist Carol Cassidy. Her works generally use traditional motifs from Laos and a palette of primary colours. The artist visited Laos for the first time in 1989, when she was working as a consultant to the United Nations for a project on weaving. While she was there, she decided to remain and open a textile company with the aim of preserving local skills and techniques. During the following 20 years, Cassidy’s workshop expanded continuously, while remaining faithful to the typical weaving designs of Laos. In 2001, Lao Textiles, the company the artist set up in 1990, received the important Product Excellence Award from Unesco. Today, Carol Cassidy’s company produces textiles of the highest quality for designers in Paris, Lon-

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Opposite page, skirt (phaa sin), Laos, Oudomsai Province, Lue People, ca. 1950. TM 1992.41.1. Ruth Lincoln Fisher Memorial Fund. Above, Agus Ismoyo and Nia Fliam, Extended Family (Keluarga Besar), 2004. Loan by Lin Salisbury, Bellevue, WA. 57

don and New York. The success of her company has contributed to a rebirth in the local weaving. Nia Fliam and Agus Ismoyo instead work mainly with Indonesian batik. Batik originates from the courts of Java, where certain motifs

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were considered highly effective and powerful from a political and spiritual point of view. In 2009, Unesco added batik to the list of Cultural Heritage. Today, most batik production is industrialised, leaving artists like Fliam and Ismoyo the chance to perpetuate the spirit of this centuries-old art. As they clearly reveal with their seven spectacular tapestries in coloured silk, for which the couple have used

the typical motifs and techniques of batik in completely new ways, through analogies and references, and exploring forms of this antique art. This interest has enabled the pair to work with indigenous communities throughout the world, and this exhibition includes a collaboration with the aborigines of Australia. Out of South-East Asia will also mark the Washington debut for Vernal Bogren Swift.

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The most refined Indonesian batik uses a pattern over the whole surface. Swift, instead, adds the approach to her storybooks in the form of myths, legends and ancient women’s stories gathered during his long journeys and thanks to the strong oral tradition present at Haida Gwaii (British Columbia, in Canada), where she currently resides. Born in Kansas, Swift learned batik by herself over 40 years ago, made curious by the communicative force of such a small article. To do so, she travelled to Indonesia to learn the traditional art of batik, and more recently, she has developed techniques to use far more natural dyes (including a red obtained from pomegranates). Her works on display in the exhibition include three large triptychs with a magical subject, which perfectly reflect Swift’s style, which makes use of batik patterns in new applications. The exhibition is curated by Mattiebelle Gittinger, a leading researcher and scholar in the field of South-East Asian textiles. After gaining a doctorate at Columbia University, since 1970 she has worked directly in the field in South-East Asia, India, Myanmar (Burma), Europe and the Middle East.
Opposite page, above, Vernal Bogren Swift, Early Lessons and Lies (detail), 2007-2008. TM 2009.12.1 A/B/C. Gift from the collection of the artist. Below, Vernal Bogren Swift, A Garden of Earthquakes (detail), 2007-2008. Collection of the artist. Right, Carol Cassidy, Tai Lue Revisited with Three Bands of Tapestry, 1996. Collection of the artist. 59

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AUCTIONS
$ 18,000 RIPPON BOSWELL & CO, Wiesbaden 24 November 2012 Prices include buyer’s premium This silk ikat in the format of a square cover has been composed of a number of fragments from the beginning. The abstract field design of circles woven in diverse colours appears decidedly modern to Western eyes, exercising a powerfully suggestive visual effect. Only a few complete covers of this kind have survived. The Munich Wolff-Diepenbrock Collection contains a fragment of identical field design. 15.000,00 € 15.860,00 €

KHOTAN East Turkestan 138 x 97 cm Late 18th century Lot 193 An extremely rare rug from the oasis of Khotan showing an abstract design. White bands decorated with red diamonds form the chequerboard design of the field. The yellow, red, rose and brown squares, arranged in colour diagonals, are speckled with colourful dots positioned to produce funnel shapes. A Khotan showing the field design of this rug in the border is in an Italian collection. – Signs of age and wear, low pile. Original selvedges, both ends somewhat reduced. 25.000,00 € 36.600,00 €

