From Oriental Rug Review, Vol. 8/4, April/May,1988
RUG NOTES
New Turkoman and Baluch Rug Shop Opens in Toronto
On a recent trip to Canada, we were pleased to visit Shir Paiwand, one of our rug dealer friends from Afghanistan, who has recently opened a rug shop in Toronto. In Kabul he stressed condition in his inventory of old rugs and this is still true of his current inventory. It has been s time since we have been in a rug shop in the United States or Canada with as extensive an inventory of new and old Baluch and Turkoman rugs, and it was a pleasant experience. We saw some roomsize Turkoman and Baluch pieces of a quality; condition, and age that we have not seen for years. Certainly recent shipments from Afghanistan that we have seen had little to compare with these. We wish Paiwand well and encourage readers to visit the shop when in Toronto:
Herat Rugs
234 Queen Street East Toronto,
Ontario M5A 1S3
Telephone: 416-360-4431
| CREPCA, Afghan Government Carpet Company
Speaking of Afghanistan, we recently received a letter and photographs from our dear friend Noor Sher which contained some information on CREPCA. This is the acronym for an 80% government, 20% private joint carpet company venture in Kabul. The company employs 12 people and weaves high quality carpets in both old and new designs, using both natural and synthetic dyes. Since its formation it has produced 900 square meters of carpets and bought 30,000 square meters from the bazaar. The carpets ar marketed in Kabul and in Hamburg. Noor Sher enclosed a photo of weavers in the process of weaving the largest carpet produced to date, which measures 16x 11 meters (52x36 feet) Sixteen women are shown weaving across the width of the rug.
Noor Sher is still doing business from the same building in Shari Now. It was good to see photographs of him and his well trained staff. |
Rug Societies News
The March l8th meeting of The Chicago Rug Society featured architect Ali Afshar, proprietor of Obatu, who discussed "Patterns and Persian Flatweaves." His talk included a short analytical and cosmological discussion of patterns and a general discussion of tribal and village weavings from Iran and was illustrated with slides of his own collection. The society's May 20th meeting will feature Maury Bynum who will discuss rug restoration.
The Princeton Rug Society continues its very busy schedule. A well attended February meeting offered members the opportunity to hear Professor Walter Denny, and in March Mary Hammond Sullivan of the Winterthur Museum spoke on "The Australian Connection," with special refer to the Trinitarias carpet. The April meeting featured L Diba on "The Arts of Persia in the 18th and 19th Centuries."
Gail Broadbent was the featured speaker at the April meeting of the Oriental Rug Society of New South Wales. Her topic, "6,000 years of Chinese Carpets," was a distillation of research and study of the carpet industry in Beijing conducted during a recent visit to China.
The society has also announced the results of its annual election for Executive and Committee. ORS President is Ross Langlands; Deputy President, Mike Gallagher; Secretary, Gail Broadbent; Treasurer, Neville Voges; Registrar, Leigh Mackay; The Committee is composed of Micky Brezny, Dan Hawley, Ling Yoong, Chris Barrett Lindsay Sharp, and Bini Malcolm.
The Renaissance Rug Tour
The Renaissance Rug Tour, an exhibition of new Turkish carpets illustrating the revival of traditional weaving in western and eastern Anatolia, will visit several galleries across the country during the month of May. A demonstration of weaving and dyeing by the Balçi family of Çannakkale a slide presentation by George Jevremovic, president of Woven Legends, Inc. of Philadelphia and New York, will be added highlights of the exhibition. The schedule is as follows:
May 6 & 7 Rug Collectors Gallery, Cleveland
2I6-721-9333
May 11 & 12 Trocadero, Washington, D.C.
202-328-8440
May 14 & 15 Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe
505-827-8350
May 18 & 19 Shaver-Ramsey, Denver
303-320-6363
May 21 & 22 Adraskand, San Francisco
415-459-171I
May 25 & 26 Artrug, Concord, N. H.
603-224-3099
Textile Museum Associates of Southern California
Textile Museum Associates of Southern California a support group for Washington's Textile Museum, has grown to a membership of 200 since its formation less than two years ago. Current President is Dr. Fred Krieger.
TMA's recent monthly meetings have included a February slide lecture by Brien Morehouse on Turkish yastiks, a lecture he originally developed for and delivered at the Conference on Oriental Carpets in Istanbul, and in March a delightful "tour" of the kilims and flatweavings of tribal and village Turkey by the well-qualified Mary Jane Bloom, one of founders of TMA.
