Rug Notes

Volume 14, Number 5, June, July, 1994

ACOR III Underway!

The Board of Directors of the American Conference on Oriental Rugs (ACOR) is delighted to report that the following people have been appointed to the Steering Committee for ACOR III:
Valentina Arbab, La Jolla, California
DeWitt Mallary, New York, New York
Samy Rabinovic, Holland, Pennsylvania
These volunteers will be in charge of planning the next ACOR, assisted by others who have also volunteered. As plans for ACOR III are formulated, they will be reported here.
Elected by representatives of rug societies in North America, the following individuals will serve as members of the ACOR Board of Directors through March, 1995: Paul Ramsey, president; Emily Sanford, secretary; Connie Henderson, Rosalie Rudnick, Wendel Swan, and Mike Tschebull. The board is currently working on guidelines for organizing a rug society, on establishing a speakers' network, and on other ideas proposed at the ACOR meeting in Chicago last February. For more rug society information, contact:
Connie Henderson
80 Diamond Hill Road
Redding, CT 06896
203-938-0965

Second Showing Slated for "Wie Blumen in der Wüste" Textiles

The organizers and lenders are happy to announce that Dr. Carl-Wolfgang Schürmann, director of the German Textile Museum Krefeld, has agreed to mount a second showing of the Turkoman carpet exhibition orginally displayed at the Hamburgisches Museum für Völkerkunde on the occasion of the 7th ICOC at Hamburg 1993.
There are good prospects that most of the pieces shown in Hamburg can be reassembled for this fresh exhibition in Krefeld, allowing the catalog originally published for the exhibition, Wie Blumen in der Wüste, to again serve as a guide.
Controversy arose over the highly unconventional Hamburg exhibit, where the priceless textiles were arranged in sand to lend an ethnographic touch but which was so potentially damaging to them that many lenders withdrew their weavings. In contrast, Dr. Schürmann's exhibition will focus on the pieces themselves to illustrate the excellence of Turkoman weaving. A further aim of the second exhibition will be to use an appropriate display to better represent the new tribal classification of some of these carpets.
The Krefeld exhibition, to be called "Starts of the Steppes," will open to the public on Sunday, October 2, 1994, in conjunction with a meeting of the Turkmen Collectors' Group, led by Hans Sienknecht. It is anticipated that the exhibition will remain on display through December.

Chicago's Art Institute Displays Six Centuries of Textiles

The Art Institute of Chicago offers visitors the opportunity to view a richly diverse selection of works from its textile collection in the exhibition, "Gift, Bequest, and Purchase: Selected Textile Acquisitions, 1988-1992" on view until July 24. More than 60 pieces from around the world spanning six centuries are on display in the museum's Elizabeth F. Cheney and Agnes Allerton Galleries.
Each of the works in the exhibition is an exceptional example of its category, comprising either an unusual or a uniquely identifiable piece. One of the most striking is a red silk and gold thread panel of Venetian velvet, a rare and beautiful example of 15th century artistry, traditionally used for vestments and altar frontals or for garments for the clergy or wealthy.
Among objects of practical use is a recently acquired 1930s carpet designs by Marion Dorn. Known as "an architect of floors," Marion Dorn produced many designs for the famous English Wilton Royal Carpet Factory, Ltd. The carpet is typical of her work, showing an elegantly curved pattern juxtaposed against a geometric shape and presented in her distinctive color range, selected from an extraordinary collection of more than 500 shades of wool.
Among the most important acquisitions are two joined panelse, dating from 1799, that were block printed in France's Alsace region by one of the leading printing establishments, Hartmann and Sons Associates with Sohnnee the Elder and Company. The extraordinary panels feature magnificent and large flowering tree designs, strongly influenced by Indian bedcovers (palampores), which were intensely scrutinized by the European market in an attempt to learn the complex secrets of polychrome dyeing and printing.
The Art Institute of Chicago boasts one of the most comprehensive textile collections in the country. The museum is open daily, and is closed Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. For public information, call 312-443-3600; for TDD, call 312-443-3890.

