Meetings

Recent Programmes at our Meetings

All lectures/talks took/take place on a Saturday morning. In the afternoon “show & tell” was/is on the agenda.

A summary of the lectures on March 4, 2006 please find at the end of this page.

6^th November 2010

• Ulrich Türck, Marl
  “A hidden Group  of Central Anatolian Carpets”
  with exhibition
• Rudolf Ziesing, Hamburg
  “Oriental Carpets in early Paintings of Modern Era in art historical Reflection”

5^th June 2010

• Hans Ritter, Munich
  "How old is the Baluch Tradition?"
• Gudrun Schreiber, Laatzen
  "Velvet - History of its Culture and Technique"
• Michael Metcalf, Berlin
  "My favourite Collectibles"
• "Show & Sell"
  "Show & Sell"

6^th March 2010

• Karl-Michael Plötze, Barsinghausen
  "Dhurries - Kilims from India"
• Michael Beste, Baden-Baden
  "Animal Decoration on Indian Textiles" and demonstration of pieces
• M. Walkowiak, Leverkusen and K.M.Plötze, Barsinghausen
  "Your Choice" the authors’ pieces are displayed and participants cast their votes for their favourites
   Evaluation of "best of" in the afternoon prior to show & tell.
• "Show & Tell" special theme "Animal’s Textiles Decoration" (without horse covers)

7^th November 2009

• Herbert Exner, Wedemark
  ”Saddle Bags from Northwest Persia and the Caucasus”
  Introduction to the exhibition of saddle bags
• Ulrich Türck, Marl
  ”Patterns of Phrygia and their textile heritage”

20^th June 2009

• Rosemarie Adeniran, Krumbach
  "West African narrow band weavings- the art to dress well" with examples displayed
• Karl H. Geib, Gifhorn
  "In search of the red thread - the central theme of collecting Turkoman piled folk art" with pieces from his cedar box
• Otto Hörmann, Gifhorn
  "Freedom to vote - 9 at one go" 9 numbered pieces are displayed. You are requested to spontaneously depict your "best-of" for statistical evaluation, discussed in the afternoon.

14^th March 2009

• Gudrun Schreiber, Laatzen
  "The Development of European Tapestries from the Middle Ages to the Baroque".
• Siegfried Stahl und Stefan Schulz, Nienburg
  "Flatweaves of the Bedouine from Syria to the Yemen and from Lybia"
• Joachim Müller, Kiel
  "My Favourite Collectibles"
• Show & Tell Special
  "Bags of the Kordi Tribes in Northeast Iran"

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Lectures

Hans Ritter, Munich

“How old is Baluch Tradition”
5th June 2010

The lecture cannot reproduced in full length here. Please see the German version in chapter TREFFEN. Some highlights are presented: Age of  Baluch rugs is not an issue of this lecture. What means “Baluch Tradition”?  This term was treated by S.Azadi,  D.H.G. Wegner, A.A. Bogolyubov, J.Housego etc. Four categories are important: 1. Technical traits, 2. Colour scheme, 3. Pattern, 4. Used designs and motifs. Almost all Baluch rugs and flatweaves are not older than 150-200 years. The reason may be that the Baluch have woven for their own use only and there was no over-production to be sold in bazaars.

Karl-Michael Plötze, Barsinghausen

“Kilims of Daghestan”
5th June 2010

As this lecture was part of a publication in progress please see the German text in chapter TREFFEN. Some topics are mentioned: technical specialities, ethnic minorities, discriminating properties, use and types, design and motifs.  A call for contacts is given: who owns Daghestan kilims and who has information to the point?

Karl-Michael Plötze, Barsinghausen

”Dhurries – Kilims of India”
6th March 2010

Dhurries are despite of its beauty and diversity relatively unknown in Germany. Early examples have been found along the silk road in Niya (Khotan region), dated to 1-3rd.century AD. More have been found in the 17th century during Moghul reign (1504-1739) made of wool on cotton warp.
Dhurries are handmade nowadays in the North and Northwest of India and on the Dekkan plain. Workshops were either private or at the court or within prison walls. The finest Dhurries were produced by order in prisons, coarser ones in villages for the own use of the villagers. Formerly made by men now also women are allowed to make Dhurries. Dhurries are kilims of all kinds of weaving.
Dhurries can be used for ceremonies in palaces, on the floor, as bed spread for yoga practice, for prayer etc. Patterns of all kinds can be found, mostly horizontal or diagonal stripes, mihrabs, niches, zigzag bands, tiles, floral or pictorial decoration, even modern patterns for export.
For images please see section “Gallery”

Michael Beste, Baden-Baden

”Displaying  Animals on Indian Textiles”
6th March 2010

Animals have an important role in Indian mythology. Distinct animals are attributed to characteristic traits (i.e.  loyalty, passion, courage).  Gods can transform into animals. Every god has his own typical symbolic animal as companion or porter. There are also mixed beings, half god half animal. Animals in general are highly respected as they are part of gods’ realm in the cycles of rebirth and as they can be incarnation of ones own self. No wonder that in the Indian folk art display of animals often occur on paintings or on textiles.

