ISSUE 136 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2004
C O N T E N T S & E D I T O R I A L
II |LETTERS
Borneo borrowings; ACOR-ICOC mania. 13 |NEWS
Qajar craze; museum updates; carpet thieving. 32 |PREVI EW
Exhibitions: Colonial Andean art: Vodstrcil’s legacy; kreutz at krausse; Riboud's silks; V&A’s cultural encounters; exhibitions in brief. Auctions: Engelhart Foundation sale at RB. 47 iCALENDAR
Auctions, exhibitions, fairs and conferences. 55 |BOOKS
Chinese Silks by Shelagh Vainker; Asian Costumes and Textiles by MaryHunt kahlenberg; Titles Received. 69 |F0RUM
Looking again at Carpets of the Big Horse. 70 |THE FIRST TURKISH
CARPET EXHIBITION IN THE WEST Ferenc Batari The background to the ground-breaking 1914 Budapest exhibition of OttomanTurkish carpets. 76 |VISUAL POETRY
Sonia Delaunay and Orphic Cubism Susan Day Profiling the contribution of amajor artist of the 20th century to carpet and textile design. 86 jWAVES & FOLDS
Japanese Fishermen’sCoats from Awaji Island Sharon Sadako Takeda Ilow Awaji sashiko no donza evolved from protective clothing to an emblem of seafarer's identity. 89|GALLERY
House style advertisements. 93 |REVIEW
Exhibitions: Pahlavi period carpets; Persian art in Petersburg: Pip Rail's ikats; chintz chinoiserie; medieval Hispanic art; TM's flowers underfoot; exhibitions in brief. Conferences: Studying Persian art in the West. Fairs: IIAL1 Fair 2004. III |AUCTION PRICE GUIDE
Top lots at the European NY spring sales. 123 |DESIGN FILE
Frontlines; Chevalier's foray into modern carpets. 127 |NETWORK
Classified advertisements.
133 !PROFILE
Aaron Nejad interviews Christopher Legge. 134 |PARTING SHOTS
Memories of the HALI Fair 2004 and Santa Fe. 136 |LAST PAGE
Aurel Stein and the Silk Road.
-w- nWhose Art isThis. Anyway?”,published in SanFrancisco magazine
(May 2004) the journalist Michael Stoll addressed issues of provenA ance and ethics in collecting tribal art. with particular reference to the purchasing policy of the city's De Young Museum in respect of certain recent potential acquisitions.
Stoll tells how the De Young was offered two important collections of Philippine art to fill a gap in their own collection. The museum then consulted the Director of San Francisco State University's Treganaza Anthropology Museum, whose advice suggested that shewas not prepared to recommend the acquisition of items of tribal art. irrespective of their provenance or authenticity, and the purchase was spiked.
The problems highlighted in the article are familiar to many MALI readers: questions of provenance, expertise (or the lack thereof) and the need to help institutions and a sceptical public to understand material culture as art. Most museums have acquisition guidelines that meet standards set out in UNESCO accords drafted in 1970, and are subject to arbitration by national bodies and via bilateral agreements.
Asthe article shows, objectspublished or otherwise documented in acollection prior to 1970 are deemed to be “safe", the logic being that as long asan object wasacquired before we formalised our concernsabout issuesof cultural heritage, it's Ok. We do not have to worry about how they were originally sourced, asold ethnographic collections are seemingly less burdened with guilt, even though it is likely that first Western contact, whether religious, economic, or administrative, led to the sale of many 'heritage' items in the first place. In this analysis, issues of ownership are subject to the same moral relativism that makes no judgement about the exploitation of non-cultural resources in many of these same countries of origin.
The article attracted considerable attention, and the magazine hassince published detailed critiques from some of those involved, questioning the journalist's approach, which seemed determined to paint the trade in tribal objects from Africa. Oceania and the Americas in the worst possible light, and further querying the academic expert's practical qualifications in this field (seewww.sanfran.com letters to the editor).
All the above raises several issues, but one particularly familiar to those involved with carpets and textiles is the way in w'hich institutions often rely too heavily on the academic authority of those whose expertise may not compare with the hard-w'on hands-on experience and knowledge of reputable dealers and savvy private collectors. If the latter factor is not appropriately recognised in the acquistion process, we increase the risk that our museums will build restricted or sub standard collections that reflect the experts' own academic and/or political prejudices.
THECOVER
West Persian carpet, early 19th century (?). 1.92 x 3.85m (6'3" x i2'7"). The date in the otherwise indecipherable cartouche can be read as either 1222 or 1332 ah (1807 or 1913 ad). On a cotton foundation, single wetted, symmetrically knotted, with warps on one level and a density of 1,930 knots/dmz(= i25inz), it may be a product of the Hamadan region in western Persia. Andrew Vodstrcil was convinced that it was made for amilitary officer in Malayer at the beginning of the 19th century, and the restorer and others who have seen it do not doubt the early 19th century date. It may be an early Sehna carpet with a reprise of a classical ‘ inand-out-palmette’ design, commissioned when Sanandaj became the capital of Persian Kurdistan. Textile Museum of Canada, Toronto, gift of Mrs Herta Vodstrcil, T03.47.8
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