NY Historical Society Exhibit Explores Exotic Oriental Rugs And Textiles

Mar 25th, 2008

A camel knee pad demonstrates the highly specialized functions of weavings in the Turkmen society, which inhabited a swath of territory from Central Asia to Syria. This is one of a pair, woven by a young Turkman woman in preparation for her wedding. They would have been tied around the knees of the camel that carried her in her bridal procession.

New York City

:Dozens of dazzling Oriental rugs and textiles will be the centerpiece of "Woven Splendor from Timbuktu to Tibet: Exotic Rugs and Textiles from New York Collectors," a major New-York Historical Society exhibition examining the history of the Oriental rug in New York and the story of the Hajji Baba Club — the nation's oldest and most prestigious rug collecting club — which is celebrating its 75th anniversary. The exhibit opens Friday, April 11, and runs through August 17.

"Woven Splendor" will feature more than 100 objects belonging to current and past Hajji Baba Club members, as well as those currently in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Textile Museum of Washington, D.C., and other public institutions. Textiles in the exhibition originate from China and Southeast Asia, through India, Tibet, Central Asia, and the Islamic Near East, to Africa and Moorish Spain, and include costumes, tapestries, carpets, rugs and decorative pieces crafted between the Fifteenth and Twentieth Centuries.

"Woven Splendor" takes a groundbreaking approach by highlighting the diverse functions of carpets and textiles. The study of the function and complex iconography of these colorful woven articles offers a revealing window into the lives, beliefs and events that have shaped the cultures of the peoples within these regions.

Instructional sections throughout the exhibition also explore how rugs were produced in their countries of origin. The exhibition also chronicles the history of Hajji Baba Club, while examining the history of the Oriental rug in New York and how Western understanding of this kind of textile has changed over the years.

This Central Asian Nineteenth Century velvet ikat silk robe is made from yarn that was dyed in stages in a painstaking process that produces a cloth of astonishing color. European travelers marveled at the vibrant colors and intricate patterns on display as part of everyday garb in what is modern day Uzbekistan.

The exhibit also includes an introductory area on the types of courtly carpets collected at the beginning of the Twentieth Century, with photographs of how they were displayed at the time in the homes of such families as the Tiffanys, Vanderbilts and Havemeyers. Other images reveal how these objects were originally made available through galleries and World's Fairs.

"Woven Splendor" is curated by Dr Jon Thompson, author and director of the Beattie Carpet Archive, Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford. He is an authority on carpets and textiles of the Islamic world and, with Thomas J. Farnham, has produced a companion catalog to the exhibition titled Timbuktu to Tibet; Exotic Rugs and Textiles from New York Collectors (Hali Publications Limited, London).

A companion installation, "Orientalism in New York," serves as a prelude to "Woven Splendor," providing historical context by examining the fashion for Orientalism in New York during the late Nineteenth Century. Through paintings, prints, photographs and books, as well as silver, lighting, and metalwork — most from the historical society's collections — the exhibit explores New Yorkers' fascination with the "Orient."

The New-York Historical Society is at 170 Central Park West, between 76 and 77th Streets. For information, www.nyhistory.org or 212-873-3400.

Ursula McCracken Obituary Baltimore Sun

Ursula McCracken: [ Age 66 ] The 18-Year Director of the Textile Museum in Washington Enhanced Her Education and Resume...
The Baltimore Sun, Maryland

Mar. 21--Ursula N. McCracken, former director of the Textile Museum in Washington who earlier had been director of development at the College of Notre Dame of Maryland, died Monday of brain cancer at her West University Parkway home. She was 66.

Ursula Naylor Eland was born in New York City, and raised in England and Stamford, Conn. She earned a bachelor's degree in the history of art from Wellesley College in 1963 and received two master's degrees from Johns Hopkins University.

Mrs. McCracken received a master's degree in the history of ideas in 1984 and, two years later, a master's in administrative sciences, or nonprofit management.

She was working at the Albright Knox Gallery in Buffalo, N.Y., when she met her future husband, Edward P. McCracken. After their 1965 wedding, they moved to Baltimore and joined the staff of what was then the Walters Art Gallery.

