Jan 23, 2001: Belkis Balpinar: Contemporary Tapestries in light of Turkish Kilims from the Past: Emmett Eiland's Oriental Carpet Co. Feb ? Mar 4, 2001: Prof. Johanna D. Movassat: Calligraphy in Islamic Art, Architecture and Weaving: The Abu Bakr Siddiq Mosque, Hayward April2001
APRIL 5 2001
WOVEN PASSION A JOURNEY TO POST EMBARGO IRAN
A slide presentation lecture by Roger G. Cavanna
Observations made during a recent visit to Iran including Tehran, Shiraz,
Isfahan, Hamadan, Malayir & Mashad, Carpets of the Inner Circle, 444
Jackson Street, San Francisco, CA 94111
More information
April 8 and 22, 2001 Visit Jim Dixon’s Occidental Home More information
May 10, 2001 “Exploring Rugs from East Turkistan"
Sandra Whitman, 7:30 PM, May 10, 2001 361 Oak Street
San Francisco, CA 94102 More information
August, 2001 Empire of the Sultans: Ottoman Art from the Khalili
Collection The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco More information
September 30, 2001 Patricia T. Leiser, Mosaics: the missing link? 109 South
Hall, UC Berkeley More information
October 23, 2001. Elena Tzareva, “Central Asian Rugs in the Russian
Ethnographic Museum,” The Sandra Whitman Gallery, 361 Oak Street, SF. More information
December 3, 2001 the Annual SFBARS Dinner
The Aegean Grill 1403 Solano Avenue (at Carmel St.) Albany, CA
Featured Speaker Diane Mott, FAMSF More information
***********
January 28, 2002 Parviz Tanavoli
“The Lion in the Art and Culture of Iran” More information
Feb. 17, 2002 Joy May Hilden
BEDUIN WEAVING IN ARAB LANDS More information
March 19, 2002 Peter Poullada
“Qishlaq and Yaylaq, Bazaar and Chaikhana: Memories of the Hindu Kush
1952-1976.” 7 PM, The Jim Blackmon Gallery Pine Street, San Francisco More information
April 7, 2002 Jim Dixon: A visit to Occidental More information
May 7, 2002 Manastir kelims A talk by Davut Mizrahi 110 south hall, uc
berkeley More information
June 27, 2002 Robert P. Piccus, Tibetan Rugs A Collector’s Odyssey At
the Sandra Whitman Gallery 361 Oak Street
San Francisco, CA 94102 More information
August 10, 2002 Explore Passages the Armenian Rug Exhibition with a
commentary on the rugs by Dr. Eiland. Herbst International
Exhibition Hall The Presidio, San Francisco More information
Sept. 10, 2002 Natalia Nekrassova Ersari Rugs of the Turkomans
Alexander's Rugs in Mill Valley More information
October 23 2002 An Exhibition of Jim Dixon’s Kesa More information
November 19, 2002 Heavenly Gardens: Early Rugs of the Near and Far East
from the Collection of Jim Dixon The Bedford Gallery, in the Dean Lester
Regional Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek, CA 94596 More information
December 10, 2002. Arthur Leeper
A Review of the 2002 International Chinese Silk Conference in Hangzhou,
China San Francisco Bay Area Rug Society Annual Dinner
7PM, Tuesday La Méditerranée Restaurant
2936 College Avenue College Avenue, Berkeley More information
**********
February 26, 2003,Diane Mott
Curator of Textiles, The Fine Art Museums of San Francisco, speaking
on The Ancient Art of Felt Fort Mason, San Francisco More information
March 27, 2003. Ekaterina Ermakova Uzbek Ikats and Traditional Costumes
The James Blackmon Gallery
2140 Bush Street (between Fillmore & webster)
San Francisco, CA 94115 More information
April 6, 2003, SFBARS Visits Jim Dixon at Occidental More information
April 10, 2003. Dr. Harald Böhmer, Laboratory for Natural Dyes, Marmara
University, Istanbul “Natural Dyes and Synthetic Dyes: History and
Differences.”
Krimsa Gallery, 2190 Union Street (near Fillmore) San Francisco,
94123. Tel. 415-441-4321. More information
May 10, 2003. Pat Markovich, “Afghan War Rugs,” 110 South Hall,
UC Berkeley More information
June 14, 2003. Murray Eiland III,"Syrian and Mamluk Rugs and Textiles" San Francisco's Fort Mason, Building C, Third Floor, Room 362
October 4th, 2003: 10am -12Noon, SHOW and TELL! New Acquisitions, Mystery Rugs and Old Favorites
Room, Fort Mason, San Francisco, C205, C Building, 2nd floor More information
October 21, 2003:Meeting 7-9pm Melissa Finklestein, Iranian Felt-Making, Sandra Whitman Gallery, 361 Oak Street, San Francisco, CA. More information
November 12, 2003:meeting 7-9pm Tom Cole: Turkmen Embroidery, Emmet Eiland's Oriental Rug Company
1326 Ninth Street ( at Gilman ) Berkeley, CA More information
December 17, 2003: SFBARS annual dinner.Greens Restaurant, Fort Mason, San Francisco.
Featured speaker Pamela Bensoussan, ASA, "Oriental Rugs in Western Paintings
APRIL 5 2001
Before the embargo was terminated I was approached by members of a
prominent Persian rug producing family, who had organized a modestly-sized
network of cottage industry weavers throughout Iran, for suggestions
relative to the potential production of new rugs for the American market.
My response overwhelmed them! I immediately recognized this as an
opportunity to repay, with gratitude and respect, some of what my past
exposure to Persian culture and involvement with Persian rugs has given me.
I enthusiastically embraced their efforts aimed at a post embargo
production designed to recapture lost portions of the American market and
to reestablish Persia as the international leader in the textile arts.
They respected my understanding of this market and the overview of Persian
culture and textile art that I had developed as a result of my long-term
exposure to it. The possibility of a joint venture into new rug production
based on historically important examples tantalizingly presented itself. As
my part of the bargain I assembled a photo portfolio of potential weavings
from the finest rugs and carpets that I had been exposed to over the years.
Armed with these examples, in July I set off for Iran once again, intent
upon viewing the cottage industry weaving organization that my hosts had
developed. And also, I was returning home, this esoteric, spiritual journey
I am involved in, somehow mysteriously connected to
Persia.