BAKHSHAYESH North West Persia, Azerbaijan 410 x 285 cm Second half 19th century Lot 68

A powerful white shield shape enclosing a dark blue, flat, oval medallion has been placed on the red ground; its outline of leaves is notched at the top and bottom. The wide red outline of the medallion consists of the dotted bodies of four snakes heads opposed like yin and yang – a mysterious symbol exuding a numinous aura. – Comprising only a very few surviving early examples, this rug group was named RKO (based on the logo of an American radio station) by Ellis in 1967 as their basic design reminded him of radio waves. These RKO carpet was made in Ningxia, and may be the oldest surviving example of its kind. Corroded brown, signs of age and wear, several small repairs, low pile. 47.000,00 € 67.100,00 €

THE HERRMANN SILK IKAT Central Asia, Uzbekistan 155 x 160 cm Mid 19th century Lot 174 THE HERRMANN RKO West China, Ningxia 172 x 85 cm Late 17th century Lot 86 In the sand-coloured field, short straight lines combine to form horizontal rows or segments of arches. Originally dark brown, most of them are now heavily corroded so the white foundation is visible, producing a relief-like effect in the design. At the centre of the field lies a disc medallion in shades of blue, composed of the bodies of two dragons, their

whose heads appear above and below the medallion, arranged into diagonal pairs. Their wide-open jaws appear to disgorge the designs of the spandrels: leaves and twigs, animals, demons and devil’s masks. – New overcasting along the sides, both ends somewhat reduced, signs of age and wear, corroded brown, low spots in the pile. 18.000,00 € 15.250,00 €

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FRANCIS BACON MODERNIST RUG England/Ireland 182 x 89 cm Ca. 1929 Lot 130 A vertical rectangular rug with a mint green ground. White, beige and brown geometric designs, some with diagonal hatching. Two hatched and dotted cloud designs in brown and beige. The rug constitutes a very rare testimony of British artist Francis Bacon’s early period, in which he explored the formal language of classical modernity of ca. 1920 and the beginnings of Art Deco. Francis Bacon (1909 – 1992) was one of the most important 20th century painters. Nevertheless, he began his creative career as a designer, creating modern furniture and rugs. Having spent an unsettled childhood shaped by frequent moves within Ireland and England as well as his difficult relationship with his domineering father, Bacon began travelling while still a young man. He lived in Berlin for several months, then moved to Paris in 1927/1928. The city, then the European centre for design, gave Bacon the decisive impetus for his early work. He was particularly influenced by Ivan da Silva-Bruhns (1881-1980) and Charlotte Perriand (1903-1999), who worked for Le Corbusier (1887-1967). Bacon returned to the UK in 1929, moving into a London studio (Queensberry Mews West, South Kensington) and beginning to implement his own designs. It appears that he had modest commercial success, as he staged his first exhibition at his studio in 1929 and his second in 1930. He drew public attention, and the 1930 show was already reviewed by the press. Several carpets, now lost, are only known from photos in newspaper reviews published at the time. As of ca. 1932, Bacon turned entirely to painting, losing interest in interior design and design. He considered his own work inadequate and not sufficiently original, destroying several pieces and throwing others away. Rogers and de Noronha estimate that a maximum of 20 rugs were woven to Bacon’s designs, of which 14 examples are documented or still extant. In 2009, two previously unknown green-ground rugs displaying the late Cubist style appeared at a British auction (Netherhampton, Salisbury, Wiltshire), with the name FRANCIS BACON knotted in large, conspicuous block letters in the lower section of the field. Upon enquiry, the Francis Bacon Foundation confirmed for the British auctioneer the authenticity of the carpets as items woven to the artist’s designs. This carpet is from a London private collection, and together with the other two carpets mentioned earlier it falls into a homogenous group as regards their design, palette, dimensions and structure. The

