ISSUE 141 JULY/AUGUST 2005

C O N T E N T S & EDITORIAL

17 |LETTERS

A proto-Pueblo blanket; leadership at the TM.

19 |NEWS

Goldman ikats gifted; Met appoints Islamic Art head; Khalili Research Centre for Oxford.

20|POSTCARD

Diana Collins travels to Nagaland.

23 |PREVIEW

Fairs: Santa Fe, Sartirana returns; Exhibitions: Moroccan rugs in Jerusalem; Malay art.

33 |CALENDAR

Auctions, exhibitions, fairs and conferences.

35 |GALLERY

House style advertisements.

39 |BOOKS

Heybe; Living Fabric: Weaving among the Nomads o f Ladakh Himalaya: Liao Textiles and Costumes.

42 |FORUM

Nunzio Crisa on the Xinjiang pomegranate design.

44 |WINGS OF DESIRE

Jam e s Reid The featherwork tradition that was a vital elem ent o f life and death in ancient Peru.

48 |CAMELID CONSTELLATIONS

Vanessa D rake Moraga The first o f three articles looking at the way animals are depicted in pre-Columbian weaving.

52 |WEAVING IS BELIEVING

Navajo Sandpainting Tapestries T yrone D. Cam pbell The medicine man who dared to weave the secret healing chantways o f Navajo ceremonial.

58 |AMERICA’S UNITED

NATIONS Kathy Notarnicola The Smithsonian’s National Museum o f the American Indian opens in Washington.

73 |REVIEW

Exhibitions: Tiahuanaco textiles in Denver; Andean textiles in Kansas; Fairs: The New York International Tribal and Textile Arts Fair; the HALI Fair; Auctions: Nick Shaw on Iznik ware.

91 |AUCTION PRICE GUIDE

A medieval silk; high Caucasian prices at SLO.

99 |DESIGN FILE

An ikat revival in Uzbekistan’s Fergana Valley.

103 |NETWORK

Classified advertisements.

107 |PARTI NG SHOTS

Tribal and textile action at the New York Armory.

108 |LAST PAGE

Bruce Baganz on the future o f the Textile Museum.

SpareathoughtforthehardworkthatgoesintoexhibitingattheHALIFair. Tendayson thestand, plusadayeachforvettingandset-up, taketheir toll on exhibitors whogreet fiveo'clockon the last daywith acollective sigh of relief. There are plusses too of course. Spending a fortnight together builds camaraderie among exhibitors and turns the event into ameeting point formembersof the international carpet, textile and tribal art community. In200 j the increasedpresence of this communitywasdueinpart to an impressive programme of lectures organised in memoryof Robert PinnerbyHALI’sco-founderMichaelFransesandJohnScottof Cornucopia.

The HALI Fair is a useful barometer of the rugmarket in general. Its organisational, presentation, pricingandauthenticityproblems, aswellas huge differences in opinion and knowledge, are those that plague the industry. Ikept hearinggrumblesabout howquiet the eventwasandthat there were not enough buyers, yet opening dayattendance was up forty per cent and the overall total 34 per cent on 2004 - and this doesn't include anyof the manythousands of visitors whowalkedthrough from theFineArt&AntiquesFair.Atsomepoint lackof salesor lackof interest mustceasetobesomeoneelse’sfault.Thiswhisperingdemonstratesaselfperpetuating negativity that saps the energyandenjoyment of the subject area, andactsasadisincentive to newcomers to this areaof collecting.

Similarwhispers concerned the authenticity and/or over-restoration of somepiecesatthe Fair. Theproblemof over-restoration, andremakes, is easy towhisper about and difficult to solve. Asan industry it isvital to dispel ambiguity and to create transparency for buyers. For example a certain rugwas rejected by the vetting committee as not being original, but expertopinion differed overwhether itwasbrandnew, afewdecades old, or just not old enough for the antique guidelines. To avoid such uncertainty, the Fair and the industry must police itselfmore effectively, pooling knowledgeand resources for the benefit of all.

Thus it is good to hear that moves are underway to create a rug and textile dealers’tradeassociation, witharticlesof incorporationandacode of practice. Theproposedbodywill seemembersco-operating to market rugsandtextilesasart toawideraudience. Itsbadgewillactasareassuring hallmark for quality and authenticity. It is through such collective effort, mutual solidarity and self-policing that the antique rug and textile trade, andbyextensiontheHALIFair,will beabletotakeresponsibilityforitself andtherebyguarantee its future prosperity. _ THE COVER

Nazca half-tunic, Peru, south coast, ca. 400-800 ad. Natural cotton with applied feathers, 0.75x 0.89m (29/2" x 35"). The design uses the circle as a ‘big image’. Concentric rings expand outwards from a central yellow orb, while interlocking triangles form a continuous zigzag pattern above. The predominant design element in ‘big image’ compositions is a single figure or geometric shape that dominates much ofthe picture space. While such a design is inherently dramatic, the glorious hues of the feathers themselves add greatly to its appeal. The tactile quality of feathers makes possible a wide variety of exciting visual effects suggesting movement and depth. Producing a continuous supply of such artefacts was highly labour intensive. Conceivably at least one member of every family in the Inca state, regardless of social rank, would have been concerned with one ofthe manyprocessesinvolvedinfeatherwork.

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