April 8 and 22, 2001 Visit Jim Dixon’s Occidental Home
Undoubtedly the hit of the ACOR San Francisco meeting was the visit to Jim
Dixon’s Occidental home, garden and rug collection. Jim Dixon has
graciously invited SFBARS to visit him in Occidental once again. Please
choose the date most convenient for you, and hopefully we will
spontaneously decide to divide approximately in half so there well be room
to contemplate this unique place. Please arrive between noon and four.
This is how Chris Fager of the Los Angeles Times described the impact of
Jim Dixon’s architecture and rugs during his visit (L.A. Times, December
28, 2000):
Hali described Jim’s rugs as “one of the most distinctive and diverse
private collections of oriental rugs anywhere in the world” (Hali 109,
March-April 2000):
“One of the most distinctive and diverse private collections of oriental
collections anywhere in the world has been assembled over the past two and
a half decades by the California-based landscape architect Jim Dixon. Well
known to carpet cognoscenti in the San Francisco Bay Area, his name has
been much less familiar internationally , at least until several of his
Caucasian prayer rugs were included in a recent book on the
subject. Wishing above all to be able to see and enjoy his collection,
Dixon has taken the unusual, perhaps unprecedented step of designing his
new home around the rugs
May 10, 2001 “Exploring Rugs from East Turkistan”
The talk will be illustrated by slides, handouts and the display of 18th to
20th Century East Turkistan rugs from Kashgar, Yarkand, Khotan, Kansu, and
perhaps Aksu. There will be at least 24 rugs for discussion ranging from
the sublime to the trite. Two fabulous new acquisitions will be exhibited,
a four medallion Khotan woven on a traveling loom and a yellow ground
Khotan with a double pomegranate tree emanating from a vase. Sandy’s talk
will explore four themes:
Sandra Whitman practiced law for 29 years. In the 70's she developed a
love for Blue and White Chinese rugs, which developed over the years into a
love of Ningxia carpets. In 1994, while still practicing law, she
commenced dealing in Chinese rugs, primarily those woven in Ningxia and Bao
Tao. By 1998 she had retired from the law and devoted herself full time to
dealing in Chinese rugs and textiles.
Sandra Whitman’s Gallery is located at 361 Oak Street in San Francisco, one
block South of the Fell Street Exit from Highway 101. Parking is scarce in
the neighborhood, so carpooling is recommended. A parking lot and several
excellent restaurants (such as the Hayes Street Grill) are available a few
blocks away on Hayes Street.
August, 2001 Empire of the Sultans: Ottoman Art from the Khalili
Collection The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
One of the most important exhibitions of Ottoman Art ever to be shown on
the West Coast opens on August 2, 2001 at the Asian Art Museum of San
Francisco. It will be the last major show to be displayed in Golden Gate
Park before the Museum moves to its new downtown location. On loan from the
vast holdings of the London-based Nasser D. Khalili Collection, one of the
world’s most important private collections of Islamic art, Empire of the
Sultans includes more than 200 objects spanning the six hundred years from
the 14th Century to the early 20th Century.
At its height the Ottoman Empire stretched from North Africa across to
Eastern Iran, and from Greece to Hungary. Originally a Turkic tribe from
Central Asia, the Ottomans ruled for six centuries from their capital in
Istanbul, creating the longest surviving dynastic state in Islamic, if not
world, history. Their awe-inspiring Topkapi Palace compound became the
center of artistic and aesthetic enterprise, setting the fashion and
providing the base and patronage for artists and craftsmen from all over
the Empire. Turks, Armenians, Greeks, Egyptians, Syrians and North
Africans all contributed to the extraordinary vitality and beauty which are
the hallmarks of Ottoman art.
The San Francisco show includes a wide variety of the illuminated Korans,
exquisite calligraphy, elegant metalwork and scientific instruments, and
the lustrous ceramics for which the Khalili Collection is justly
famous. Of particular interest to SFBARS members are the carpets and
textiles selected for the touring exhibition, including what appears to be
a very well preserved “Star Usak” carpet probably dating from the second
half of the 15th Century. Amongst the rest, there are two Cairene Ottoman
rugs dating from the 17th Century, and a beautiful selection of ten or more
woven-silk textiles not previously exhibited in the USA. Included in the
group are examples of 16th Century silk lampas from Bursa, an elegant
brocaded “saf” wall hanging from the North African Ottoman provinces also
16th or 17th Century and an embroidered bridal cover from Northern Greece
of the same era.
Illustrated on the facing page is an Ottoman court prayer rug of a type
described in depth by Charles Grant Ellis in the “The Ottoman Prayer Rugs”
(Textile Museum Journal 1969, pp. 5-22). Ellis describes eleven rugs and
fragments, with several more having appeared since his study. Ellis divides
the surviving pieces into two groups, roughly based upon whether they had
silk or wool foundations. The silk foundation pieces - which usually show
patches of ivory or light blue cotton in the pile - he attributed to Bursa,
while the wool foundation pieces were given a Cairo attribution. Ellis
defines as prototypical a group including the piece in the Osterreichischen
Museum für Angewanste Kunst in Vienna (Sarre and Trenkwald, I, Pl. 56); an
example with its vertical mid-section missing in the Turk ve Islam Eserleri
Musezi in Istanbul; a rug in Berlin (Ellis, 1969, Fig. 3); and the Ballard
column rug in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Dimand and Mailey, Oriental
Rugs in the Metropolitan museum of Art, Fig. 188). Each shares a version
of basically the same palmette and curved leaf border, along with
essentially the same minor borders. The knotting, as for all rugs described
as Ottoman court rugs, is asymmetrical, and in these examples ranges
between 385 knots per inch in the Istanbul piece to 288 in the Ballard rug.
The Vienna example, like one from the McMullan Collection (McMullan,
Islamic Carpets, Pl. 4), is covered with a lavish design of large flowing
lancet-shaped leaves and blossoms. This design is dramatically different
from Persian rugs of the 16th century, although some have attributed the
development of this Ottoman court style to the occupation of Tabriz by the
Ottoman army on several occasions during the early 16th century. It is
possible - but by no means confirmed by any documentation - that the Turks
brought back with them experienced Persian carpet weavers, thus providing
one explanation for the asymmetrical knots. The Istanbul and Berlin rugs,
together with a fragment in Budapest (Ellis, 1969, Fig. 9) and several
other examples show an open field below the arch. However, columns appear
along the side in the Berlin and Budapest rugs and become prominent
features on the Ballard carpet, which also shows a small hanging lamp. One
should probably keep in mind that these formats had previously been used
during Byzantine times, often with a saint or other personage shown below
the arch.