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only difference is the missing signature. According to Rogers’ and de Noronha’s research, the design of the three carpets closely follows a 1927 rug knotted in France by Ivan da Silva Bruhns (then the most famous French rug artist), which served as the model for Bacon’s design. However, Bacon changed the range of

colours to suit his own ideas, probably to appeal to his fellow countrymen’s and potential buyers’ taste. It has been noted that the mint green ground colour recurs in several of Bacon’s paintings and was obviously a hue that Bacon appreciated in particular. The coarse knotting structure seen in the three

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green carpets differs from the other surviving Bacon carpets, which are more finely woven. It can be assumed that the latter were produced in the Royal Wilton Carpet Factory. The three green carpets, on the other hand, may have been woven in Ireland, Bacon’s old home, possibly in Killybegs in Co. Donegal. The fact that these carpet does not, or rather, does not yet contain a signature leads us to assume that it may have been a prototype and thus one of the earliest Bacon carpets, probably dating from 1929. 40.000,00 € 61.000,00 € missing all around. Backed with canvas. 9.000,00 € 8.540,00 €

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SEVAN KAZAK South West Caucasus 232 x 172 cm Mid 19th century Lot 213

CAPPADOCIAN KILIM Central Anatolia 400 x 160 cm Pre 1800 Lot 271

An early Sevan Kazak woven in light, transparent colours. The huge two-dimensional shield medallion fills the field almost completely. The dot design of the medallion and the stylised trees outside the medallion are typical features of this sub-group. – Slight signs of wear in the pile of the upper section QASHQA’I KASHKULI South West Persia, Fars 145 x 95 cm Late 19th century Lot 84

This two-panel kilim presents a design of four compartments containing huge, comb-like motifs of vertical and horizontal bars with ‘zip fastener’ outlines and double hooks. Evidently a very old piece dating from the 18th century, it was probably woven in Central Anatolia. Obvious signs of age and wear, holes and missing areas, the original finishes are

A Qashqa’i Kashkuli of extremely fine weave, including purple silk wefts. In the cream field, a midnight blue shield medallion encloses the Qashqa’i gül, flanked by two flowering trees growing from small vases. The branches in the field and the entire border design show the stylistic influence of North Indian Mughal period carpets. 5.800,00 € 4.880,00 € of the field, otherwise in good condition, including the original selvedges. 18.000,00 € 17.080,00 €

BIJOV East Caucasus, Kuba 147 x 107 cm Mid 19th century Lot 179 This antique Bijov showing a generous design layout and a rich palette of mellow patinated colours is obviously a fairly early example. Two small gables have been suggested at the upper end of the field. Somewhat reduced ends, cut sides, replaced selvedges. Corroded brown, uniformly low pile. 6.500,00 € 5.368,00 €

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TUDUC DOUBLE NICHE CARPET Eastern Europe, Romania 184 x 124 cm 1925-1940 Lot 309 This Ushak copy (modelled on a classic Ushak with a double niche design and a small central medallion dating ca. 1600, e.g. cat. 21 in the Vienna museum) is probably from Teodor Tuduc’s Bucharest workshop, where it would have been woven in the interwar period. Current knowledge allows us to quickly identify this example as a fake: the structure, wool, deviations in drawing and use of chemical dyes leave us in no doubt. In the past, the rug community was not prepared for such fakes and did not recognise them at first (see the interesting article on Ghereh n. 50). Tuduc copies were often mistaken for antique originals and included in the collections of major museums or important private collections. 2.500,00 € 2.648,00 € PETAG TABRIZ North West Persia, Azerbaijan 381 x 301 cm Ca. 1925-1940 Lot 103 A carpet from the factory of PETAG (Persische Teppich Gesellschaft A.G. – Persian Car-

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pet plc) of Tabriz, reliably identified by the company’s cintamani “signature”, here seen in the top left corner. The Clam Gallas carpet (Herat, late 16th century), now in the Austrian Museum of Applied Arts/Contemporary Art, Vienna, served as the model for this example. 4.700,00 € 4.148,00 €

SARYK TORBA Central Asia, West Turkestan 43 x 102 cm 18th century or earlier Lot 148