Oriental Rug Days at Peter Pap Dublin

The Dublin, New Hampshire, gallery of Peter Pap Oriental Rugs is offering a series of four hands-on learning experiences on Saturdays over the summer.
The first of the day-long seminar was offered on May 21. Rug authority Cornelia Montgomery presented a slide show and gave an introduction to the history of rug-making and the techniques involved. A special exhibit was hung for participants and a show and tell offered all an opportunity to discuss a variety of examples.
On June 25, Jennie Wood of Harrisville Designs, formerly of Woven Legends natural dye projects, led hands-on instruction in the traditional way of spinning wool and dyeing with natural materials. The seminar included group participation in the dyeing process using classic dye sources, a presentation of contemporary natural dyeing projects in the Middle East, and a study of the characteristics of regional palettes.
The third seminar will be held on August 13 and will be another introductory course. The fourth seminar, titled "The Weaver's Art," is scheduled for September 17.
The seminars take place at the Peter Pap gallery on Route 101 in Dublin, New Hampshire. They begin at 10 a.m. and continue until 4 p.m. The $25 fee includes lunch. To reserve for the August 13 introductory course or for the September 17 seminar, please call Peter Pap Oriental Rugs, Inc. at 603-563-8717.

Rug and Textile Appreciation Mornings at the TM

Every Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m. throughout the summer, The Textile Museum of Washington, D.C., offers rug or textile appreciation mornings, focusing on a wide range of weavings topics. A host of well-known rug authorities serve as speakers, including Gerald Thompson, Melissa McGee Keshishian, Gayle Garrett, Jane Levitan, Jim Ffrench, Saul Barodofsky, Michael Wendorf, and David Zahirpour.
For information about specific topics and speakers, please contact the Education Department, The Textile Museum, 2320 S Street, NW, Washington, DC 10008 or call 202-667-0441, Ext. 35.

At ceremonies immediately preceding the March 24 opening reception of "Kuba to Kars: Flat-Woven Textiles from the Caucasus" at The Textile Museum, Joseph V. McMullan Awards for 1994 were presented to Richard E. Wright (left) and John T. Wertime (right), curators of the exhibition, by W. Russell Pickering, chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Near Eastern Art Research Center, Inc.

Bruce Museum Exhibits Tribal Treasures

Through September 11, "Tribal Treasures: Carpets and Jewelry from Central Asia" will remain on display at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, Connecticut. Turkoman textiles and jewelry from private collections compliment an exploration of the tribal culture of Central Asia.
Curator Robin Garr will lead guided tours of the exhibition Saturday, July 9, at 2:00 p.m.; Tuesday, July 19, at 11:00 a.m.; Saturday, August 13, at 2:00; and Wednesday, August 17, at 11:00. The Curator's Gallery Talks are free with museum admission.
Further, the Bruce is offering a four-part morning movie series that focuses on the people and culture of Islamic cultures. The series runs on consecutive Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m. and the films are followed by coffee and discussion. "Afghan Women" and "Afghanistan: Threads of Life" will be shown on July 13, "The Inner Life" and "Knowledge of the World" on July 20, "Man and Nature" and "Nomad and City" on July 27, and "The Pattern of Beauty" and "Unity" on August 3. The cost of each morning's film is $3 for members and $5 for non-members.
A Yurt Building Weekend will take place on August 6 and 7. From 2:00 to 5:00 p.m., yurt construction will be led by Bill Copperthwait, director of Yurt Foundation. This family activity is free with museum admission.
On Saturday morning, August 13, children ages 6 to 10 will learn about the construction of yurts and build their own model. The fee of $3 for members and $5 for non-members includes all materials for this craft hour.
For more information about these programs and other exhibitions, please call the Bruce Museum at 203-869-0376.

Captured at the opening reception of the Bruce Museum exhibition, "Tribal Treasures: Carpets and Jewelry from Central Asia," were exhibit designer, Anne Von Stuelpnagel, lenders to the show Stevie and Steve Wilmerding and Assistant Curator Robin Garr.