Ellis listed seven of the wool foundation pieces, which he attributed to
Cairo, although they show similar designs to the silk foundation
pieces. One example in the Topkapi (Rogers and Tezcan, Topkapi Carpets,
Pl. 1) has been described as the personal prayer rug of Ahmet I
(1602-1617), and in general these pieces are thought to date slightly later
than the silk foundation pieces. This is far from an established fact, and
the two types may well have been contemporaneous. Examples at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art (Dimand and Mailey, Fig. 191) and St. Petersberg
(Ellis, 1969, Fig. 15) show field patterns similar to those of the Vienna
type, but examples in The Textile Museum (Ellis, 1969, Fig. 13) and the
Ahmet I piece in the Topkapi have open fields except for a wreath-like
floral device. Most of the major and minor borders of these pieces
resemble those of the silk-foundation rugs.
Ellis’s attribution of the silk foundation rugs to Bursa and the wool
foundation pieces to Cairo may well require a re-examination, as the Bursa
attribution is based on the slenderest evidence. Indeed, if these silk
foundation pieces had Z-spun woolen yarns, there might be some reason to
attribute them to some place other than Egypt, but Ellis himself supplies
data to the effect that major pieces in Vienna, Berlin, and New York show
S-spun silk warps, and the date for several others is questionable.
Another of the interesting rugs included in the exhibition is filled with a
striking stylized palmette and tulip design and attributed to the Eastern
Caucausus, circa 1700. Of particular interest to the Bay area is the
provenance tracing the rug to a Butterfield & Butterfield auction in 1988
and its inclusion in a well-known private collection in Seattle before
making its way into the Khalili Collection.
There is an excellent illustrated exhibition catalog available from the
Asian Art Museum or from the exhibition’s U.S. organizers and managers, Art
Services International of Alexandria, Virginia. As usual, the Museum has
organized a number of lectures and programs to accompany the Empire of the
Sultans exhibition, including a special after-hours viewing accompanied by
special music on Thursday August 9 from 6-10PM
September 30, 2001 Patricia T. Leiser, Mosaics: the missing link? 109 South
Hall, UC Berkeley
Over a number of years living, studying and traveling in the Mediterranean
and Islamic worlds, often visiting classical sites and museums by day and
rug shops at night, I have at times been struck by a resemblance between
Roman mosaics and oriental carpets. At first, this seems surprising as the
former are composed of hard immovable stone and the latter of flexible,
portable fabric. Furthermore, the two are apparently separated in time by
one or two thousand years, and belong to two distinctly different cultural
traditions [1]. Do their similarities arise then simply from the
functional coincidence that they both serve as decorative floor coverings,
or is there some direct connection?
Carved threshold slabs in Assyrian palaces appear to be stone reproductions
of textiles or carpets of which the oldest complete pile carpet, the
Pasaryk rug, would seem to derive [2]. Were classical mosaics likewise
modeled on contemporary weavings of the time whose legacy could have been
carried on in later kilim tapestries and pile carpets? Or could these
later weavings have been influenced, even if indirectly, by the patterns in
the mosaics? Many scholars have noted similarities between rugs and mosaics
[3], while a contrary view warns that apparent resemblances are just as
likely to be independent developments of motifs [4]. In order to determine
the extent of the similarities and if they are "genetic" and have a direct
relationship and/or a common source, I have made a preliminary survey
comparing and contrasting Greco-Roman and Byzantine mosaics with
traditional kilim and carpet designs. I restricted myself primarily to
Turkey and began by focusing on border patterns, a conservative decorative
device shared by all three [5].
October 23, 2001. Elena Tzareva, “Central Asian Rugs in the Russian
Ethnographic Museum,” The Sandra Whitman Gallery, 361 Oak Street, SF.
Elena Tzareva is Curator of the Central Asian Department at the Russian
Ethnographic Museum in Saint Petersburg. Her 1984 book on Rugs and Carpets
from Central Asia: The Russian Collections describes and analyzes the
historical collections of Turkoman, Kirghiz, Uzbek, Karakalpak, Baluch and
Kazakh rugs from Central Asia preserved in the Russian Ethnographic
Museum. Her talk for SFBARS will focus on the little known weaving
traditions of the non-Turkoman tribes of Central Asia.
December 3, 2001 the Annual SFBARS Dinner
***************
2002
January 28, 2002 Parviz Tanavoli
The Lion Rugs are a group of tribal rugs depicting the image of the lion
as the main motif, first identified as a group by Parviz Tanavoli in the
early 1970’s. In 1974 they were exhibited by museums in the United
States, including at the Textile Museum in Washington D.C., by the
Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service. Since then the Lion
Rugs have been exhibited in Australia, Canada, England, Germany,
Switzerland and Iran. They have traveled and exhibited more than any other
rug collection known to date. Though the oldest of the known Lion rugs do
not predate the 19th century, literary and historical references indicate
that Lion Rugs in Iran date back to the 12th century. In his lecture
Parviz Tanavoli will discuss various types of Lion Rugs made by the
Qashqa’i, the Lor and Bakhtiari tribes, as well as those made in other
parts of Iran. He will also discuss the lion motif in other art forms such
as coins, mosque banners and stone lions and will discuss their relation to
lion rugs. The talk will be hosted by Emmett Eiland’s Oriental Rug Company,
1326 Ninth Street, in Berkeley.
Feb. 17, 2002 Joy May Hilden
Joy will present a slide/lecture program on "Beduin Weaving in Arab Lands".
She is an expert in Beduin weaving, having lived in Saudi Arabia for twelve
years with her teacher-husband, doing primary field research among nomadic,
semi-nomadic and settled Beduin. A teacher and artist, she documented the
spinning, weaving and dyeing of women throughout Saudi Arabia. In addition
to their travels throughout the Kingdom, she and her husband also visited
Qater, Oman, Jordan, Syria and Egypt. Ms. Hilden has photographed
extensively the weavings she found, the nomads and their lifestyle. She has
completed a book that is waiting for publication, has given papers,
seminars and workshops at conferences, and has published several magazine
articles. You may visit her web site at: www.beduinweaving.com. (Note her
spelling of Beduin.)
The meeting will be held at her home, so SFBARS members may see her
collection of nomadic weavings, some too large to bring to another site and
seldom seen elsewhere. Joy will show slides of weavings made and used by
Arab nomads, the techniques used to make them, and the weavers' lifestyle.
She will also demonstrate spinning.The Hildens live on the corner of
Shattuck and Marin, a block uphill from the Arlington Circle and fountain.
Take the Buchanan St. exit from highway 880 and head toward the hills.
