EXHIBITION REVIEW – TEXTILES AND TRIBAL ART
The Muslim News, UK
Sept 27 2006
Current events in London illustrate the immense interest in the art
and designs of the Islamic World: the popular 2006 exhibition "World
in the Art" at the British Museum, the refurbished Islamic Galleries
at the V&A.
One such exhibition was the grand and annual show, ‘Textiles and Tribal
Art – The HALI Fair 2006’, which was established almost 10 years ago.
The context and content of the show were absolutely vast: textiles,
rugs and ethnographic works of art, were shown by 75 dealers from
across five different continents.
Those who know me will agree, as a hand woven textile artist, that I
am being biased to focus and highlight the Textiles of the Islamic
World. It is also due to an overall interest and concern regarding
the contemporary issues of textiles in the art and design of the
Islamic World.
Traditional weaving techniques are widely practised in all Muslim
countries. Colour, technique, weight of cloth, design and equipment
vary according to the different continents and the countries
themselves. They are woven by specialist master weavers, who are
usually from established and talented families with a long weaving
tradition. The HALI Fair highlights these extraordinary hand-woven
pieces which deserve to be appreciated as works of Art.
The exhibition was a pleasant surprise, a cultural melting pot,
like the Silk Road. It consisted of a wealth of Ikat weaving from
Uzbekistan, rare fabrics from Algeria, carpets from Turkey and fine
woven fabrics from Mughal India and Africa.
The Nemati Collections of Rugs truly caught my attention – Tousanian
Prayer Rug, Turkey, C.1920 Silk and metal. 132×198.
Tousanian was an Armenian who lived in England and set up a workshop
in Kumpaki, a district inhabited by Armenians. In 1915, Tousanian
began to recreate some of the finest silk woven carpets, modelled
after traditional pieces. This particular piece is rare in design.
The central area illustrates a kingdom of exotic birds and animals,
while the upper mihrab depicts verses of the Qur’an. Tousanian used
traditional Kumpaki carpet techniques of weaving with metallic
threads. The texture of the Prayer Rug is incredibly smooth and
uniquely thin.
I then came across a rare collection of hand-woven fabrics from Lybia
and Tunisia. These amazing pieces of cloth are hand-dyed with natural
dye and spontaneously woven. They are very old and the collector
‘Menzel Galerie NordAfrika’ could not tell me much about the time
they were produced. I found them very contemporary and although they
were traditionally used as a bridal head cover and veil, they all
have the potential to be contemporary interior pieces.
Hand-woven textiles are a central and integral part of Islamic Art and
Design. However, the question that begs to be asked is if the art of
textiles is just part of the historical heritage of the Islamic Art
and Design or if we can revive it within the contemporary Islamic
Art and Design?