Extremely rare, this Saryk torba displaying the kejebe design was probably woven as early as the 18th century, although it could be even older. The design, with a powerful box motif placed at the centre of the field, has been drawn to a large scale that allows all the motifs to develop freely. This feature clearly distinguishes the torba from later examples of this type. The composition is accentuated by brilliant white cotton outlines, with small design details picked out in silk. Signs of age and wear. Mounted and framed. 3.000,00 € 23.790,00 €

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NAGEL AUKTIONEN, Stuttgart 11 September 2012 Prices include buyer’s premium AKSTAFA Caucasus 283 x 114 cm Late 19th ct. Lot 38

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YUNTDAG West Anatolia 185 x 185 cm 19th ct. Lot 32

Akstafa long rug with original four medallions, large birds and small animals and human figures. All sides original (Macramè fringes partially damaged), good pile. 1.800,00 € 3.600,00 €

A Yuntdag all-over star pattern rug with beautiful apple-green and brick-red. Restored, localised heavy wear. 1.600,00 € 1.600,00 €

GUBPA Caucasus 156 x 94 cm 1900 circa Lot 46 Gupba Shirvan with only two medallions and ornamented with small birds and an animal. 3.000,00 € 3.000,00 €

SUMAKH Caucasus 216 x 235 cm Last quarter 19th ct. Lot 40 A square Sumakh with three diamond medallions flanked by palmettes. Original ends with Macramè fringes. 3.000,00 € 2.000,00 €

GENDJE Caucasus 285 x 135 cm Late 19th ct. Lot 44 Gendje with offset rows of multicoloured floretts. Ends newly secured, fold wear. 1.200,00 € 1.200,00 €

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ASMALIK Northern Afghanistan 55 x 149 cm 1900 circa Lot 122 A seven side Asmalik patterned with Ashik motifs in comb compartments separated by Botteh friezes with Djudur border, Ersari-group. 1.500,00 € 1.500,00 € SHIRVAN Caucasus 233 x 105 cm Late 19th ct. Lot 48 Shirvan rug with flower patterned white field and wide Kufesque border. Restored. 1.400,00 € 1.600,00 € KAZAK KARACHOPH Caucasus 194 x 155 cm Second half 19th ct. Lot 50 Kazak Karachoph with two partially covered

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bird figures. Localised heavy wear and oxidised black. 2.500,00 € 3.300,00 €

SILK EMBROIDERY Probably Ottoman 105 x 55 cm 18/19 ct. Lot 140

Silk embroidery on silk fabric. Backed and mounted on a frame. 800,00 € 800,00 €

BESHIR TORBA Turkmenistan 38 x 75 cm Secon half 19th ct. Lot 118 Torba Beshir with so called serpent or cloud band design and ornamented with Bottehs, eight pointed stars, dots, a flower and a cross ornament on beautiful coloured field of brown, blue and green tones. Parts of the border missing, overall good pile with some wear. 2.100,00 € 2.100,00 €

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DOROTHEUM, Wien 26 September 2012 Prices include buyer’s premium NINGHSIA SILK West China 250 x 170 cm 19th century Lot 47 and cypress trees on a red ground, the carpet is in a very damaged condition, heavy moth damage with exposed warps and a larger hole area. 1.500,00-2.000,00 € 6.250,00 € NINGHSIA West China approx. 283 x 147 cm 1st half of the 19th century Lot 48

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ALEPPO KILIM North Syria approx. 330 x 111 cm early 20th century Lot 23

Silk pile on cotton foundation, medallion carpet with peonies and foliate lattice, despite some signs of wear on the golden silk pile, an exceptional piece with rare value. 13.000,00-15.000,00 € 14.940,00 €

BAKHSHAYESH Northwest Persia approx. 392 x 367 cm 2nd half of the 19th century Lot 15 Square garden carpet with rows of willows

Early carpet with specific Chinese medallion which is characterised by central protruding points and notches at the corners, the further woven image shows a square grid surrounded with the classical swastika main border. 1.000,00-1.600,00 € 2.125,00 €