Buchanan becomes Marin and winds through residential neighborhoods. If
you're coming from Berkeley, south of Marin, it is easiest to travel on
Martin Luther King or Oxford. Avoid Shattuck, since it turns into Sutter
and Henry and goes into the Solano Tunnel, which is beneath the Arlington
Circle. Please do not park on Marin Ave. If you get lost, call 510-526-2266.
Excerpt from the essay “Introduction to Tents,” from Joy May Hilden’s Website.
“How would you like to live in a large cloth home, protected from the heat,
cold and wind by handwoven walls and ceilings, your voice and footsteps
muffled and absorbed by the dark goat hair fabric? Some Arabian nomads,
the Beduin, still live this way. As you sit on cushions and rugs on soft
sand, watching smoke from the cooking fire curl upward, you smell the aroma
of freshly ground and brewed Arabian coffee. As you wander through the
rooms of the spacious, low-roofed dwelling, you are caught by light
drifting through the weave of the cloth, throwing its pattern on you and
the undulating cool sand underfoot. You are told that your hostess made
the tent and the rugs, cushions and saddlebags which are in use throughout
the tent. She shows you her loom. Yarns over twenty-five feet long are
stretched on heavy beams which are staked into the sand. It looks
deceptively simple until she starts to weave. She sits on the ground,
pushing and pulling, beating and plucking, to create the thick dense cloth
that will withstand the severe sand, wind and wear of nomadic life. She
shows you how she spins the strong, heavily twisted yarn on a simple hand
spindle. She sits with a distaff full of twisted bunches of sheeps' wool
tucked under her left arm. She holds the spindle in her right hand and
turns it quickly in her open palm, guiding the stream of fleece from the
distaff with her left hand.”
March 19, 2002 Peter Poullada
My talk will be based on the collection of almost 1000 slides of
Afghanistan taken by the Poullada family over the course of three decades.
I will use about 100 slides, mostly from the early 1950's to illustrate the
transhumant life-cycle of the nomadic pastoral tribes of Afghanistan
showing their migration from winter to summer pastures. These will
illustrate the Turkic, Chahar Aimaq and Pashtun nomads (the "maldar” of
north-west and southwest Afghanistan on their migration routes into the
Hazarajat, the high mountainous region of the western Hindu Kush. I will
demonstrate how their routes congregate into the region of the Panjao, the
"five watersheds” and the nearby pasturelands of Yakowlan, "the Yekke
Oleng” or great pasture land of the Hazarajat. I will show scenes of the
landscapes that the nomads pass through as they climb from their Winter
quarters, the "qishlaq” up to their "yaylaq” the Summer pastures, as well
as the farming villages, the bazaars and religious sites they encounter on
their journeys. My goal will be to demonstrate the symbiotic relationship
that has developed between nomads and farmers, showing how they benefit
from the practice of a mixed economy of pastoralism, farming and trading.
Using photos taken on their migration routes I will also try to delineate
some of the tribal groups that nomadize in western Afghanistan and discuss
the role of military, political and social forces in their ethnogenesis and
historical development. Finally I will show a series of views of the summer
encampments (their "Yurt”) and identify the differing types of tents used
by the turkco-mongol, Chahar Aimaq, and Pashtun maldars. Textiles will be
seen only in the practical context of their daily use.
After the lecture I would welcome a Show and Tell and encourage
participants to bring in their favorite examples of Chahar Aimaq
weavings. These might include those from the Timuri, Taimani, Firuzkuhi
and Jamshidi groups, as well as other "so-called Herat Baluch " weavings
like the Mushwani or Adraskand. All of these are in fact Chahar Aimaq or
Pashtun in origin and need to be differentiated from the other "so-called
Baluch” groups like the Salar-khani, Jani-Beg or Dokhtar-ghazi from the
Torbat-i-Jam and Torbat-i-Haydari regions of western Khurasan.
A note about our speaker. Peter Poullada first came to Afghanistan in 1954
when his father was appointed to be the economic officer at the U.S.
Embassy in Kabul. Leaving in 1958 Peter returned to live and travel
throughout the country in 1967-68, 1974 and 1975-76. He has visited 28 of
the 29 provinces of Afghanistan and made several trips to central Asia in
the 1980's and 1990's. In May 2001 he spent three weeks driving 2000 miles
through Chinese Turkestan. Peter has a degree in Middle Eastern History and
Languages from Princeton University and wrote his Masters Thesis on the
economic development of Afghanistan at the University of
California-Berkeley. He has been an avid collector of central Asian tribal
weavings for over 20 years and is currently doing research on the
ethnogenesis and history of the Turkmen and Uzbek peoples of central Asia
based on Islamic and Russian primary sources from the 13th to the 19th century.
April 7, 2002 Jim Dixon: A visit to Occidental
The viewer is overwhelmed by the power of many exceptionally large 16th,
17th, and 18th Century carpets, even when fragmentary. Moreover, these
early carpets have a subtlety of design and complexity of color that is
lacking in 19th Century rugs.
Weather permitting, in addition to the some 90 rugs and fragments in the
house, Jim plans to spread out an additional group on the patios outside.
Carpets within the house are arranged in individual alcoves by geographical
area: Western Turkish; Ersari Beshire; North and South Caucasian; Classical
and Village Persian rugs and fragments.
Among the Western Turkish rugs is the largest rug on display--a 14 1/2 x
24' Medallion Oushak circa 1500 with a particularly rare design. Other
rugs in the Turkish alcove demonstrate variations of Medallion and Star
Oushak formats, and some attentive, relaxed viewing reveals surprising uses
of intentional negative space.
The Persian alcove has as its centerpiece the upper quarter of a 17th
Century Chodor Bagh Garden Carpet, again, the other carpets are variations
on design elements in this archetypal theme.
The North wing has 40 Caucasian rugs of the 18th and 19th centuries, each
organized around the Memling gul design. This stepped octagon motif
appeared as early as the 4th millenium BCE in the perimeter walls of
central Asian cities, taking its name from the rugs portrayed in the 15th
Century paintings of Hans Memling.
Other alcoves feature the major part of Jim Dixon's collection of Caucasian
16th-18th Century long rugs, i.e. 18x20 feet. Shown alongside these
classical rugs are village examples using these same motifs and symbols.
Virtually all the rugs and fragments presently hung depict the lotus as a
design element. Jim has told us he will talk twice during the day about
individual rugs and for those interested his evolving theories of "rugs as
cosmological maps." Jim says, "those present who wish to escape such
remarks can flee to other parts of the house and fortify themselves at the
buffet, or wander freely in the gardens, weather permitting where thousands
of tulips and much else will be in bloom." This year members will be asked
to remove their shoes upon entering the house--so bring slippers or an
extra pair of socks.