Textiles can be divided in those for export, for the court or noble palaces, for religious background or in the widest sense for folk and tribal art.
Display of animals can be used as status symbols (procession of elephants, hunting scenes, warrior on horseback, lions for power of emperors).  
Porters (vahana) of their gods stand for power and purposefulness on their path to redemption. The wild goose Hamsa is porter for Brahma, Eagle for Vishnu, White Bull with black tail (Nandi) for Shiva, Lion for Parvati, Rat for Ganesha, Elephant for Indra, Tiger for Kali etc. All these animals represent specific traits. In Hinduism the cow is of particular importance.
We know of different types of textiles with animal decoration as are “Sari” in all parts of India, embroideries from Gujerat and Rajasthan, garments, wall hangings, blankets. “Phulkari/Bagh” with abstract depiction of animals (peacock, parrot, lion) from  Punjab, “Kantha” from Bengal (fish, parrot, lion) and more.
Please see images of Indian textiles in section “Gallery”.

Ulrich Türck, Marl

"Phrygian Patterns and its Textile Heritage"

Comparison of Near Eastern textiles demonstrates an extraordinary diversity of patterns especially from Anatolia. There we find geometric all-over patterns with cross and hooked motifs, swastika, wickerwork, meander, cassettes etc. The first occurrence of these patterns can be found in the early Iron Age, i.e. in the 9th/8th century BC when Central Anatolia was ruled by the Phrygian.

Besides the continuation of the old oriental world of imagery, the Phrygians developed independent patterns out of the motifs mentioned above which they put on backings of wood, stone, bronze or ceramics. These abstract patterns on the basis of boundless, linear-geometric structures will only be considered.  At the first time patterns similar of carpets but  without figural forms are found in Anatolia. Examples are Phrygian rock facades, in Gordion are found intarsia on wood, bronze belts and textiles as well as plates of ceramics for architectural covers. The Phrygians stood in cultural exchange with those of the Urateans in Eastern Anatolia and the Assyrians in the Southeast. They influenced strongly the arts in Karia,  Lykia,  Äolia and Ionia, i.e. the arts of Greece at the Aegean coast of  Asia Minor,  probably mediated by Phrygian exports of textiles and ceramics.

The “motif of the four points of the compass” (Kaikalak or Yün chien) can be dubbed the “Phrygian Cross”. It was indigenous as were certain swastika forms during the early Iron Age in Anatolia and long before import of patterns from China (as stipulated by Brüggemann). The Gordian finds of textiles, albeit only a few, prove the high workmanship in the manufacturing of carpets in loop technique and of particularly fine flatweaves in different techniques and patterns. The Phrygian  were demonstrably skilled in red dyeing, which is usually attributed to the Lydians. Even under Lydian, Persian, Macedonian  and Roman rule Phrygia retained her prestige as country of culture, poetry and music. Her textile art in the classical antiquity was the origin of using threads of gold and the invention of embroidery. This should be understood as brocades, which look similarly as Cicim or Zili. Through the mission of Ireland in the 4th century AD by Central Anatolian Galatian  (= Celts) Phrygian patterns came to Ireland. From there  illumination and crosses of stone found their way to Scotland, England and into the Romanesque art of Europe.

An incessant, local Anatolian tradition led Phrygian patterns into the Byzantine era and up to the still preserved textiles of the 18th to 20th century. Some of them match almost in every detail their Phrygian predecessors. In search of links, paintings on late geometric era (about 700 BC) ceramics have been found. They mark mosaic carpets on Hellenistic, Romanesque and early Byzantine illuminations, works of Irish and Pictish art of the 7th to 10th century AD.  Eventually many representations of Romanesque art demonstrate such a coincidence in number and precision of details, that there can be no doubt about the relation to Phrygian patterns. The  traditional Anatolian textiles are the very end of an unbroken local tradition which originated in Phrygia of the Iron Age.

