tappeti tibetani

Transcription

tappeti tibetani

51
51
21 st Year
18:29
In this issue: Timurid rugs. F. Fiorentino. The Cypress, the Rose and the Parrot. B. Biedronska Slota.
12-06-2013
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
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Tappeti Antichi e Classici
Reading Ghereh
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pubb kerman inglese:05 EDITORIALEnew
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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.
ON SALE AT GHEREH PUBLICATIONS:WWW.GHEREH.ORG
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ISSUE N.51
INTERNATIONAL CARPET & TEXTILE REVIEW
7
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.
2
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WWW. GHEREH . ORG
News
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INTERNATIONAL CARPET & TEXTILE REVIEW
39
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
48
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.
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.
CHAIRMAN & EDITOR:
Taher Sabahi
Auctions
60
EDITOR IN CHIEF:
Farian Sabahi
The results and exceptional items to go on sale in recent
auctions dedicated to rugs and textiles.
Books
ACADEMIC COMMITTEE:
Murray Eiland Jr., Carol Bier,
Jennifer Wearden,
Siawosch Azadi, Wielfred Stanzer,
Oktay Aslanapa, Feng Zhao,
Beata Biedrońska-Słota,
Parviz Tanavoli, Jennifer Scarce.
68
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.
Chaykhané
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
74
The passionate tale of the complex restoration of a rare
14th-century Japanese Taima-Mandala.
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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.
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ISSN: 1124-335X
3
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Ratzinger and Pope Francis in the Vatican. Accompanied by a splendid floral Kerman from southern Persia.
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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
x
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TIMURID RUGS
From the Mongol hordes
to decorated rugs
Francesca Fiorentino
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-
7
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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GHEREH
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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GHEREH
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.
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-
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
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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TIMURID RUGS
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
GHEREH
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
10
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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GHEREH
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
11
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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TIMURID RUGS
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
GHEREH
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
12
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.
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TIMURID RUGS
GHEREH
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
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.
13
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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TIMURID RUGS
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
GHEREH
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
14
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.
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GHEREH
15
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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 geome-
GHEREH
tric 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
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
ART 1
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TIMURID RUGS
GHEREH
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.
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
17
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
ART 1
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TIMURID RUGS
GHEREH
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.
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
19
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.
ART 1
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TIMURID RUGS
GHEREH
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
ART 1
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TIMURID RUGS
GHEREH
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.
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,
21
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.
DOPPIA PUB:Layout 1
24-05-2013
16:09
Pagina 1
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03 BEATA ENGL.qxp:09-23
ART 1
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THE CYPRESS,
THE ROSE,
AND THE PARROT
Silk Tapestries and Rugs from
Persia in Polish Collections
Beata Biedronska Slota
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
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.
23
Part I
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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THE CYPRESS, THE ROSE AND THE PARROT
GHEREH
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
24
Tomb cover, silk multiple cloth,
enriched with metal thread.
Inscribed: the work of Ghiyat,
Yazd, c. 1600, National Museum
of Tehran (235 cm).
ART 1
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GHEREH
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
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-
ART 1
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Pagina 26
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
GHEREH
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
26
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-
Silk twill, enriched with metal
thread. Isfahan, middle 17th
century. Textile Museum
of the District of Columbia.
ART 1
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GHEREH
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
27
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
ART 1
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GHEREH
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.
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
28
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,
Twill tapestry, silk and metal
thread, detail. 16th century.
Czartorysky Museum (275 x 212
cm).
ART 1
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Pagina 29
GHEREH
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
29
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
ART 1
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Pagina 30
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
GHEREH
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
30
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.
ART 1
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GHEREH
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
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
31
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.
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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
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,
33
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
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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
34
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-
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
35
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.
04 NOTIZIE-MOSTRE ENGL in 6 pag 48.qxp:49-61NOTIZIE
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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
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
A
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.
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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
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
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.
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.
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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
T
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
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
T
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
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.
Opposite page, below the Andrienne after
restoration; above a restorer at work.
Above, detail of a restored textile
Museo Palazzo Madama collection.
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EXHIBITIONS
SULLA VIA DELLA SETA
Antichi sentieri tra Oriente
e Occidente
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, mov-
Rome, Palazzo delle Esposizioni
27th October 2012 – 10th March 2013
A
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)
