PRE-PUBLICATION SPECIAL OFFER

KAITAG Daghestani Silk Embroidery An Italian Collection

Published by Ziya Bozog˘lu,May 2007 With an Introductory Essay by Robert Chenciner & David Hunt Hardbound,290 x 235mm portrait,184 pages,82 colour plates

“Kaitag textile art from Daghestan speaks to people ofdiverse cultural traditions.Frenchart-lovers respond to a proto-Matisse style;in Sweden they see ancient Scandinavian art;Australians are reminded ofAboriginal art and in the USA they see Abstract Expressionist paintings.Indeed,all these echoes are references to the common experience ofthe primal appeal ofKaitag embroideries,which is based on shared animist archetypes.”

Kaitagis the natural successor to Robert Chenciner’s first publication on the subject more than a dozen years ago,greatly adding to the lively corpus ofknown styles and designs ofDaghestani silk embroideries,among them many pieces that are quite simply ‘best-of-type’.

Pre-Publication Special Offer (Valid for orders received before 1 May 2007) Offer price: € 65/$85/£45(RRP: € 85/$115/£60) + p&p € 15/$20/£10 Please use the order card in this issue.Fax:+44 (0)20 7578 7222 Tel:+44 (0)20 7970 4564 Email:vicky.cox@centaur.co.uk
FRONTLINESFRAGMENTS

FRAGMENTS PEOPLE, EVENTS AND ITEMS OF INTEREST IN THE WORLD OF CARPETS, TEXTILES, ISLAMIC AND RELATED ARTS

BIBLICALVISION The Vision of Ezekielwas acquired in 2004 by the Spanish National Museum of Decorative Arts in Madrid. In March 2007 it was loaned for exhibition at the European Fine Art Fair in Maastricht. The tapestry was commissioned around 1520 from the masterweaver Pieter van Aelst’s studio in Brussels by Pope Leo X, and was woven from cartoons painted by Tommaso Vincidor and his assistants, after a sketch made in Rafael’s workshop by Giovanni Francesco Penni. Pope Leo died before its completion. It was used to cover the Papal letumor ceremonial bed where the newly-elected Pope finished dressing prior to his first public appearance. La Visión de Ezequielwas part of the Castroserna Collection, acquired about 1830 with another tapestry from the same suite, which was later returned to the Vatican. It is not known when La Visión de Ezequielitself left the Vatican.

WHCO Akhtar Nazir Khan, a.k.a. Cooki, is chairman of the World Handmade Carpet Organisation, set up by India, Pakistan and China to promote a fair and open market in the handmade carpet sector. WHCO held their first exhibition in Lahore in 2004, since when carpet exports from

participating countries have grown by more than a quarter, prompting Iran to join in 2006. There are now some 570 members in Pakistan, and Nepal has recently joined as a nonvoting member. It is hoped that Romania too will sign-up, and that before long Afghanistan will be able to follow. In 2006 members agreed to open up a communications network among producers in order to avoid problems such as overproduction. Cooki also explains that they would like to see interior designers involved in this “active association”, where colour trends are shared between members. “Buying handmade carpets you are supporting a family in the third world, give women a loom which after some years they can actually own. It is working for ownership, creating self-interest and social system for the community; indeed weaving as a means of rural development” he adds. The alliance is working to eradicate child labour (in India and Pakistan there are now free WHCO schools for 35,000 children), and to encourage responsible attitudes to problem areas such as chemical washing and environmental damage. Cookie comments that the WHCO now has “a lot of responsibility, people look to you for being a marketplace for all handmade carpets.” But it will take time. It is a new concept, with the best of intentions, but people are starting to take note. For more information on the WHCO see www.hali.com.

DR FREUD’S CASEBOOK Sigmund Freud fled Vienna in 1938. He took the contents of his Berggasse flat with him to London, where they now form part of the Freud Museum (below). The Freud household was decorated with oriental flair, including a number of carpets which, thanks to an initiative by the Austrian rug dealer Ali Rahimi, recently returned to Vienna for exhibition in Rahimi’s Palais Szechenyi gallery. The Freud carpets were purchased from Freud’s brother-in-law, Moritz, a rug dealer by profession with roots in Thessalonika. The famous consulting couch Qashqa’i was acquired in Izmir and later given to Sigmund. In the sexually repressed climate of 19th century Europe, the middle classes were enchanted by tales of distant lands, of opulent lifestyles, spices, perfumes and the harem. Oriental carpets, with their elaborate patterns, were taken to represent sensuous promiscuity. Freud’s work strongly emphasises the sexual element in dealing with neurosis, and perhaps he deliberately used the message of oriental textiles as a gateway to his patient’s subconscious.

HALI ISSUE 15143