Material carrier of the asserted pattern tradition over approximately 2500 years are textiles. As patterns on garments of Bor and Ivriz are in no way exemplary as textile patterns but in stone preserved replicas of real textiles,  saved mosaics are no templates of textile patterns. All these monuments are witnesses of a continued tradition of since long time gone brocades, kilims, tissues and knotted carpets which the Phrygian patterns on Greek garments, on mosaics as well as on Irish illuminations and Anatolian carpets have immortalised.

The Phrygian pattern of the 8th century BC in its perfection can neither have been developed as rock relief nor as intarsia on wood which only a few specialist  could have mastered. Rather its development is likely to have taken place in a long exercised and widespread handicraft what can be viewed on ceramics and textile patterns. In the decoration of Phrygian ceramics different pattern segments were combined. The effect of area patterns, typical for textiles,  are not possible on surfaces of round ceramics. Therefore it is highly probable that the patterns on almost fully lost Phrygian  textiles have been models for their monuments and transferred to wooden panels and rock facades. What holds for the Greek-geometric art also holds for the Phrygian art.  Not at least all descriptions of intarsia panels and Midas facades stress the carpet resembling character of those monuments.

The decisive pre-condition for the development of new patterns has been to overcome the ancient oriental tradition; in part of the performing arts figural displays were omitted. The Phrygian innovation of area patterns on basis of unlimited, geometric structures was a creative process, which until today is a mandatory principle for creating of Anatolian flatweaves and certain knotted carpets. Besides this general aspect more criteria of designing textiles can be proven, which have their origin in the Phrygian art: the arrangement of cassettes or medallions put in a row; structure of complex pattern with primary and secondary motifs; development of new motifs as is the wickerwork and special cross and swastika forms as well as their creative variations.

Herbert J. Exner, Wedemark

“Saddlebags from Northwest Persia and the Caucasus“

In preparation of the exhibition my thoughts have been: what can I say  in this respect? Can I present you something new information, except my individual assumptions?  Regarding folk art of nomads or half-settled nomads in Iran and the Caucasus everything has already been said or written by anybody or anytime.

I am not a “rug scholar”, not one who discusses the meaning of a certain colour or  the right term of a textile structure or attributing a piece to a tribe within a radius of 50 miles, rather I go after my first glance and general impression. Either hot or cold. Of course this sounds highly individual. Years ago I have invested much time to find or develop criteria of “quality” of rugs or textiles.  We have had many disputes about that topic. John Douglas and Sue Peters in their book “The Lost Language” they tried to solve the problem using marks between 1 and 10 applying the system to their collection. No wonder, all pieces were 8.5 to 9.7, not a single one between 1.5 and 8.5.  To sum it up: the system failed. Nevertheless, everybody knows what pieces are more or less attractive. So, there should be some general criteria on quality of rugs and flatweaves. But what is real quality?

In the end it is a discussion about an illusion between media/authors, gurus, business and wealthy collectors. Each who donates a museum, his or her collection gets the most honourable medal of quality.  The spirit of the age plays an important role not only in politics. My own very subjective criteria are simply plain, spontaneous  pleasure when looking on the thing in question. Four decades of collecting results in a certain material order (wool, cotton, silk), colours, weaving techniques, region of production. However more questions than answers remain. There or no extant documents or written in unknown languages far away.

Saddlebags are a niche for collectors. They can only be found in the Near or Middle East, the Caucasus – or the auction market and at specialised dealers (let aside the Turkmen torba or chuval). They were woven by women either by migrating nomads or half-settled nomads in their villages. The function was for transportation of goods on horse or mule back, rarely on camels. For personal use bags were carried  over the shoulder or the belt. My collection and the exhibition will show that.  It has been restricted to the area North of Kermanshar, Bidjar, Khamseh to Moghan and Shirvan in the North and Varamin in the Northeast.

Literature is very helpful, to mention P.Tanavoli, Shahsavan; H.Reinisch, Satteltaschen der Slg.Käbisch; J.Wertime, Sumak Bags; J.Housego, Nomaden-Teppiche; Braun/Mauch/Ruppenstein, Leuchte Farben – Magische Muster and many more.

Saddlebags are made for a particular function, as were similarly felt rugs, jajims, mafrash, bands etc. Nomad did not need others to provide these articles. Bags worn through use, if worn during migration from summer to winter camp, were thrown away and new ones made. Originally the destination was neither the bazaar, collectors or museums. This is the reason why no pieces of age prior to 1850 can be found. There is not much official esteem for nomadic folk art in Iran, as the knot count is so low and pieces are small. Even the Carpet Museum of Iran in Tehran has no nomadic exhibit on display.