May 7, 2002 Manastir kelims A talk by Davut Mizrahi 110 south hall, uc
berkeley
In the late 70‘s for the first time carpets labelled „Manastir“ appeared on
the market, formerly simply classified as „Western Anatolia“ and therefore
included in a medley of different production areas. This medley enclosed
most tribal carpets from Western Anatolia; most collectors in these days
focused their interest and knowledge on village and town- carpets like
those from Bergama, Canakkale and others.
A couple of years later the first Kelims, striking in their minmalistic
compositions of simple forms, have been classified „Manastir“; the more
general term „Western Anatolian“ remained still useful as it could not be
wrong anyway. The name Manastir originally had been used because of the
main trading place for these textiles, a small town in today‘s
Macedonia Manastir nowadays is called Bitola. A further explanation spread
by carpet dealers was, as Manastir means „Monastery“ as well, that such
carpets had been produced in monasteries or for the use in monasteries.
Very little was and is known about the people who had woven these carpets
and kelims. In the last years carpet dealers and other informants agreed
insofar as to say that the weavers had come from tribes originally
descending from central Anatolia, that have been settled by the Ottoman
government on the Balkans, from where they migrated back to western
Anatolia when the European provinces of the Ottoman Empire experienced a
general breakdown, which made it impossible for semi-nomadic tribes to
continue their traditional life-styles. Part of the population might have
joined as well larger Turcic communities in Bulgaria, to which they had
been neighbours for centuries. Different influences are recognisable as
the scattered parts of the Balkan tribes had to live under the dominance of
the stronger indigenous groups who offered them more or less voluntary a
new homestead. Most of the textile production seems to have been made for
their own not to be sold on the market. Sources which give the information
, that one century ago a great number of Manastir textiles have passed the
Istanbul market seem to have confused Manastir weavings with other weavings
from the Balkans like Sarköy, which definitely have been a success on the
Istanbul market. We will be able to present some thirty slides of
Manastir kelims, in addition some material about neighbouring tribes and
should try to carry a few examples in original.
June 27, 2002 Robert P. Piccus, Tibetan Rugs A Collector’s Odyssey At
the Sandra Whitman Gallery 361 Oak Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
The opening of Tibet to foreign travelers in the mid-1980’s presented a
unique opportunity to explore the range of early textiles, both domestic
and foreign, that had been collected and preserved, in many cases for
centuries, in the temples and households. A surprising number of art works
had miraculously escaped the wholesale destruction of Tibet’s cultural
legacy by the Chinese Red Guards during the cultural revolution. R.P.
Piccus’s talk will focus on one of these discoveries the broad range of
early rugs produced in Tibet during the 18th and 19th Centuries when Tibet
was largely insulated from foreign visitors and influence.
Bob and his wife Alice lived in Hong Kong from early 1968 to the end of
1999, and were thus able to take advantage of the flow of art leaving China
during that period. Among other things such as Annamese porcelain, Ming
furniture, Japanese folk art, Southeast Asian sculpture and silver they
collected Chinese rugs mainly Ningxia rugs made for the Tibetan lamaistic
temples, and Tibetan ritual objects, mainly silver. They were thus well
primed to collect the early Tibetan rugs that began to appear in Hong Kong,
Peking and Kathmandu markets in the mid-1980’s when China finally opened
Tibet to controlled tourism. This opening provided a rare window of
opportunity to collect in a ‘newly discovered’ area Tibetan rugs.
One of the most stimulating aspects of collecting in a new area is the
intellectual challenge of deciding how to classify the various types of
rugs and to determine their age, all in the absence of documentation. This
process will be the focus of the talk. Please bring your Tibetan rugs and
antiquities to add to the discussion after Bob’s talk.
August 10, 2002 Explore Passages the Armenian Rug Exhibition with a
commentary on the rugs by Dr. Murray Eiland. Herbst International
Exhibition Hall The Presidio, San Francisco
Passages: Celebrating Rites of Passage in Inscribed Armenian Rugs, displays
114 rugs, each telling a story of a particular time and place. Woven for
specific occasions such as birth, marriage and death, they speak of joy,
love and sorrow. The rug embodies the collective heritage of a people as
well as the creative individuality of the weaver that is its beauty and
mystery. Dr. Murray L. Eiland, Jr. will lead SFBARS members in a tour of
the rug exhibition.
Sept. 10, 2002 Natalia Nekrassova Ersari Rugs of the Turkomans
Alexander's Rugs in Mill Valley
The topic is Ersari rugs, their common features and peculiarities compared
with other Turkmen rugs, especially specific patterns, compositions and
colours. I will show slides and I need one projector. I have a slide tray
for Kodak carousal projector. My topic will be about Ersari rugs, their
common and specific features compared with other Turkmen rugs, as well as
peculiarities of Ersari patterns, compositions and colours. Ersari rugs,
their common and specific features compared with other Turkmen rugs, as
well as peculiarities of Ersari patterns, compositions and colours
I have Master degree in the History of Art in the Moscow State University.
I worked as a curator of Central Asian and Caucasian rugs and decorative
art in the State Museum of Oriental Art in Moscow about quarter of the
century and also was a Head of the Research department of Central Asian and
Caucasian Art in the same museum. I have articles and catalogues published
on this theme. I had an opportunity to be in the Caucasus and Central Asia
a few times every year while working in the museum. I was an author of more
than 30 exhibitions in Russia and abroad. I was a curator of rug and
textile collections in the State Museum of Oriental Art in Moscow about
quarter of a century. Now I am a guest curator in the Textile Museum of
Canada. I was an author of more than 30 exhibitions on rugs, textiles and
decorative art in Russia and abroad. I have some catalogues and articles
published. I was lucky to have an opportunity to visit Central Asia and the
Caucasus a few times a year while working in the Museum that helped me to
in my work with Oriental rugs and textiles.
October 23 2002 An Exhibition of Jim Dixon’s Kesa
Our next meeting will be an informal get together at Jim Dixon's home at
337 Colusa Ave. in Kensington at 7:30 PM on Wednesday, October 23rd. Be
prepared to walk up quite a few stairs. Jim's house is the one in back.
