Does it make sense to organize another exhibition of Oriental kilims after the international community of flatweave enthusiasts has already had the opportunity to see and admire the Caroline and H. McCoy Jones collection in San Francisco and Paris, the Woven Poesy of Konzett's collection at Graz, Austria, Rageth's "Forms and Color" Anatolian kilim exhibit in Basel, or the Hundred Kilims exhibition at the Völkerkunde Museum in Munich? Had these exhibitions not satisfied expectations for weft-faced textiles in hitherto unseen pattern variations or ingenious color combinations?
| Peter Willborg's favorite kilim, a c. 1800 Hotamish |
He is undeniably more a collector than a dealer. To realize his dream of mounting a grand exhibition in Stockholm, he had to wait almost a decade until the final impetus led him to engage in an enterprise which absorbed him nearly to physical exhaustion and economic ruin. This is not the attitude of a strategically cunning dealer; it is the vision of a gifted collector.
Vision provided the impulse when he first saw the 15,000 square foot space on the fourth floor of an old warehouse in Stockholm's free port, two miles from his gallery at Sibyllengatan near the busy city center of Stockholm. Flanked by a battery of huge concrete storage tanks, Warehouse No. 3 with its bull's eye windows more closely resembles a brewery than the venue for an exhibition of fine art. No one was on the street when we arrived on December 12, the last day of the month-long exhibition. We had ridden to the free port in a taxi, driven by a young dentist who was eager to earn some additional income by driving on the weekend. Several other visitors had also arrived, most in their own cars. Although the clear blue sky boasted a brilliant sun, it was not enough to raise the outside temperature above the freezing point while, inside the warehouse, the temperature was a chilly 8 degrees centigrade. Not wishing to risk entrapment in the slow and ancient elevator, we climbed three flights of the narrow staircase, each step committing us more profoundly to an adventure. What awaited us at the top of those stairs was a fantasy world of fabulous visual sensations. Beneath the old, heavily beamed ceiling, Peter Willborg had hung his textile treasures high on the bare walls or suspended on canvas from the cross beams. Almost all of the 122 kilims and textiles were individually lit by spotlights, creating bright flares all around the room to peak the curiosity and tickle the imagination.
The preceding great kilim exhibitions had all paid homage to the Anatolian flatweave, widely neglected until about 15 years ago. Peter Willborg did not restrict himself to Anatolian weavings, albeit they were inexpensive when he became involved professionally in products of the loom. He collected from all areas of origin, and "Woven Magic" is the result of 12 years of search and discovery. The six scores of flatweaves on display represented five continents and divers cultures with specimens from Sweden, Germany, the Balkans, Turkey, the Caucasus, Iran, Afghanistan, India, Egypt, Peru and the American southwest.
 | At the center of the large, 36x37 meter (117'x120'), nearly square exhibition hall, Willborg mounted a 6x6 meter wooden stage where, at least once a week during the exhibition, performances were held. Musicians, ballet, and, on the last day, flamenco dancers imparted a life to the surroundings, allowing guests to experience the kilims in the context which had been their natural environment at their point of creation. Willborg does not believe that woven objects are dead matter, solemn works of art to be appreciated only in museum tranquility, but rather a part of life to be enjoyed amidst conversation, food, music, dance, and song. Frequently during the exhibition, Mr. Willborg also held lectures related to the general topic of woven magic. |
A small Thracian prayer kilim, No. 2 in the accompanying catalogue, 157x117 cm, caught this reviewer's eye. This circa 1875 piece from what is now Bulgaria displayed a radiant red, a navy blue "tree of life" whose branches bore birds, set amidst a creme prayer niche with hanging lamp, all enclosed by an Aubusson-inspired creme border with stylized leaf pattern. For a similar example, see N. Ölcer's book on kilims in the Turk ve Islam Museum in Istanbul, pl. 78. Six more kilims from Bulgaria, Romania, and northwest Anatolia (Manastir) were exhibited.