SHAKHRISYABZ SUZANI Uzbekistan approx. 241 x 158 cm mid-19th century Lot 7 Typically, Suzanis are textiles marked by a widespread presence of abstract floral motifs, which here form repeated medallions over the surface. There are numerous references to the decorative Ottoman tradition and to Sassanid Persian textiles. The silk embroidery is made with six panels and cotton base, and reveals a highly packed pattern that makes it truly unique. There is no significant damage to the underlying fabric, which is stretched over a frame. 6.000,00-8.000 € 6.250,00 €

Aleppo was part of the Ottoman Empire until 1918, early Ottoman cotton slit weave. Old Kilims of this group are extremely rare and sought after collectors’ pieces. 2.600,00-3.000 € 5.000,00 €

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WOVEN TEXTILE Isili (CA), Sardinia, Italy Circa 1900 230 x 65 cm Lot 843 This item is marked by a high degree of abstraction, and is divided into horizontal panels, alternating black and a burnt red colour. The decoration is formed of motifs of highly geometric birds and stylised trees with small female figures beneath. Tribal design.

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WOVEN TEXTILE Area of Oristano, Sardinia, Italy, Circa 1900 260 x 62 cm Lot 845

WANNENES, Genova 28 November 2012 Prices include buyer’s premium

IKAT SILK TEXTILE Uzbekistan 19th century

172 x 110 cm Lot 903 A weave in three colours, comprising three panels in good condition with some traces of wear. 300,00-350,00 € 620,00 €

500,00-700,00 € 1.860,00 €

The central field is covered with a complex geometric decoration of floral origin. The black wool contrasts with other wools of bright, intense colours. 500,00-700,00 € 682,00 €

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BOOKS & CATALOGUES
LE PASTEL en pays d’oc
Sandrine Banessy Tourisme Média Éditions, Labège 2002 A small but carefully produced book to discover the origins, This sought-after blue is extracted from the leaves in the first year of life in a long and complex process. First the leaves are left to macerate and ferment in water, thus creating a yellowy-green solution. The liquid is then submitted to a process of alkalising and oxygenation, producing a precipitate called indigotin which is then dried to produce the final powdered colour. Woad produces a very solid colour that lasts well in time, an extraordinary blue used to dye fabrics, wool, silk, cotton and linen, but also in painting, in the making of oils, and in cosmetics, to produce soaps and creams. With its numerous illustrations and reproductions of antique prints, the book provides a simple and readable account of the origins of the cultivation of woad in Europe, and of how it spread through France in the 12th century, first in Normandy and then, thanks to its mild winters, to the area around Toulouse, where it reached its maximum expansion. During the 14th century, the Occitan region and the triangle formed by the towns of Toulouse, Albi and Carcassonne in particular, formed the centre of woad production. This book takes the reader into the golden age of woad, when the Occitan region became the centre of a flourishing trade towards the main cities of Europe: London, Antwerp and the most important towns of Germany and Italy. The weaving industry began to prosper in the Middle Ages and continued to expand,

history and uses of pastel or woad, the plant from which a precious blue is extracted, and to learn about the cities of Toulouse and Albi in southern France from another point of view. Obtaining a blue tint in a natural way is not a simple affair; there are only a few ways possible: for example, by mixing linen oil and powdered lapis lazuli. Probably for this reason too, blue is considered the best colour to associate with the idea of nobility and purity, especially from the 13th century onwards, when it became the colour most commonly used to depict the Virgin Mary. A plant from which blue can be extracted is the woad (or glastum), also known by its Latin name, Isatis tinctoria. It is a shrub from the brassicaceae family, similar to liquorice, with a dense crown and woody root that goes deep into the soil.