In 1977, Mrs. McCracken was named director of development for the College of Notre Dame of Maryland, a position she held until 1986, when she was named director of the Textile Museum in Northwest Washington.

"'Steadfast' and 'determined' are two words I'd use to describe her. She was a powerful force," said Carol M. Bier, president of the Textile Society of America who is also a lecturer in humanities at San Francisco State University.

"She came to the museum not with a lot of experience in textile history but had a wide range of experience in nonprofit management. That's why the board appointed her," Ms. Bier, a former Textile Museum staff member, said yesterday.

"Edwin Zimmerman, past president of the museum's board, said when the trustees were searching for a new director, he was told, 'Ursula McCracken could run an army,'" Ms. Bier said.

"She was equitable in sharing authority and responsibilities. Decisions were not made unilaterally and were reached only after deliberate discussion," she said.

"Ursula certainly worked with consistency and determination to professionalize the museum in all its operations, and to provide for the professional development of her staff," Ms. Bier said.

Other accomplishments during Mrs. McCracken's tenure included increasing the museum's endowment from $2 million to $17 million, retiring its debt and doubling its operating budget from $1.2 million to $2.7 million.

She oversaw several critically acclaimed exhibitions, including Woven from the Soul, Spun from the Heart: Textile Arts of Safavid and Qajar Iran in 1986; and Costume and Identity in Highland Ecuador in 1999.

Her professional memberships included the Association of Art Museum Directors.

After stepping down as museum director in 2004, Mrs. McCracken was director of major gifts for the American Pain Foundation in Baltimore.

She was an avid reader and world traveler.

Plans for a memorial service were incomplete yesterday.

In addition to her husband, Mrs. McCracken is survived by a brother, Timothy B.B. Eland of New York City; and two sisters, Jane B. Donahue of Wellesley, Mass., and Faith Shepard of , Conn.

Ursula McCracken Obituary Baltimore Sun

Ursula McCracken: [ Age 66 ] The 18-Year Director of the Textile Museum in Washington Enhanced Her Education and Resume...
The Baltimore Sun, Maryland

Mar. 21--Ursula N. McCracken, former director of the Textile Museum in Washington who earlier had been director of development at the College of Notre Dame of Maryland, died Monday of brain cancer at her West University Parkway home. She was 66.

Ursula Naylor Eland was born in New York City, and raised in England and Stamford, Conn. She earned a bachelor's degree in the history of art from Wellesley College in 1963 and received two master's degrees from Johns Hopkins University.

Mrs. McCracken received a master's degree in the history of ideas in 1984 and, two years later, a master's in administrative sciences, or nonprofit management.

She was working at the Albright Knox Gallery in Buffalo, N.Y., when she met her future husband, Edward P. McCracken. After their 1965 wedding, they moved to Baltimore and joined the staff of what was then the Walters Art Gallery.

In 1977, Mrs. McCracken was named director of development for the College of Notre Dame of Maryland, a position she held until 1986, when she was named director of the Textile Museum in Northwest Washington.

"'Steadfast' and 'determined' are two words I'd use to describe her. She was a powerful force," said Carol M. Bier, president of the Textile Society of America who is also a lecturer in humanities at San Francisco State University.

"She came to the museum not with a lot of experience in textile history but had a wide range of experience in nonprofit management. That's why the board appointed her," Ms. Bier, a former Textile Museum staff member, said yesterday.

"Edwin Zimmerman, past president of the museum's board, said when the trustees were searching for a new director, he was told, 'Ursula McCracken could run an army,'" Ms. Bier said.

"She was equitable in sharing authority and responsibilities. Decisions were not made unilaterally and were reached only after deliberate discussion," she said.

"Ursula certainly worked with consistency and determination to professionalize the museum in all its operations, and to provide for the professional development of her staff," Ms. Bier said.

Other accomplishments during Mrs. McCracken's tenure included increasing the museum's endowment from $2 million to $17 million, retiring its debt and doubling its operating budget from $1.2 million to $2.7 million.

She oversaw several critically acclaimed exhibitions, including Woven from the Soul, Spun from the Heart: Textile Arts of Safavid and Qajar Iran in 1986; and Costume and Identity in Highland Ecuador in 1999.