There will be a wonderful display of Japanese Kesa on view. For those not
familiar with these textiles, Kesa are Japanese Buddhist priest robes. They
are fairly large (approximately 4 x 7) rectangular textiles formed of
panels and patches of brocaded silk--often utilizing gold thread. This is
quite an extraordinary collection of these interesting and beautiful
pieces. The LACMA website describes kesa thusly: The Buddhist priest's
robe, or kesa, is usually made up of seven to twenty-five narrow panels
(jo) composed of patchwork squares and assembled into a large, flat
rectangle, which, somewhat like a toga, drapes under the left arm and
fastens by two corners on the right shoulder. According to legend, its
original shape and composition derive from the fine gold kesa that Buddha's
mother made for him. Obeying vows of poverty, these robes were made from
donated pieces of old cloth and rags. Eventually the cloaks acquired the
status of investiture and were handed down from master to disciple as
symbols of priestly descent and authority. As Buddhist ceremonial
observance became more complex and hieratic, the patchwork kesa, composed
of finer and finer fragments, grew more luxurious.
For more information see:
November 19, 2002 Heavenly Gardens: Early Rugs of the Near and Far East
from the Collection of Jim Dixon The Bedford Gallery, in the Dean Lester
Regional Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek, CA 94596
“Heavenly Gardens: Early rugs of the Near and Far East," a major exhibition
of rugs from Jim Dixon's collection, will open Tuesday, November 19th at
the Bedford Gallery in the Dean Lester Regional Center for the Arts in
Walnut Creek. SFBARS will have its November meeting at the gallery in
conjunction with the opening of the show on Tuesday, November 19th at
5:30-7:30. We hope to see you all there. Jim will lead a walk through of
the exhibit for SFBARS members.
The sixty or so of his rugs and rug fragments (dating from the 15th to 19th
c.) on view will be primarily organized geographically-- Caucasia, Turkey,
Persia, Turkmenistan, Turkestan and China. Within this context rugs will be
grouped in an attempt to show historical development. Development of
various design motifs as well as cosmological concepts as they relate to
rug design, will also be apparent in the choice of rugs exhibited. Visual
appeal--strength of color and design--as well as historical, cosmological
and interest in progression of design will make a combined visual and
intellectual treat. Many SFBARS members are already familiar with portions
of the Dixon collection having attended meetings at his homes in Occidental
and Kensington. Moreover, an article on his collection appeared in Hali
Magazine (Issue 109). Many of his rugs were also seen in the 1990 "Trefoil"
rug exhibition at Mills College. The Bedford exhibit will be a chance to
again see some of his collection in a gallery setting.
The Dean Lesher Center is located at 1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek, 4
blocks south of the Walnut Creek Bart Station. Hours are Tue-Sun, 12 noon
to 5 pm and also Th, Fri, and Sat evenings 6-8 PM. The Gallery is closed on
Mondays. The show will run until January 5, 2003. Gallery invitations will
be sent to the SFBARS mailing list.
December 10, 2002. Arthur Leeper
Our speaker will be the Arthur Leeper, who will report on the International
Chinese Silk Conference in Hangzhou, China last month. In a first for China
the presentations at the recent conference at the Hangzhou National Silk
Museum on the archaeology of silk was presented either in English, or with
simultaneous English translations, clearly catering to an international
audience. The attempt was an ambitious and largely successful gamble, and
the contacts between Chinese scholars and excavators and the visiting
foreign scholars and enthusiasts were often remarkable, and hopefully built
enduring bridges between worlds that often operate in complete isolation
from each other. Arthur Leeper has been interested in Asian textiles and
rugs since his travels to Asia began in the early 1970's. He helped curate
the first museum show of Tibetan rugs at The Textile Museum in 1983 and has
written and lectured extensively on that part of the world. He has long had
an interest in early Chinese textiles, initially sparked by the remarkably
preserved textiles that were discovered in Tibet over the last decades.
February 26, 2003,Diane Mott
There is something almost magical about felt. From the way it is produced
to its unique properties, astounding versatility, and its ancient origins,
felt is one of the most intriguing of all fabrics. This lecture will
describe how, by the simplest means, loose, dirty wool fleece is
transformed into a smooth, coherent fabric, one that can be molded easily
into three-dimensional forms and that can vary in texture and thickness
from the soft suppleness of chamois to the density and rigidity of
hardwood. It will examine the earliest archaeological evidence of felt and
trace its history from the Early Bronze Age to the present, looking at how
and where felt probably developed and at some of the many ways it has been
used throughout its 5,000-year life. The focus will be on felt-making and
felt design in the Near East, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia, the
probable birthplace of the fabric and where it still retains vestiges of
its original importance.
Following the talk, there will be a brief update on plans for the new De
Young Museum building and for the Textile Department’s spaces in it. A
20-minute video on felt making among the Uyghurs of Xinjiang will be
available following the lecture for those wishing to view it. Members are
encouraged to bring examples of felt from their own collections for show
and tell.
March 27, 2003. Ekaterina Ermakova Uzbek Ikats and Traditional Costumes
Ekaterina Ermakova is the Head of the Caucasus and Central Asia Department
of the Museum of Oriental Art in Moscow, a position she has held for the
past three years. She graduated in 1980 from Moscow State University with a
degree in Ethnology specializing in the embroideries and fabrics of
Uzbekistan. She has participated in many ethnographic and archeological
expeditions to Uzbekistan to acquire objects for the collection of the
Museum. In 1995 she completed a Ph.D. in History concerning the jewelry of
Bukhara. In 2002 she was the curator and co-wrote the catalogue for an
important exhibit of Uzbek textiles based on the Tair Tairov collection in
the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow; this exhibit was reviewed
in Hali magazine (#123, July-August 2002, pp. 34-35).
The presentation will consist of about 100 sides covering an introduction
to the cultural history of Turkestan and especially Bukhara, and a
description of both men and women’s traditional dress. The role and place
of these textiles in the lifestyle and traditional culture of Bukhara will
be examined and examples will be shown of the interiors of the houses of
Bukhara.
At the end of the lecture there will be time for a show and tell and the
audience is encouraged to bring (or wear!) their favorite examples of
Bukharan textile apparel. Since Ekaterina is a specialist in Uzbek jewelry
she is happy to examine or talk about favorite jewelry items, so bring them
as well. We look forward to a colorful and informative evening. Plentiful
spaces are available in the Japan Center underground parking lot a few
blocks away.
April 10, 2003. Dr. Harald Böhmer, Laboratory for Natural Dyes, Marmara
University, Istanbul “Natural Dyes and Synthetic Dyes: History and
Differences.”
What is the difference between a "natural" dye, and a "chemical", or
synthetic one? Why do the colors of old carpets and textiles seem to
"mellow," rather than fade? Why do we always hear dealers touting the fact
that a rug is made with so-called natural dyes, or that a color is "bad"
because it¹s synthetic, and from where did the movement back to "natural"
dyes in the world of oriental rugs come? Before the 1870¹s, most dyes and
mordents were made from naturally occurring organic or mineral substances.