Quite a number of highly sophisticated Anatolian kilims from all areas were part of the collection on display. No. 21, a Central Anatolian kilim, 351x166 cm (reduced in length), ca. 1800-1850, was woven in one piece with great colors, as can be admired on the front cover of the October/November issue of this journal. Color and design are also eye-catching in No. 8, a ca. 1800-1850 Afyon, Kütahya, Eskishehir kilim, and No. 16, Peter Willborg's favorite, a Hotamish kilim from Central Anatolia, ca. 1800 or earlier, 298x143 cm (reduced in length), which he considers the most important in the exhibition, both from the point of color intensity and design composition and for its rare red ground.
Another favorite is the Sivas prayer kilim, No. 24, 183x141 cm. The plain red abrashed prayer niche with a hooked contour floats on the bluish-green field of this ca. 1750-1800 piece, surrounded by a main border with strong anthropomorphic symbols and yin-yang forms. The Caucasian kilim No. 39, 286x150, ca. 1820-1870, is difficult to attribute either to the Kuba or to the Shirvan area. But a Z3S salt-and-pepper warp as well as the strong, clear colors convince us that its origin might be found somewhere among the Shahsavan to southern Caucasus.
A great work of art from the Caucasus is the striking Kuba Dragon sumakh, 262x 196, ca. 1850. This most expensive piece of the show had already been exhibited at the 1991 Maastricht Antique Fair, a real bit of woven magic and puzzle of exotic motifs. Two more Kuba sumakhs and southeast Caucasian kilims with rows of hexagons rounded out this group.
Not all the north, northwest, and west Persian kilims were of unique design and easily remembered. Age becomes less important when the color and its rhythmic composition are strong, as is the case with the striped kilim, No. 77, from the Delijan or Garmsar area of northern Persia. Woven around 1920, this 316x161 cm piece was entirely weft-faced plain weave without slits. Nos. 78 and 79 were two examples of Mushaki kilims, newly discovered and described by Parviz Tanavoli (see ORR Vol. 12, No. 5, Pg. 18). Called Mushaki which means "missiles," these rare kilims with striped designs on a multicolored field without a border are woven around Muteh, northwest of Isfahan. No. 78 is one of the more beautiful representatives of the type as each stripe has alternating plain weave and patterned one created by weft substitution. The old kilims were woven by Khorasani families in the first quarter of this century.
 | A classical Qashqa'i kilim with three medallions on a fantastic red ground |
Although 90 percent of the pieces on display originated from the traditional weavings areas, there were also remarkable textiles from other places, for example, a warp-faced Uzbek blanket, No. 90. Made in the 19th century, this 280x164 cm weaving was made in long strips which were cut and joined together. A ca. 1900 Indian dhurrie from Rajastan province, No. 92, 410x203 cm, had both warp and weft of cotton and a pattern composed of white and light blue squares, resembling tiles. An Egyptian funerary hanging, No. 95, 275x140 cm, was probably 17th century; made in appliqué technique, the design resembled wood carvings on Islamic doors of the same era.
From the "New World" were four Peruvian textiles, No. 96-99, Chimu slit tapestry fragments from the north coast and dating to about 1000-1460 A.D. Three Native American kilims from the U.S. Southwest were of strikingly similar design in a limited palette of blue, red, and white, typical of certain Navajo blankets.
Among the 12 textiles mainly from southern Sweden, the oldest one was early 18th century, a wedding cushion in seam-stitch, No. 106, 43x42 cm. The others were carriage cushions in tapestry weave or in dovetail weave.
Peter Willborg's kilim exhibition was the most important achievement in Sweden in years. He did a great job of bringing textile art to the attention of a wide audience. We look forward to his upcoming activities.
A 165-page catalogue in Swedish and English includes all pieces in the exhibition, 120 in full-page color plates, with technical data as well as descriptions of the nomadic weavers and their weavings. A sober interpretation of pattern and symbols, maps, and bibliography renders this an almanac worth representation in every rug lover's library. The catalogue is available from specialized book shops or from the author himself:
J.P. Willborg
Sibyllegatan 41
S-11442 Stockholm, Sweden
Telephone (46) 8-783 0265
Fax (46) 8-783 5993