In April, Carol Bier, The Textile Museum's Eastern Hemisphere curator, conducted a Persian Potpourri, and a reception and exhibition walk-through marked the Santa Barbara Museum's opening of "Woven from the Soul, Spun from the Heart."
Upcoming lectures include a May l2th presentation by Carol Westfall of Montclair State College on selected techniques in Indian textile art based on her field studies, a June 4th lecture by Walter Denny on the place of Islamic carpets and textiles in secular and religious ritual, and a June 11 th morning devoted to the Tibetan rug collection and studies of Tom and Gwen Rutherford.
The American Council for the Study of Islamic Societies
The American Council for the Study of Islamic Societies will hold its annual meeting on May 20-21 at Villanova University, in suburban Philadelphia. The Council is designed to offer opportunities to scholars engaged in the study of Muslim societies and states in the world from religious, cultural, economic, and political perspectives. We noted in their program a series of panels and round table discussions which might be of interest to readers. On Saturday, May 21, a panel entitled "Cities and Carpets: The Case of Kirman" features Carol Bier on "The Carpets of Kirman" (Mary Martin, presenter), Leonard Helfgott on "Carpet Industry and Markets," Willem Floor on "Weaving and the Guilds," and Thomas Ricks on "The Wool Industry." This is followed by a second morning panel on "Soviet Central Asian Intellectuals Approach Islamic Literature" and in the afternoon by "Round Table on the Implementation of the Sharia in Pakistan" and "Formulating a Policy for the Gulf War."
An exhibition of Islamic prayer rugs will be on display in the art gallery of the Connelly Center (student union) during the meeting. Ted Mast, author of one of the articles in this issue, is the guest curator for the exhibition.
For information about registration fees and full details of the program, call 215-64-5-4791 or write:
Mrs. Susan Hausman
138 Tolentine Hall
Villanova University
Villanova, PA 19085
The Museum for Textiles in Toronto
The Museum for Textiles in Toronto will be moving into greatly expanded and improved quarters in the heart of Toronto by the end of 1988. For years it has been located in very humble quarters at 585 Bloor Street West. In its new location, it will be within blocks of the Ontario College of Art and the Craft Museum.
Founded in 1975 by Max Allen and Simon Waegemaekers, the museum is unique in its policy and belief that to understand textiles one must touch them in order to learn. One of Max and Simon's abiding requirements is that visitors to the museum exhibitions be allowed to touch the exhibited items as well as look at them.
The new gallery, which will be located in a building presently under construction, is public recognition by several divisions of the national and provincial governments that The Museum for Textiles has become a major part of the artistic, cultural, and historical institutions in Canada.The Museum will be located on four floors of a 28-story condominium building. Connected to this building is anoher comprising a hotel and office space. The museum anticipates opening its new galleries in December, 1988.
The entrance will be at street level with stairs and elevator service to the Museum's exhibition and office spaces on four four floors above. The second floor houses the auditorium and members' lounge. The third floor contains a gift shop and galleries for textiles of the following categories: Canada, Oriental rugs, Central Asia, Latin America, Europe, India, Africa, Indonesia, Pacific Islands, and Philippines. In four different areas of the fourth floor, the Museum will have galleries for changing and traveling exhibitions, as well as offices and exhibition preparation space. The fifth floor is reserved for storage, conservation, additional offices, and the library. Its 25,000 feet of space will allow plenty of room for growth and an expanded variety of activities for the future.
The realization of this new gallery is the result of years of work by Max and Simon and two strong supporters of the Museum, Fred Braida, a real estate developer, and Tom Kalman, the architect for the new building.
Although it is still too early to set a firm date for opening festivities, it is anticipated that the space will be ready for occupancy sometime in June with opening exhibitions and programs in early December. We suggest you keep this time tentatively free on your calendar for a major rug and textile event. In the meantime, if you are in Toronto, the Museum's exhibitions and events for the coming months at its 585 Bloor Street West address are:
March-April - The Birth Symbol in Traditional Women's Art from Eurasia and the Western Pacific
May-June - Tibetan Rugs
July-August PUA, Ceremonial Cloth of Borneo
Lectures
:
"The Birth Symbol" Max Allen, lecturer
Sunday, April 10, 2:00 p.m.
"Textile Traditions of India, Japan, Indonesia and Zaire," a series of eight lectures, Tuesday evenings Lynne Milgram, lecturer
April 20 - June 1
Please contact The Museum for Textiles for further information regarding fees, registration, and other activities at 416-588-3292.
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