In his article in HALI 215, Jeff Spurr sets out to demonstrate an integral link between a brilliant but eccentric and ill-understood subset of antique urban suzanis from the Emirate of Bukhara, and small-scale embroideries created by the Lakai, a rural Uzbek people, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Read the unabridged article. The post Style Matters: the case for Lakai Suzanis appeared first on HALI ..read more

HALI has organised a series of special events in Italy to precede the two-day colloquium Kerman Carpets of the Safavid Period (1501-1736) in Genoa, organised in memory of Alessandro Bruschettini, the renowned collector of Islamic art. Conceived as a celebration of the wealth of antique carpets and textiles in Italy, a week of talks, guided museum visits and exhibitions will focus on important artworks held in public institutions and private collections in Florence, Milan and Turin. The week culminates with the opportunity to visit the exhibition The Magnificent Sanguszko Carpets at P ..read more

From 24 March to 14 May 2022, Gallery 1957 in London is presenting a solo show by Kour Pour, a British-Iranian artist who spent considerable time in his father’s carpet shop as a child, memories of which have become a central component in his practice. Exhibition review by Sara Makari-Aghdam.   Of Iranian Descent, 2022, Acrylic on canvas over panel. Kour Pour ‘Or was home indeed the old house of his childhood with an ancient garden full of big lime trees, nasturtium bushes, little gazebos smelling of sweet baby roses and walnut trees shading the small blue-tiled pools? Full of faces who ..read more

Since the beginning of October 2021, when the outcome of Rippon Boswell’s ‘Orient Stars 2’ sale of 98 early, art historically significant rugs consigned by the Kirchheim family was settled by a winning pre-sale offer for the entire collection, the identity of the institutional buyer has remained a well-kept secret, much speculated about by all and sundry in the oriental carpet world. Now all has been revealed, and the buyer, not altogether surprisingly, turns out to be the Museum of Islamic Art in the Qatari capital Doha. In a press release on 25 March 2022, HE Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad b ..read more

HALI Fair Online returns from 20-30 May 2022. The virtual event is focused exclusively on extraordinary antique rugs and textiles from around the globe. Hosted by HALI magazine, it is the best place to source unique, collectible and decorative carpets and textiles from some of the world’s best dealers this spring. It follows the success of the inaugural virtual HALI Fair in June 2021 and promises to be one of the best places to source unique, collectible and decorative carpets and textiles this spring.  All will be free to attend, with no registration required. To enquire about ..read more

Featured in HALI 197 ‘Postcard from Kyiv’ recounts the journey of carpet dealer and scholar Aaron Nejad who returned to Ukraine in 2018 in order to seek out some truth in the story of the region’s distinctive and desirable ‘Bessarabian’ kilims. To aid the ongoing crisis in Ukraine please consider donating through the charity Choose Love which are providing vital aid and services to those still in and fleeing the country, including emergency medical care, food, shelter, clothes, legal support, support for the LGBTQIA+ community and mental health support.  Ten years had passed since my las ..read more

Featured in HALI 210, Kristal Hale reviews Crafting Textiles: Tablet weaving, Sprang, Lace and other techniques from the bronze age to the early 17th century:   The high tone of this book is established from the start. The opening dedication is to Peter Collingwood, a legendary textile scholar, author, weaver/maker and member of the Early Textiles Study Group; his work involved in-depth analysis of complex textiles as well as experimental replication of weaving techniques found in archaeological textiles. In testament to Collingwood’s vision, Crafting Textiles delves into archaic te ..read more

Featured in HALI 210, Penny Oakley reviews Arthur Millner’s latest book, Indian Tiles: Architectural Ceramics from Sultanate and Mughal India and Pakistan: Arthur Millner’s first book, Damascus Tiles, addressed a topic never before studied in its entirety (reviewed HALI 186). It became one of those works that establish themselves as the encyclopaedia for their field. His new monograph, Indian Tiles, was an even more daunting project, given the vast territory it covers and the variety of cultures and religious creeds involved. As an old India hand with long experience of the region and its art ..read more

Having been cancelled for almost two years, you could almost hear the collective sigh of relief when it was announced that ARTS was going to happen again on the 3 – 5 December 2021. This traditional get-together of dealers and collectors in the Bay Area is an important part of the rug and textile collecting calendar, and its absence has obviously affected business and closed the social circle for many regular attendees from across North America.  The effect of COVID meant that there were fewer dealers willing or able to attend, twenty-five in all, and the fluid nature of the restrictions ..read more

The Dallas Museum of Art’s current exhibition features textiles by the Bamana peoples of Mali recently acquired by the museum. On display until 4 December 2022 ‘Bamana Mud Cloth: From Mali to the World’ explores the labour-intensive processes involved in making mud cloth and identifies how the distinctive patterns have come to be used in products worldwide, from designer clothing to home furnishings.  Bogolanfini wrapper, Mali, Bamana peoples, 1970–1989, cotton, natural dyes, Dallas Museum of Art, Textile Purchase Fund. Mud cloth, or bogolanfini, originated among the Bamana peoples of M ..read more