Below, 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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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
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,
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
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.
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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, sil-
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.
Mina'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.
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A SHOT OF RHYTHM
AND COLOR
English Textile Design
of the Late 19th Century
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
Vienna, MAK
6th February – 17th October 2013
F
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-
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
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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
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.
William Morris, Tulip & Willow, decorative fabric,
London, ca. 1873.
Manufacturer: Morris & Co. Cotton Purchased
from Morris & Co., London, 1907
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OUT OF SUTHEAST ASIA:
ART THAT SUSTAINS
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-
Washington D.C., The Textile Museum
12th April – 14th October 2013
I
15:21
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).
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
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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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-
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
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.
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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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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 €
$ 18,000
RIPPON BOSWELL & CO, Wiesbaden
24 November 2012
Prices include buyer’s premium
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
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.
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
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
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
61
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 €
CAPPADOCIAN KILIM
Central Anatolia
400 x 160 cm
Pre 1800
Lot 271
GHEREH
missing all around. Backed with canvas.
9.000,00 €
8.540,00 €
SEVAN KAZAK
South West Caucasus
232 x 172 cm
Mid 19th century
Lot 213
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-
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 €
63
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NAGEL AUKTIONEN, Stuttgart
11 September 2012
YUNTDAG
West Anatolia
185 x 185 cm
19th ct.
Lot 32
GHEREH
AKSTAFA
Caucasus
283 x 114 cm
Late 19th ct.
Lot 38
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
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
Kazak Karachoph with two partially covered
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 €
65
12-06-2013
15:33
Pagina 66
AUCTIONS
DOROTHEUM, Wien
26 September 2012
NINGHSIA SILK
West China
250 x 170 cm
19th century
Lot 47
GHEREH
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
ALEPPO KILIM
North Syria
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 €
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 €
BAKHSHAYESH
Northwest Persia
2nd half of the 19th century
Lot 15
SHAKHRISYABZ SUZANI
Uzbekistan
mid-19th century
Lot 7
Square garden carpet with rows of willows
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 €
66
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 €
12-06-2013
15:33
Pagina 67
AUCTIONS
GHEREH
WOVEN TEXTILE
Isili (CA), Sardinia, Italy
Circa 1900
230 x 65 cm
Lot 843
WOVEN TEXTILE
Area of Oristano, Sardinia, Italy,
Circa 1900
260 x 62 cm
Lot 845
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.
WANNENES, Genova
28 November 2012
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 €
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 €
500,00-700,00 €
1.860,00 €
67
06 LIBRI ENGL.qxp:85-89 LIBRI 42 NEW
12-06-2013
17:23
Pagina 68
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,
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.
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
68
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,
12-06-2013
17:23
Pagina 69
BOOKS & CATALOGUES
GHEREH
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.
12-06-2013
17:23
Pagina 71
BOOKS & CATALOGUES
AFSHAR.
Tribal Weaves From
Southeast Iran
Parviz Tanavoli
MATN, Tehran 2010
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
GHEREH
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.
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
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-
12-06-2013
17:23
Pagina 72
BOOKS & CATALOGUES
GHEREH
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
71
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-
12-06-2013
17:23
BOOKS & CATALOGUES
Pagina 73
GHEREH
72
12-06-2013
17:23
Pagina 74
BOOKS & CATALOGUES
GHEREH
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
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
73
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.
07 chai ENGL.qxp:09-23
ART 1
12-06-2013
15:54
Pagina 74
CHAYKHANÉ
BUDDHA’S BRUSH, BUDDHA’S PASTE
How the vision of Buddha Amitābha’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
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
WORK.
EUROPEAN
FAR EASTERN WORKING
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
METHODS ARE EXPLAINED IN DETAIL.
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 Amitābha ‘s
Contemplation Sūtra, 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.
AUTHOR REVEALS THE SPIRITUAL CONTENT OF THE
TAIMA-MANDALA,
WHICH IS A PICTORIAL REPRE-
SENTATION OF THE
«Just as a cocoon slowly unravels when the
AMITĀYUS VISUALIZATION
SŪTRA.
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
ART 1
12-06-2013
15:54
Pagina 75
CHAIKHANÉ
GHEREH
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.
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. Ad-
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
75
ART 1
12-06-2013
15:54
Pagina 76
CHAIKHANÉ
GHEREH
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 Sūtras of Buddha Amitābha
had been formulated. These had soon been
translated into Chinese; the first illustrations
were created of Buddha Amitābha’s Pure
Land, which is at the centre of the Contemplation Sūtra. 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 Sūtra 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»,
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 Amitābha.
These findings have recently been documented by her in a book titled Buddha’s
One of the scenes depicted in the Taima-Mandala,
detail.
76
ART 1
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Pagina 77
CHAIKHANÉ
GHEREH
77
ART 1
12-06-2013
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Pagina 78
CHAIKHANÉ
GHEREH
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.
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.
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.
78
79 ing:95-INSERZIONISTI ITA
12-06-2013
17:30
Pagina 85
GHEREH IS AVAILABLE
USA:
THE TEXTILE MUSEUM
2320 Street NW Washington DC
20008-4088 Tel. +1 202 6670441
MYRNA BLOOM THE EAST
WEST ROOM
3139 Alpine Drive, Dresher Pennsylvania
Tel. 215 657 0178 - Fax 215 657 66885
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Tel. +1 310 3130177
SOBHE
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Los Angeles, California 90035
Tel. 310 7709085 Fax 310 8600462
IRAN: THE CARPET MUSEUM
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INDIEN: INT. PUBLICITY
SERVICE
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Tel +49 6913389595 / [email protected]
FRANCE: LIBRAIRIE DU MUSÉE DU
LOUVRE
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To subscribe, send an e-mail to: [email protected]
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79
99 Ultima pagina:Layout 1
12-06-2013
16:30
Pagina 1
WELCOME TO
TH
OUR 20 YEAR
The first issue was
published in February 1993
Retro COP GH51 modif:COP GH44 1-2-3-4 INGL
12-06-2013
19:01
Pagina 2
www.taher-sabahi.com
Sabahi Gallery
Since 1961
Tappeti Antichi e Classici
Reading Ghereh
opens a window
on the world of rugs.
Laboratorio di Restauro e Conservazione
Scuola di Tappetologia fondata nel 1984
Ufficio Peritale - Perizie Legali ed Ereditarie
Ghalibaf Museum (Museo del Tessitore)
Biblioteca
One of the few international
magazines dedicated to
textiles arts and the art of
Oriental rugs,
TORINO - C.so Vittorio Emanuele II, 40
Tel. +39 011 817 23 86 - +39 011 817 80 93 - Fax +39 011 817 07 09
Ghereh gives a voice to many
elements of these ancients arts.
Elements of beauty,
harmony and peace.
51
51
21 st Year
18:29
In this issue: Timurid rugs. F. Fiorentino. The Cypress, the Rose and the Parrot. B. Biedronska Slota.
12-06-2013
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
COP GH51 1-2-3-4 ENGL:COP GH44 1-2-3-4 INGL
Pagina 1

tappeti tibetani

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