Then, in the late 19th century, Europeans invented and marketed
synthetically compounded, manufactured dyestuffs, which, with their bright
and unusual colors and easy processing for dyers, swept the world,
including the realm of hand-woven rugs in Asia. Dr. Harald Böhmer will tell
us about the history of and differences between dyes and colors created by
boiling up roots, leaves, insects and iron filings, and those made in the
laboratory, and how they affect the dyeing of wool and silk. He will also
cover the contemporary revival of "back to natural" dye projects in many
parts of the world, and what this means to the local products, economies
and cultures.
In the 1980¹s, Dr. Böhmer, a native of Delmenhorst, Germany, was a
chemistry professor at the German high school in Istanbul, where he came to
love oriental carpets. He wondered what happened to the beautiful colors in
old Turkish carpets, and why they were no longer being used. He set off on
a journey, both scientific and ethnographic, to re-discover the origins and
formulas for dyeing materials with natural substances. Along with the Fine
Arts Department of Marmara University, he founded DOBAG, the first of many
world-wide projects which revived the production of naturally-dyed carpets
and textiles. His new book Kökboya [Root Dyes] is a beautiful and
definitive text on dyeing with natural substances; there will be copies
available to buy. Dr. Böhmer invites members to bring examples of rugs,
especially Turkish, made with both natural and synthetic dyes, to show as
examples.
April 6, 2003, SFBARS Visits Jim Dixon at Occidental
SFBARS members should not miss this opportunity some of Jim Dixon's vast
and important rug collection in his home in Occidental. It is a rare
experience to see these museum quality pieces in a home he designed and
built specifically to house them. The event includes a buffet luncheon,
begins at noon and ends around dusk. Jim’s collection is featured in Hali
109, but even Hali’s sumptuous photographs don’t begin to convey the scale
of Jim’s home and the beauty of his collection. Jim’s garden is another
facet of the philosophy and sensibility that shaped his architectural
vision and collection each is worth contemplating on its own, and in
relation to the others.
May 10, 2003. Pat Markovich, “Afghan War Rugs,” 110 South Hall,
UC Berkeley
Review: Pat Markovich on Afghan Political and War Rugs
On May 10, 2003 Pat Markovich spoke to SFBARS about Afghan Political and War Rugs. She described these as rugs that document power struggles, whether political or religious, and which tell us something about the way that weavers experience contemporary history. Today these rugs are often treated as folk art and are not of interest to museums, galleries or collectors - and yet they are documents with which illiterate weavers describe the experience of war and political conflict, and in the long run will become part of the historical record.
Political rugs are pictorial, and often include writing, even by illiterate weavers. Pat showed a number of rugs to illustrate the way the weapons of war evolve into more abstract rug designs. Her son - Dr. Michael Treece - identified AK74 and AK47 designs in rugs, drawings of grenades that gradually evolved into Boteh-like designs, and the way that Russian helicopters and bird designs are juxtaposed in rugs, and gradually merge. Pat also showed a United Nations poster printed on cloth that was designed to warn Afghans about the danger of 'toe poppers' (plastic bottles filled with nitroglycerin), and how those drawings later show up in rugs.
Pat also made a number of interesting comments about why she collects Political and War Rugs. In part, by collecting rugs that document contemporary history when others dismiss them as kitsch she fulfills the responsibility of collectors to preserve folk art forms before they are recognized as important by high-culture institutions like museums. In part, it is possible to build a comprehensive collection of these rugs because they are inexpensive, and one never knows when one will come across an important discovery. And most importantly, these rugs have personality, they tell something about the life of the weaver, and her attempt to make sense of terrifying situations.
pl editor
June 14, 2003. Murray Eiland III, "Syrian and Mamluk Rugs and Textiles,"
San Francisco's Fort Mason ,
Building C, Third Floor, Room 362
Murray Eiland III has kindly agreed to speak to us on Syrian/Mamluk rugs at our next meeting. It will take place between 2:30 and 4:30 at Fort Mason in San Francisco in Building C, third floor, room 362.
From the the San Francisco Bay Area Rug Society
June 2003 Newsletter:
Syrian weavings have a long documented history, from the textiles of Palmyra through the Arab textiles woven today. Murray Eiland III will review this history, and present slides and examples of Syrian weavings made during the last century. He will also address one of the most important unanswered questions about Syrian rugs - Did Mamluk rugs come from Syria or Egypt? During the Mamluk period Syria was also a center for art and culture, but there is little direct evidence to suggest that they wove rugs in Syria. Egypt is usually the preferred origin for these rugs, not least because pile weaves are not well known from this region. Drawing upon architecture and elements of design, evidence will be presented that suggest the Mamluks did weave rugs in Syria.
Murray Eiland III is currently visiting California while in the midst of a Fulbright grant to work in Syria with the Ministry of Tourism and Department of Antiquities on cultural resource management. Murray is one of the most important young scholars in the rug and textile world, and is currently writing up his archeological research on 14th Century textiles in the Muguti cave complex in Georgia. Murray will bring some Syrian rugs and is happy to assist in a show and tell. He particularly invites local collectors to bring Mamluk fragments and Arab textiles, or examples of textiles that are Arab influenced from Central Asia or South Asia - or anywhere!
PL editor
**********
"Syrian weavings have a long documented history, from the textiles of Palmyra through the Arab textiles woven today. I will present slides and examples of Syrian weavings made during the last century. This leads naturally to the next question.
October 4th, 2003: 10am -12Noon, SHOW and TELL! New Acquisitions, Mystery Rugs and Old Favorites
Room, Fort Mason, San Francisco, C205, C Building, 2nd floor
Have you always wanted to show off something in your collection? Well now this is your big chance. Bring in your newest purchase, your first purchase, the rug you have never figured out, the beautiful piece that has always puzzled you. Maybe you can stump our experts! This is your chance to talk about your own rugs or give your views on someone else's! It 's a chance to handle weavings and to examine them up close, and to meet and get to know other members of our Rug Society.
Your Host and Maitre'D will be SFBARS President Peter Poullada --- who freely confesses to knowing only about Turkmen rugs. Maybe you can stump him with your mysterious Anatolian-Tunisian piece. All rugs have a story, be prepared to bring one along. Audience participation encouraged and even required. Snacks and coffee will be provided.