The production of saddlebags is often made on the meadow near the tent on horizontal loom. If the work has been finished the warps are cut and both ends which are the front sides of the bag are folded and the sides sewn or overcast.. Loops at the opening can close the bag by a cord (Iranian zip). The majority of bags are made in sumakh technique, while the reverse side is made in kilim technique, sometimes embellished. Piled front sides are also rare and often found either in the Shirvan area, Armenia or Varamin.

Karl Heinz Geib, Gifhorn

”Chasing the Central Theme: Establishing a Collection of Turkoman Tribal Art”

After 30 years of collecting it seems to be adequate to think about backgrounds and motivation of this voracious passion. Some help may come from psychoanalytic literature, where it is unanimously stated that collectors – without knowing by themselves – build a narcisstic wall around their ego. So they become immune against constraints of the day-to-day life. His motto sounds like “my collection is my castle”. The collection offers basis and challenge for intellectual activities.

The systematic order while collecting Turkoman textiles is made easier by some natural guidelines:

1. the different nomadic tribes
2. the various and repeating formats at textile functional objects.

The aspect of comparing pieces on a background of growing insights is in accordance with human play and discovery impetus, resulting in utmost satisfaction and joy. Fragments, not only complete objects can be attractive. During the talk pieces from different functional groups (torba, chuwal, Khalyk, Kapunuk, Asmalyk etc)  were displayed and discussed. 

Gudrun Schreiber, Laatzen

”The Development of European Tapestries from the Middle Ages to the Baroque”
(Lecture held on 14thMarch 2009)

Tapestries are flatwoven figural weavings. Warps are generally running vertically and made of linen or cotton. The image building wefts are running horizontally. They are either of wool or silk and metal threads and colours of vegetable dyes. Historically the development can be divided in Romanesque  and early Gothic tapestries, the high and late Gothic period tapestries and finally 18th century tapestries from French and Flemish manufacturers. Wool embroideries and sometimes of applique technique are found in the famous carpet of Bayeux . Embroideries made in monasteries are well known from Wienhausen and Lüne monastery in Lower Saxony. As template a so called “carton” was used to transfer the design of coloured drawing at a 1:1 scale to the weaving.

The first looms had no shed, later professional looms with shed and heddle were built vertically (haut lisse) or horizontally (Basse  lisse). Tapestries were used as wall decorations in castles or  palaces as well as floor carpets, runners or cushion. The images had no repeating pattern but a picture related to paintings.

From the 12th century (Romanesque) only a few  tapestries are left over, used as wall hangings in churches. Monasteries made tapestries showing religious scenes, long friezes with rows of sharply contoured human figures. In the 14th to 16th century (Gothic) France, Germany and the Netherlands focused on tapestries in Europe.  French manufacturing locations were in the region of Paris, design and realisation was separate, the motifs were of religious origin or court scenes. The 14th century tapestries were strongly stilised, no elaborate background and only few colours. In the 15th century the images became somewhat lively with small “isles”   on a dark background, while in the 16th century the background was filled by blossoms (mille-fleurs tapestries).
In Germany of the 15th century  workshops in Southern Germany (Basle, Strasbourg, Middle Rhine) were main focus of tapestry manufacturing. In the Netherlands workshops produced in Arras, Tournai, Brussels. The scenes were multi-figured of biblical history or of court life made on big oblong, the figures positioned one behind the other and a high drawn horizon.  The tapestries were characterised by mixtures of colours, use of silk and gold threads, denser warps and special effects. In the 16th century important manufacturers were located in Brussels, Brügge, Antwerp, Oudenaarde, Amsterdam, Delft. Carton painter became more important. Division of labour grew and there were experts for painting heads, garments, landscapes and backgrounds. Even present events were drawn, also “verdure”, scenes of landscapes only. Different to paintings there were no middle ground and in the foreground no overlay of figures. Each tapestry was framed by a wide border with rich flower motifs.
The 17th century (Baroque) was dominated by big  French workshops (Paris and Aubusson).1667 the state owned Gobelin Manufacturer at Paris was established, more followed in Brussels. Motifs are now present day court and battle scenes, allegories in a style that implies the middle ground also. The borders not only contain animals but mythological and fabulous creatures. In the 18th century (Rococo), the tradition is continued and paintings are imitated the indigenous and independent style is abandoned.