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BOOKS & CATALOGUES

eventually causing an economic war that ranged well beyond the frontiers of Europe, and woad played an important role in it between the 12th and 16th century. But once indigo began to arrive in Europe, breaking down the initial difficul-

ties in importing it, woad began a long decline; the plant cultivated in the East made it possible to obtain a cheaper blue. The book is published in English and French and tells of the fortunes and adventures of the great French and other merchants, the stories of collectors and of the dyers, and their secrets for obtaining an intense blue. It is rounded off with some recipes for experiencing the rudiments of the master dyers’ art, and to dis69

cover the nutritional virtues of woad leaves. And finally, there is a brief glossary of technical terms.

Bilingual (English and French). 96 pp., colour and black and white illustrations.

BOOKS & CATALOGUES

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also in Europe and the United States, to observe and study the most interesting examples of Afshar rugs. This book has the merit of bringing together articles belonging to various collectors and thus of offering comprehensive vision of the different productions over the years. The first part is a historic overview, recounting the tumultuous events affecting the Afshar tribe and its origins. Originating in Azerbaijan, during the reign of Shah Tahmasp (I524-I587), the tribe was forced to move south to the zone it currently occupies.

AFSHAR. Tribal Weaves From Southeast Iran
Parviz Tanavoli MATN, Tehran 2010

nality of which is extremely striking. Afshar women have an extraordinary ability to reinterpret the work of other populations every time they come across them. In what-

This attractive monograph is wholly dedicated to Afshar rugs and the nomadic tribe of the same name that creates them. In a simple but detailed manner, it reconstructs the history of a little-known tribe of nomads that has helped enrich the history and production of rugs. Afshar rugs have for a long time been studied in a muddled, rather superficial way, but like Qashqai carpets, they deserve special treatment, as in the case of this work by Parviz Tanavoli, an artist and scholar. This volume is the result of long years of research and numerous voyages, not only in Iran – and in particular in the province of Kerman – but

Despite the violence done to the tribe, the women have woven thousands of splendid rugs, creating a valuable cultural and artistic heritage. These rugs present an unusual pattern, the origi70

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BOOKS & CATALOGUES

ever area they are forced to move to, they have succeeded in borrowing models and patterns from their neighbours and integrate them into their own textile tradition. Some rugs, for instance, reveal the influence

of Kerman rugs, with floral motifs, medallions, vases and birds. The result is an integral rewriting, re-imagining and re-assembling of patterns and motifs borrowed by the Afshar weavers, leading to
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original, creative pieces that push the model from which they drew inspiration into the background. And indeed, many prefer the work of this nomadic tribe to that of the originators providing the models that have been re-in-

BOOKS & CATALOGUES

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terpreted. However, in the past this aspect made the attribution of Afshar artifacts somewhat difficult, as they were often confused with the originals that inspired them. A whole section of the volume is dedicated to this theme, presenting a detailed study of the type of knots and account of an analysis made of about 25 19th-century Afshar rugs. Warp, weft, fleece, number of knots, weave, appearance and finish are all examined, and the reader is given then instruments needed to identify an Afshar rug. The most interesting part of the monograph is the series of illustrations for each rug catalogued: more than 100, all in colour, with detailed historical and critical descriptions of the articles shown. Among the many rugs illustrated is a particularly appealing Sirjan (ill. 14). The classic motif of the central medallion is borrowed by the Afshar culture and integrated within motifs from its own tradition. The rug illustrated is without doubt one of the oldest Afshar medallion rugs. Its beauty derives from its simplicity and harmony of colours. The ivory ground further reinforces the depiction of the medallion, and the diagonal lines framing it help to add appeal to the whole rug. Perhaps the most

BOOKS & CATALOGUES

interesting result achieved by the weaver is the use of blue, which softly outlines the medallion and emphasises the medallion against the ivory-coloured background even more. The volume ends with a detailed bibliography, which
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will prove a valuable tool for anyone wishing to pursue the subject further.

Bilingual (English and Farsi). 304 pp., colour illustrations. Hardbound with dust-jacket.

CHAYKHANÉ
BUDDHA’S BRUSH, BUDDHA’S PASTE How the vision of Buddha Amita ¯ bha’s Pure Land was brought to life again
Natalie Kleber She was born in Ludwigshafen, Germany, in 1981. She studied sociology, philosophy and English philology at the University of Heidelberg and holds a master degree in both sociology and English. Since 2009 she has been working as a teacher and as a freelance journalist.