**************
October 21, 3003:Meeting 7-9pm Melissa Finklestein, Iranian Felt-Making, Sandra Whitman Gallery, 361 Oak Street, San Francisco, CA.
For the past two years Dodd and Melina Raissnia have
been collecting and documenting felt rugs from Iran.
They have found a mere handful of felters that are
still making high quality felt rugs or, namads, as they
are called in Iran. In an effort to sustain this dying
art form they have begun commissioning these felters to
produce namads with the hope of creating a market for
them in the U.S. Dodd and Melina will speak about
their project and bring examples of namads from several
regions of Iran including Turkmenistan. They will also
screen a video made by Dodd last May documenting the
namad making process of master felter, Hajali Halajion.
Melina is a painter and graphic designer who fell in
love with felt when Dodd brought her a namad after
returning from a trip to Iran in ‘98. Dodd has a
backround in sales and loves to travel. Their decision
to pursue this project was driven by a desire to work
together and spend more time with their young son,
Rahim.
**********
WOVEN PASSION A JOURNEY TO POST EMBARGO IRAN
Spring of 2000 witnessed the termination of the U.S. embargo on Iranian
goods. A door was opened and I was ushered through it. Persian art,
culture, poetry and textiles have been a civilizing influence in my life
since I spent four years practicing architecture in Iran during the 1960¹s.
I encountered the miraculous in Persia during that period and have been
reminded of that connection on almost a daily basis ever since. Impressions
nourish our souls and my thirty-three year association with Persian rugs
has been a veritable banquet! Although Carpets of the Inner Circle has
placed its emphasis on older and older weavings, the architect and designer
in me remains interested in the potential associated with new rugs. It was
with a degree of genuine sadness that I witnessed the decline in production
from Persia during the embargo period, made even less palatable by the rise
in favor of imitators from Rumania, Turkey, Pakistan, India and China.
Roger G. Cavanna
With cathedral ceilings soaring four stories high, the combination of airy,
open space and colorful rare antique rugs can leave a visitor
speechless. “Don’t try to talk for a while,” Dixon says to a first-time
guest. “Just take it all in and see what you feel.” The landscape
designer and longtime rug collector…designed and built this undoubtedly
singular retreat himself, primarily to display his rug collection. “I
wanted to provide a carefully proportioned volume of space so that the
impact will bring the mind to a stop and allow us to transcend our worldly
tensions.”
Sandra Whitman, 7:30 PM, May 10, 2001 361 Oak Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
1. A brief introduction to the history of carpet weaving in the area,
the use and purpose of rugs and carpets, and the gaps in our knowledge. [A
handout will be provided]
2. A review of the area, of the influences of other cultures, what we
do and don’t know about
where the rugs were actually woven and by whom. [A map will be explored]
3. A review of the classification strategies used to analyze rugs from
East Turkistan, such as structural, design and color
characteristics. [Rugs will be shown and analyzed]
4. And, if there is time, the unanswered questions Sandra would most like
to have answered.
The Aegean Grill 1403 Solano Avenue (at Carmel St.) Albany, CA
Featured Speaker Diane Mott, FAMSF
“The Lion in the Art and Culture of Iran”
BEDUIN WEAVING IN ARAB LANDS
“Qishlaq and Yaylaq, Bazaar and Chaikhana: Memories of the Hindu Kush
1952-1976.” 7 PM, The Jim Blackmon Gallery Pine Street, San Francisco
SFBARS members who have not yet had the pleasure of seeing some of Jim
Dixon's vast and important rug collection in his home in Occidental should
not miss this opportunity. Most of those who have already had a chance to
visit will want to do so again before he retires from view this currently
exhibited group of rugs. It is a rare experience to see these museum
quality pieces in a Cathedral-like setting--a home he built specifically to
house them.
http://www.nga.gov.au/ConservationArt/micros.htm
http://www.lacma.org/art/perm_col/costumes/costume2.htm
http://www.asianartbykyoko.com/catalog/Antiques:
RegionalArt:Asian:Japanese:Textiles.html
http://www.cloudband.com/frames.mhtml/magazine/articles2q01/books_jackson_aedta_0601.html
A Review of the 2002 International Chinese Silk Conference in Hangzhou,
China San Francisco Bay Area Rug Society Annual Dinner
7PM, Tuesday La Méditerranée Restaurant
2936 College Avenue College Avenue, Berkeley
The annual dinner of the San Francisco Bay Area Rug Society will be held at
La Méditerranée restaurant in Berkeley on December 10, 2002. The gathering
begins at 7PM, and dinner will begin at 7:30PM. La Méditerranée is located
at 2936 College Avenue (just North of Ashby Avenue) in Berkeley. Parking
is available in the metered public lot behind the restaurant. La
Méditerranée is one of the top ranked restaurants for Middle Eastern Food
in the Bay Area. Located in the Rockridge district of Berkeley it has been
a favorite with East Bay diners for years. We have arranged a special feast
for this year's SFBARS Annual Dinner, a fixed menu offering that includes
an excellent sampling of the cuisines of the Levant. We will begin with a
magnificent Meze in the style of Old Beirut; hummous, tahina, kibbe and
other tasty cold and hot meze, plus a selection of lamb in filo, chicken
kebab and other kebabs. For vegetarians there is an alternative Meze with
equally fine dishes. This will be followed by a selection of typical
Levantine desserts, baklava and a La Méditerranée special dessert. A choice
of red or white California wines will be available plus at the end, of
course, espresso or other coffee of choice. The dinner costs $30 a
person. Please reserve your place by sending a check for $30 per person
to Pat Leiser, SFBARS Treasurer, 101 San Jose Court, Vacaville CA 95688.
Curator of Textiles, The Fine Art Museums of San Francisco, speaking
on The Ancient Art of Felt Fort Mason, San Francisco
Felt has been a subject of particular interest to me for many years, an
interest shared by SFBARS Board Member Peter Lyman. His enthusiasm for the
subject and recent gifts of felts to the De Young Museum’s Textile
Department have prompted me to speak on this ancient art at SFBARS’
February meeting.
The James Blackmon Gallery
2140 Bush Street (between Fillmore & webster)
San Francisco, CA 94115
Krimsa Gallery, 2190 Union Street (near Fillmore) San Francisco,
94123. Tel. 415-441-4321.
During the Mamluk period Syria was also a center for art and culture, but there is little direct evidence to suggest that they wove rugs in Syria. Egypt is usually the preferred origin for these rugs, not least because pile weaves are not well known from this region. Drawing upon architecture and elements of design, evidence will be presented that suggest the Mamluks did weave rugs in Syria." Murray Eiland