HALI

C O N T E N T S

Issue 52 Volume 12, Number 4 August 1990

Editor & Publisher

A lan M arcuson Deputy Editor Daniel Shaffer Chief Sub-Editor K a te Jo h anna W e iner Assistant Editors M aria S ch la tte r , Jill T ild en

Editorial Assistant

M arilyn Kemp Chief Contributing Editor

Ian Bennett Contributing Editors A lberto Boralev i, S teven Cohen M ichael F ranses, Donald K ing

John M ills, D eW itt M allary Y anni Petsopoulos. R obert P in ner

Jam es Reid, Parviz Tanavoli

Picture Librarian

John Stroud

Art Editor L iz D ixon Assistant Art Editor

Amanda B akh t ia r

Art Assistant T a t F an L iu

Sales & Marketing Director

S ebastian Ghandchi USA &Canada Advertisement

Manager N icholas Fripp Advertisement Executive

N icki Brown Advertisement Co-ordinators

Anne M acA rthur B a rbara S chneider

Administration Manager

Sarah Brook Subscriptions Manager

L indsay A rm strong Distribution Manager

Chris Jung Publisher’s Assistant

Wendy K a sab ian

Receptionist Zobida Khan

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EDITORIAL Nothing comes o f nothing: as the (fatal Huyiik. debate continues to run, we take an objective look at the discussion, asking what can and cannot be known in any attempt to understand,relationships between artifacts separated by many millennia. LETTERS Readers' comments and opinion, praise and complaints, including some pointed but constructive criticism from Christine Klose. FRAGMENTS B rief reports on events and items o f interest in the carpet and textile world. ICOC UPDATE More news about events plannedfor the San Francisco conference. FORUM An opportunity to debate controversial issues in the world o f carpets and textiles; including a strong riposte from Parviz Tanavoli to the Qatal Hiiyiik hypothesis, a detailed summary o f the ‘Neolithic ’ theory by Udo Hirsch, and the reappearance o f an intriguing Fostat fragment in Basel. 98 CONNOISSEUR'S CHOICE

Thomas Murray An American scholar/dealer chooses a Toraja porisitutu, or ritual shroud, from the isolated highlands o f Sulawesi, with a design in direct line o f descent from the traditions o f northeast Asia. 100 SPANISH RUGS AT VIZCAYA

Roderick Taylor One o f the most splendid and elegant o f American follies, Vizcaya mansion in Miami houses an extraordinary' collection o f furnishings including some important Spanish carpets. 108 WAVES FROMTHE ZAGROS

Parviz Tanavoli In the foothills o f the Zagros Mountains o f southwest Iran, the Lori and Qashqa 7 tribes weave moj, orflatwoven covers, in a twill weave which produces a distinctive visual effect. 112 TRADITION, DESIGN & MAGIC

Moroccan Tribal Weaves James F. Jereb “Eye o f newt and toe o f frog”; in a universe perceived as magically potent, weavers working within the meltingpot o f Berber tribal culture defuse and mediate danger. Their rugs are replete with apotropaeic symbolism and, like Berber culture itself, have been moulded by'the influence o f trans-Saharan trade.