HALI

CONTE TS

Issue 59 Volume 13, Number 5 October 1991

Editor be Publisher

AlanMarcuson Deputy Editor Daniel Shaffer Senior Editors Maria Schlatter, Jill Tilden

A ssistant Editor

Jennifer Gill Editorial Co-ordinator

Judy Hirsh Chief Contributing Editor

Ian Bennett Contributing Editors Alberto Boralevi, Steven Cohen Rosemary Crill. Michael Franses Donald King, DeWitt Mallary

John Mills. Thomas Murray Yanni Petsopoulos. Robert Pinner

James W. Reid, Philippa Scott Parviz Tanavoli, Neil Winterbottom

P icture L ib rarian

John Stroud

P roduction M anager

Andrew Ryan

Art Editor Liz Dixon Assistant Art Editor Amanda Bakhtiar

Art Assistant Tat Fan Liu

Sales & M arketing D irector

Sebastian Gharidchi Advertisement Manager

Nicholas Fripp Advertisement Executive

Julie Wicks Advertisement Co-ordinator

Maire Costello

Subscriptions Grace Hilliar D istribution MarcThomas

Publisher’s Assistant

Wendy Kasabian System s M anager Veronica Purdey

Accounts Vivian Robins Receptionist Zobida Khan The German language supplement ispublished as an integral part of HALI. Editor Maria Schlatter

T ranslators Dorrit Dunn, Suzanne Mattern

The descriptions and a ttributions of p ieces advertised in HALI are the individual advertiser’s sole responsibility.

79 EDITORIAL 80 LETTERS

Conservator James Henderson replies to criticisms of his ICOC lecture. 87 FRAGMENTS

A connoisseur’s choice missing from the Fort Mason exhibition; and rug conferences aplenty. 95 FORUM

The earliest Iranian pile carpet and other ancient textile fragments excavated at Shahr-i Qumis yield up their secrets. 100 CONNOISSEURSCHOICE

An iridescent silkfragment, Patricia Baker's choice, is the smallest textile ever in this section . 102 ASYNTHESIS OFCONTRASTS

Jennifer Wearden A curatorial focus on the chronology and techniques of 'Caucasian' silk on cotton embroideries which, after a century of shifting attribution by both museums and collectors, are now generally assigned to the Azerbaijan region. 112 BALUCHPERSPECTIVES

Michael Craycraft One of the highlights of last year's Bay Area jamboree, Adrciskand's show of the Anne Hailey Baluch collection was enlivened by an imaginative public opinion poll. Here the pollster analyses the results, with some notable surprises. 118 THE SHAHS’TENTS

Two Qajar tents recently sold in London provided a unique opportunity for experts to examine a rare type of 19th century Persian textile. In this compendium of views, Toby Falk looks at the historical background, Jennifer Wearden outlines the technical aspets of Rasht work, and Ian Bennett focuses on aesthetic qualities. 124 MARVADIAYERUSHALEM

Shimon Amir The discovery of an inscribed rug in Montreal took the author toJerusalem, where until 1931 the Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts produced carpets to traditional Jewish and Persian designs. 125 EXHIBITIONS

Cloth-of-gold in Cleveland; the world’s bestknown pre-Columbian weaving back on display in Brooklyn; a major Anatolian kilim exhibition in Munich; rugs from New England private collections in Rhode Island; Tibetan sacred art on tour inAmerica; Mingei textiles in Glasgow; and Balinese weavings in Basel.

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