Her professional memberships included the Association of Art Museum Directors.

After stepping down as museum director in 2004, Mrs. McCracken was director of major gifts for the American Pain Foundation in Baltimore.

She was an avid reader and world traveler.

Plans for a memorial service were incomplete yesterday.

In addition to her husband, Mrs. McCracken is survived by a brother, Timothy B.B. Eland of New York City; and two sisters, Jane B. Donahue of Wellesley, Mass., and Faith Shepard of , Conn.

UCLA to hold Iranian film festival - Persian Carpet

UCLA to hold Iranian film festival
Fri, 14 Mar 2008 11:06:08
The 18th Annual Celebration of Iranian Cinema, sponsored by the UCLA Film and Television Archive, is scheduled to kick off in April.

The celebration will be opened with an astonishing documentary called Persian Carpet, which is an anthology of contributions from 15 prominent Iranian directors, including the legendary Abbas Kiarostami. Each piece of the cinematic collage interprets the titular subject via a unique aesthetic point of view.

Samarkand Carpets Show at Doris Leslie Blau

SAMARKAND CARPETS

New York galleries often stage exhibitions on Asian themes during Asia Week (which started this week and is actually two weeks).

This week Doris Leslie Blau, a gallery with hundreds of antique and modern carpets at 306 East 61st Street, in Manhattan, opened a show (though March 26) of about 60 Samarkand carpets made between 1880 and 1930. It is noteworthy because few American dealers sell these rugs.

Samarkand rugs are not woven in Samarkand, the second-largest city in Uzbekistan. Most come from the villages of East Turkestan, in China, and are then passed through Samarkand, a 2,700-year-old city. It was a market town on the Silk Road, the trade route between China and Europe.

“Everything was going on there,” said Nader Bolour, the owner of Doris Leslie Blau. “Samarkand was stuck in the crossroads between India and Russia, China and Europe.”

The city has been inhabited since 700 B.C. Alexander the Great conquered it in 329 B.C. The Mongols sacked it in 1220. Tamerlane made it his capital in 1370.

“Samarkand is history’s definitive melting pot,” Judith Glass, an antique-rug consultant, writes in the catalog. The carpets “display themes from many cultures, including China (with fretwork borders, lotus blossoms and cloud bands); India (with the swastika denoting infinity); Turkey (with bold reciprocal borders and carnations); and Persia (with floral trellis work).”

These are sturdy wool rugs, not like silk Persian carpets. “The weave in these carpets is actually quite coarse,” Mr. Bolour said. “They are all about color and design, not fineness of weave.” He is attracted to their unusual color combinations. “None are red and blue like Oriental carpets,” he said. “They have very soft colors with a little tweak: magenta with acid green, peachy beige with brown, saffron yellow with lacquer red, bone with brown or slate blue.”

Each rug incorporates woven symbols. Three medallions together may represent Buddha. Pomegranates signify prosperity and fertility.

Persian Rugs: Arabi Main Carpet Circa 1850

Persian Rugs: Arabi Main Carpet Circa 1850 At one point I would have attributed this one to the Khamseh Confederation but Arab or Arabi works. There are Persians who are linguistically Arab who weave these rugs. Interestingly the CIA has been trying to stir up an anti-Iranian revolt among these people in the last few years. it has not been successful since their loyalty as Shia outweighs any Persian/Arab contention. They have been doing the same thing with greater success with the Baluch in Sistan. the Baluch are Sunni. see also Khamseh Confederation Rugs Guide

Persian Rugs: Arabi Main Carpet Circa 1850

Persian Rugs: Arabi Main Carpet Circa 1850 At one point I would have attributed this one to the Khamseh Confederation but Arab or Arabi works. There are Persians who are linguistically Arab who weave these rugs. Interestingly the CIA has been trying to stir up an anti-Iranian revolt among these people in the last few years. it has not been successful since their loyalty as Shia outweighs any Persian/Arab contention. They have been doing the same thing with greater success with the Baluch in Sistan. the Baluch are Sunni. see also Khamseh Confederation Rugs Guide