HALIThe International Magazine o f Antique Carpet and Textile Art
Editor Daniel Shaffer D eputy Editor J ill Tilden S en io r Editor Nicholas Purdon Editorial Archivist & Librarian Rachel Evans Assistant Editor Jenny Marsh Editorial Assistant Emily Roberts
Consultant Editors Michael Franses, Robert Pinner Contributing Editors Julia M. Bailey, Alberto Boralevi John Carswell, Steven Cohen Thomas Cole, Rosemary Crill Herbert Exner, Anthony Hazledine Rina M. Indictor, Ralph Kaffel Donald King, Alberto Levi DeWitt Mallary, John Mills Vanessa Moraga, Thomas Murray Aaron Nejad, Penny Oakley James W. Reid, Maria Schlatter Philippa Scott, Carlo Maria Suriano Parviz Tanavoli, John T. Wertime
Art D irector Liz Dixon Art Editor Anderida Hatch
Pubbsher Sebastian Ghandchi
D eputy Advertisem ent Manager Conrad Shouldice Advertisem ent Executives Ralph Emmerson, Elisabetta Rotondo Advertisem ent Co-ordinator Angharad Britton
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HALI 90
Issue 90
49 EDITORIAL In tribute to Charles Grant Ellis, Murray E iland Jr. remembers the pioneer who delighted in combining the roles of enfant terrible and grand old man of carpet studies.
51 LETTERS
Responding to Maurizio Battilossi, Luigi Ingrami takes up the cudgels on behalf of rug collectors; further comment from
Donald King and LACMA on the ‘A rdabil Puzzle'.
THE COVER S am po t hoi or hip c lo th (d etail), Cambodia, 19th century. Silk weft ikat, twill w eave, natural dyes, 0 .9 4 x 3 .0 2m (3 1 " x 9 1 1 " ) . This rare, deceptively s im p le , courtly tex t i le has a subtle and understated pattern within its central fie ld , achieved by the u se o f two shades o f green. T h ere is an e ffect o f gently rippbng water, while the red and yellow patterns in the borders suggest candle flam es. P r ivate cobection , England.
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53 FORUM
| A silk lampas narrative scroll, the Vrindavani Vastra, played an important role in the religious life of an Assamese Vaishnavite community of the 16th century: Dale Gluckman looks at a length of the cloth recently acquired by LACMA. In Pennsylvania, archaeologists discuss textiles uncovered with the mummified remains of Iron Age Caucasian settlers in the Tarim Basin, while in Oslo surviving textile fragments contain memories of a
Viking ship burial. The gabbeh trap, Nain weaving and new Herizes on the agenda at the 5th Tehran carpet conference. This year's Volkmanntreffen looks at the MoSCevaja Balka burial finds and hears from Harald Bohmer and Volkmar Enderlein.
59 POSTCARD
Murray Eiland I l l 's visit to Armenia proved an object-lesson in patience and lateral thinking, but did legendary storehouses eventually open their doors and yield up their secrets?
62 IN SAINTLY COMPANY
John Mills
Three new animal carpets identified in gold-ground paintings by Giovanni di Paolo and Gentile da Fabriano offer further evidence ol the prestige and popularity of these designs in
Europe of the early Renaissance.
64 HERIZ: A Historical Perspective
Raoul E. T schebull
The perennial popularity of so-called Heriz carpets is a testimony to the spirit of the Persian revival of the 19th century. These decorative export carpets, with both medallion and allover repeat designs, are the product of the weaving communities of rural East Azarbayjan. The author looks at the history' and development of the Heriz tradition, informed by first-hand observation during recent travel in the area.
74 ECHOES OF A GOLDEN AGE Traditional Cambodian Ikat Cloths
Jonathan Hope
Sensual, visually stunning and technically extraordinary, Cambodian silk ikats convey a sense of age-old textile traditions. This article looks at the often troubled history of the Khmer people and the endurance of silk-weaving to this day. It focuses 011 two types of traditional ikat textiles, ceremonial hangings (pidan hoi) and hip-cloths (sampot hoi), whose icono
graphy reflects the syncretic nature of Cambodian religion.
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86 EXHIBITIONS A walk round the Turk ve Islam Eserleri Museum’s recent ambitious survey of Turkish carpets, in which the reviewer considers the vexed question of why some carpets are more beautiful than others. Samplers at the Textilmuseum, St Gallen;
Turkmens from private collections at Bonhams, London; a mythical bestiary in Islamic art at Bonn-Bad Godesburg.