ISSUE 133 MARCH/APRIL 2004
CONTENTS & EDITORIAL
11 |LETTERS
Sevgi G oniil rem embered; when a Turkmen tent is not tribal; m o re big birds; source o f a Yomut asm a lyk revealed; surfing eBay fo r rare rugs.
13 iNEWS
M id-East m illio n s fo r the V&A's Islam ic gallery; changing the guard at the W ashington T extile Museum: fond tributes to Robert Franses.
17 |POSTCARD
E thnographer S tephanie Bunn travels to rem o te K azakhstan in search o f the e lu s ive felt tus ki'iz.
39 sPREVIEW
E x h i b i t i o n s ; Fate Antique textiles at the Abegg Foundation; M yrna M yers' Chinese silks in N ew York; Lloyd C o tsen ’s fragm ents; Islam ic art from the Hermitage; Byzantine art; Andean textiles. A u c t i o n s : Turkmen rugs: the P inner Collection.
49 jCALENDAR
Auctions, exhibitions, fa irs and conferences.
61 |BOOKS
Review s o f ; Ottoman Embroidery; Klavdia Antipina, Ethnographer of the Kyrgyz; Rugs of the Caucasus: and The Color of Henna.
78 jOTTOMAN STYLE
M a r i a n n e E l l i s A survey o f Turkish em b ro id eries from the w ide ranging collection at Fondon's V ictoria & A lbert Museum, fo cusing on technique and function.
86 |THE HIDDEN LEGACY
OF THE KAZAKHS K a r i n a D u e b n e r The author contends that part o f the known corpus o f non-Turkm en C entral Asian carpets is com m only m isattributed to o th e r peoples w h en th ey are in fact Kazakh in origin.
94 ]THE FIRE TEXTILE
W i l l i a m J C o n k l i n The h istory and iconography o f a 'unique' Huari cloth acquired b y the TM in W ashington, w ith a conservatorial account o f its treatm ent.
103 jGALLERY
House style advertisem ents.
109 !REVIEW
E x h i b i t i o n s : Safavid silks at the MMA's Ratti C enter; Southeast Asian c lo th s at the AGNSW; plus English em broidery, Savonnerie maquettes, American quilts, Chinese rugs. Japanese. Chilean and Argentinian textiles and Islam ic ceram ics.
117 jAUCTION PRICE GUIDE
Fate Antique m asterpieces lead the field in a com p rehensive review o f the past season.
139 |DESIGN FILE
N ew rugs in D elhi, Paris, Atlanta and Hanover.
146 [NETWORK
C lassified advertisem ents.
T he devastating earthquake on Boxing Day 2003 in and around the southeast Iranian city of Bam in Kerman Province, with its tragic loss of life and irreparable damage to the city's ancient pre-lslamic mud-brick citadel, took place when the last issue of HALI was already on press. We were therefore unable at the time to express our sincere sympathy for the victims, their families and the people of Iran. We belatedly do that now, two months later, on behalf of all HALl’s staff, contributors, advertisers, suppliers and readers. We would also urge readers to give generously to one or another of the appeal funds whose details are to be found on p.136.
In the last issue we offered the mildly provocative suggestion that the Victoria & Albert Museum's Ardabil Carpet (undoubtedly the world’s premier oriental carpet icon) might not be seen again on public display after the planned redevelopment of the museum’s primary Islamic gallery (HALI 132, p.53). Our comment, which reflected the genuinely expressed concern of many HALI readers, was based on the very limited information made available to us at the time of writing, and caused some not unwelcome reaction from curatorial staff in the V&A's Islamic-Middle Eastern Department. Happily, following the release of a press statement detailing an extremely generous gift for the redevlopment of the museum's Islamic galleries, we are now able to reassure readers that, accompanied by other familiar treasures, the Ardabil Carpet will indeed form the centrepiece of the new Jameel Gallery when it opens its doors in 2006 (see News).
It is not usual for the editors of HALI to make a personal appeal to our readers to participate with enthusiasm and generosity in a commercial event for the benefit of a single individual, but we believe that an honourable exception must be made in the case of the sale of the Lesley and Robert Pinner Collection of Turkmen rugs, to be held at Rippon Boswell inWiesbaden, Germany, in May 2004 (see Preview).
The timing of the auction has much to do with Robert Pinner's needs and circumstances. Now in his late 70sand in declining health, the proceeds of the sale will go in the first instance towards providing adequate levels of care for a man to whom everyone in the international oriental carpet community owes a great debt of gratitude. The many people in our world who know and respect him should not need reminding that Robert was a co-founder of the International Conference on Oriental Carpets (ICOC) in the mid-1970s, and has remained, until very recently, its driving force, mainly at his own not inconsiderable expense. He was also a co-founder of HALL which he still serves as a Consultant Editor, and has been a tireless promoter of academic oriental carpet studies in general and of scholarship and connoisseurship of Turkmen and Turkic weaving in particular. So order your catalogues and book your tickets now.
Ottoman embroidered cover, Turkey, possibly 18th century. Made from three lengths of linen, joined before being worked with silk in atma (laid and couched) stitch, double-running stitch in a line and close herringbone stitch, 1 . 13 x 1.29m (3'6/2" x 4'3"). This dramatically decorative cover is of relatively late date in the chronological sequence of Ottoman needlework. With offset rows of palmettes enclosed by large saz leaves, it is densely embroidered, making the decoration very robust. Technically it connects to a group which is associated more often with large-scale repeats of tulips and palmettes. Victoria & Albert Museum, London, 646-1887
THE COVER
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