ISSUE i l l JULY/AUGUST 2000
CONTENTS
9 |EDITORIAL
The Oxford University Ashntolean Museum's Beattie Fellow ship brings carpet studies to the academic agenda.
13 |LETTERS
A lan Kennedy traces the RKO' design to Chinese silks: rare rugs at r isk in a Paris museum; beset w ith d istractions and restrictions, the conference speaker's lot is not a happy one: the truth about prison rugs; the Hajji Baba h ie rarchy stands up to be counted.
15 |NEWS
A boon for the Burrell as the Chaloner Carpet remains in the UK; SOAS and Christie's dissolve their less than twoyear partnership; harnessing ultrasound in the restoration laboratory; openings and moves.
18 |POSTCARD
Jasper W in n v isits the Zefiranlu Kurds o f Khorasan.
21 |FRAGMENTS
Hands on inspection o f an Ottoman court carpet from the TIEM leads to an im portant reattribution: the Rosenborg tapestries return home: Konya's carpets settle down; Bode meets K irchheim at the Pergamon.
35 |PREVIEW
Bach Collection bagfaces showing at Bertram Frauenknecht Gallery in Munich; textile acquisitions at San Francisco's De Young Museum; Javanese and Sumatran Batiks in Cologne; v illage and nomadic rugs o f Anatolia at the Washington Textile Museum; prayer rugs at Nomadic Rug Traders in Sydney; textiles associated w ith b irth, marriage and death at the Whitworth Art Gallery. Manchester.
39 |CALEN DAR
A world w ide listing o f auctions, exhibitions, fairs and conferences.
51 IBOOKS
Guy Delmarcel's Flemish Tapestry is a major reference work, writes Ian Buchanan.
55 j TITLES RECEIVED
A selection o f recently published books and catalogues.
57 | E-VIEW
Gary Bortz lays down some basics for anyone developing a rug website; why Jerry Silverm an loves TurkoTek.
59 |WORKSHOP
U lr ich A lheim shares guidelines on identifying Quchan Kurd (Kordi) rugs.
65 ! FORUM
W hen cataloguing flies in the face o f g laring evidence it's tim e to put the record straight, says Steven Cohen.
66 | POWER & SIMPLICITY
The Evolution ofthe Central Medallion Design in Bijar Rugs, 1840-1940 John J. Collins, Jr The v illage and workshop weavers o f Persian Kurdistan brought their hallmark sense o f b r illia n t clear colour to established regional designs. The format, structure, and classic central medallion style o f B ijar rugs arose in the Garrus d istrict in the early 19th century, and went on to inspire a century o f vigorous and elegant variations.
76 | SAINTS, SIGNS AND
WONDERS: Early Tapestries in the Burrell Collection Patricia Collins Today, when truly wonderful Gothic tapestries are like hens’ teeth, we may well marvel at Sir W illia m Burrell's achievement in putting together a co llection that ranks among the greatest in the world. Jew e l-lik e colours, a devotional exuberance and im aginative detail are just some o f the qualities encountered in these superb hangings.
87 | ISLAMIC ART
The David Collection in Copenhagen D irector K je ld von Folsach on an Islam ic co lle ction past, present and future; an lz n ik bottle comes out o f the shade; news from Berlin: hurtling across Asia, the Mongolian horse in art; science in the art gallery.
93 |TH E HALI GALLERY
A house style advertisement section.
109 |REVIEW
Auction sales o f Coptic textiles in London and o f im portant Turkmen rugs and trappings in W iesbaden and Stuttgart; the A COR caravan hits San Francisco w ith Dealers' Row grabbing the lio n 's share o f the attention; a m ixed bag o f Islam ic carpets and textiles in Amsterdam; bold Central Asian ikat. embroidery and rugs at LA County Museum o f Art; American Indian trade b lankets in Lowell. Massachusetts; the IMA shows Coptic art in Paris; Indian textiles at Cornell University. Ithaca; Japanese ceremonial fireman's coats at Stockholm 's Far Eastern Antiquities Museum.
127 |AUCTION PRICE GUIDE
Extended h ighlights o f the Spring sales in London, Boston and New York in c lude a Mughal m ille fleurs rug at CLO, a whole pack o f Transylvanians, an im portant Fatim id veil, and much more besides.
137 |DES IGN FILE
Jim Opie comments on the potential released by the end o f the US embargo on Persian carpets; the renaissance o f the Donegal Carpet Company; Belkis Balpinar's contemporary art k ilim s at N ilu far in M ilan.
149 |NETWORK
A classified advertisement section.
155 |PROFILE
Parviz Tanavoli's quest to rediscover his own Iranian heritage fuels his activities as sculptor, rug researcher and author.
157 j PARTI NG SHOTS
A ll the fun o f Dealers' Row at A COR s in the San Francisco Bay Area, the M ilan B iennale and the T r ibal Arts Show in New York.
160 j LAST PAGE
The essence, inner life and boundaries o f a sculptural idea.
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