T
WORK.

BUDDHA’S BRUSH, BUDDHA’S PASTE BY THE RESTORATION EXPERT HAI-YEN HUA-STROEFER IS THE RESULT OF AN EXTENSIVE CASE-STUDY OF ONE BUDDHIST PAINTING, A RARE JAPANESE TAIMA-MANDALA OF THE 14TH CENTURY. IT INVESTIGATES THE PAINTING ON VARIOUS LEVELS. AT FIRST, THE
HE NEW PUBLICATION READER IS INVITED TO FOLLOW THE RESTORATION

FAR EASTERN WORKING METHODS ARE EXPLAINED IN DETAIL. THEN THE MANDALA’ S ORIGIN IS PRESENTED , FOLLOWING THE SPREAD OF B UDDHISM ALONG THE S ILK ROAD, TO ITS FULL FLOWERING IN TANG DYNASTY CHINA, AND ONWARD TO JAPAN. FINALLY, THE
AND AUTHOR REVEALS THE SPIRITUAL CONTENT OF THE

EUROPEAN

Hua did not yet imagine that her work on this elaborate silk painting, a rare Japanese Taima-Mandala of the 14th century, which is a visual translation of Buddha Amita ¯bha ‘s Contemplation Su ¯ tra, would evolve into the largest, most demanding and most interesting project she had ever had the opportunity to embark upon; a once-in-a-lifetime experience that would take her on a long voyage of discovery, extending beyond the conventional confines of restoration practice, tracing back major historic events and unfolding the spiritual insights and secrets at the back of it. «Just as a cocoon slowly unravels when the

TAIMA-MANDALA, SU ¯ TRA.

WHICH IS A PICTORIAL REPRE-

SENTATION OF THE

AMITA ¯ YUS VISUALIZATION

It was on a sunny morning in April 2004 that an especially equipped truck arrived at the workshop of the restoration expert Hai-Yen Hua-Stroefer in Germany, delivering a large package. After Ms Hua had carried it into her workshop and had unraveled multitudinous layers of packaging, a Buddhist painting (measuring 2 x 2 m) emerged, enclosed in a gigantic glass frame. At this point in time, Ms

Hai-Hua-Yen Stroefer at work. 74

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silken thread is pulled, the picture’s design, its painting techniques and its historical and spiritual background yielded up their secrets to me as the work proceeded». Ms Hua reminisces.

CHAIKHANÉ
ditionally, the so-called “sandwich”-technique was invented for protection. The refinement of wheat paste as a major adhesive substance was done in numerous steps, involving special apparatus and tools. The actual mending of the picture was facilitated through a construction called the “light tube”, which enabled the restorer to reach every section of the large painting and to detect defects easily. Afterwards new “life layers” were applied for stabilization, following a well-thought out pattern to avoid tension.

During the restoration process, it was essential to work with particular caution, since the Mandala was actually in a very fragile condition. Due to unprofessional mounting and framing, the silk painting had been exposed to air-circulation at the back, and had consequently lost much of its original colour pigment. Besides, it One of the most innoshowed countless vative features was instains and tears, and dubitably the use of was in danger of Sequences by the long process of restoration. silk glue in restoration falling apart at the in order to secure the slightest movement. front of the picture. After having gained After many expericonsiderable experiments, silk glue, ence in the field, new which is also called technological “sericin”, had turned processes were triout to be the most apalled, suitable materipropriate adhesive to als sought out, appromatch the silk paintpriate tools and speing. It is thought that cial equipment this was the first time designed and built. in history that silk The restoration work, glue had been utilised which covered a span of one year, involved in a restoration process. After many months both modern and traditional restoration of intense work, the formerly damaged and techniques, European as well as Far Eastern fragile picture was set into a new frame and working methods. finally shone in all its original glory. The vast size and the critical condition of the painting rendered a special and careful treatment indispensable. Thus, a multifunctional trough was constructed for wet cleaning. Ad75

Having developed a strong connection to the artwork, Ms Hua decided to set out on her own journey of investigation - she endeavoured to learn far more about the cultural

CHAIKHANÉ
and spiritual background of this magnificent work of art. Her search led her to the origins of Buddhist philosophy in Ancient India. It was in the northern region of India that the groundbreaking Su ¯ tras of Buddha Amita ¯bha had been formulated. These had soon been translated into Chinese; the first illustrations were created of Buddha Amita ¯bha’s Pure Land, which is at the centre of the Contemplation Su ¯ tra. They can be found as wall paintings in the caves of Mo-gao near Dunhuang. Later on, more complex versions found their expression as paintings on textiles. «Tang Dynasty China experienced a considerable boom on the textile market along the Silk Road, providing a substantial boost for spurring the weaving manufactory», Ms Hua explains. According to the histories, it was around 550 CE that Buddhism found its way from China via Korea to Japan, where it was first adopted by the aristocracy and then promoted by the ruling class. Many Chinese religious artefacts and cultural goods thus arrived at the island realm. Ms Hua’s enquiries revealed that in the 8th century CE, a very elaborate Buddhist Mandala was found in the Taima-Temple near Nara, Japan. It was considered the most perfect pictorial representation of the Contemplation Sūtra. Fascinated by the harmony of the painting and its richness of detail, Ms Hua’s attention was then drawn to the actual content and its message. Step by step, the medieval painting yielded up its secrets. «The Su ¯ tra is presented as a huge historical theatre play, leaving the spectator to follow the single scenes on three different stages, ultimately culminating in the central finale»,
One of the scenes depicted in the Taima-Mandala, detail.

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she comments. On the first stage, the drama of an Indian royal family can be witnessed, narrating worldly themes of betrayal, temptation, compassion, life and death. On the second stage, a path to wisdom is delineated, providing profound solutions for worldly hardships. On the last two stages, the secret of the Pure Land is revealed, and the aspirants are welcomed by Buddha Amita ¯bha. These findings have recently been documented by her in a book titled Buddha’s
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CHAIKHANÉ

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Brush, Buddha’s Paste, which is beautifully designed and furnished with 363 colour illustrations. The bilingual book (English/German) represents the author’s outstanding ability to design and to create high-quality pictorial material, as well as her untiring commitment to capturing and comprehending all the aspects of the artwork and to portraying the vision of the Pure Land. It is a pleasure to embark with her on this journey, starting with the physical aspect of the restoration process in order to arrive finally at the spiritual concepts that underpinned the painter’s artistic vision. The book includes, a.o., a preface by Huimin Bhiksu, President of the Dharma Drum Buddhist College, Taiwan, and Professor at the Taipei National University of the Arts, and also a foreword by Dr. Claudius Müller, Director of the Munich State Museum of Ethnology. These perspicacious and scholarly
Opposite, the Taima-Mandala after the delicate and intese restoration work. Above, some shots from the restoration workshop of Hai-Hua-Yen Stroefer.

comments truly enrich the work, and succeed in establishing a reference to the topical issues and challenges of our era. About the author: Ms Hai-Yen Hua-Stroefer was born in Taipei, Taiwan. She studied History of art, German language and literature, and Graphic design in Taiwan, in the US and in Switzerland. Her education has taken her to the Bavarian State Library in Munich, the Austrian National Library in Vienna, the Palace Museum in Taipei, and the Abegg Foundation in Riggisberg/Switzerland. She is a certified expert for art on paper and textiles, and can look back on a career in restoration comprising three decades. The patients in her workshop have been no lesser luminaries than the works by ToulouseLautrec, Cezanne, Dürer, Nolde, Maria Sybilla Merian, and also front-ranking Asian artists.

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WELCOME TO TH OUR 20 YEAR

The first issue was published in February 1993

Reading Ghereh opens a window on the world of rugs.

One of the few international magazines dedicated to textiles arts and the art of Oriental rugs,

Ghereh gives a voice to many elements of these ancients arts. Elements of beauty, harmony and peace.