Find us this week at LARTA, the fabulous antique rug and textile art fair in Battersea Park
By Cornucopia | January 23, 2019
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You can find Cornucopia at LARTA, the London Antique Rugs and Textile Arts Fair, this week, marooned in a lagoon of glorious textiles in Battersea. LARTA shares the Battersea Park venue with the Decorative Antiques and Textiles Fair. The two fairs continue until Sunday. E-tickets are available to subscribers (write...
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Textiles
Gardens of Delight: enchanting suzanis at the Afridi Gallery
By Roger Williams | June 26, 2018
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Shabaz Afridi hadn’t quite realised the significance of opening his new gallery on the day of the Brexit referendum. The small advertisement he had placed in the
Financial Times appeared following the vote — and as newspapers were being picked over on news broadcasts, the name of the Afridi gallery...
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Islamic Art, Textiles
By Monica Fritz | May 6, 2018
Are kilims artisan throw rugs or woven art? No one is better placed to answer this than Belkis Balpınar. Former director of the Vakiflar Carpet and Kilim Museum in Istanbul, she has continued for decades to champion the Turkish flatweave and to raise it, literally, to another dimension. Belkıs Balpınar's...
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Contemporary Art, Textiles
Highlights of London’s Spring 2017 Islamic Sales… including the lot that broke the record for an Ottoman textile at auction
By John Scott | April 20, 2017
The spring Islamic sales are being held in Bond Street and elsewhere in London this week. These graphic, almost sensuous silk velvets and brocades, rediscovered by the beau monde in the early 1900s, are tipped to break records at Sotheby’s on April 26 and are just some of the exceptional...
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Islamic Art, Orientalism, Textiles
Felt’s Shyrdak rugs are the inspiration behind a new Hermès scarf
By Emma Harper | April 11, 2017
Traditional Shyrdak rugs made by nomads in Kyrgyzstan – tangible elements of a resilient culture – have turned into the stuff of high fashion. ‘Appaloosa des Steppes’, designed by the artist Alice Shirley for the Hermès S/S17 silk scarf collection, draws on the geometric motifs and vivid colours of Felt’s...
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Shopping, Textiles
Last chance to apply for the Ancient & Modern Prize and the Research Scholarship at the British Institute at Ankara
By Emma Harper | October 26, 2016
Researchers, take note. There’s only a week or so left to apply for two grants awarded to individuals undertaking Turkey-related research. First up is the Ancient & Modern Prize, which is sponsored by Cornucopia magazine, HALI magazine and the three major London auction houses: Bonhams, Christie’s and Sotheby’s. The aim...
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History, Islamic Art, News, Textiles
The inaugural Istanbul Carpet Conference took us on a trip from Anatolian ‘cult kilims’ to contemporary carpet design
By Emma Harper | October 9, 2016
‘Come on down!’ bellowed the exuberant MC at last week’s Istanbul Carpet Conference. It was at this moment, which came after the slick opening video and intervals of thumping music, but before any speakers had taken the stage, that I wondered whether I had mistakenly wandered onto a game show...
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Design, History, Islamic Art, Talks and Lectures, Textiles
A stunning example of these multi-functional mobile palaces
By Ashley Dimmig | July 4, 2016
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On September 11, 1683, Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa Pasha sat in his ostentatious tent outside the walls of Vienna – as the story goes – luxuriously sipping coffee while taking a break from besieging the city. The sight of the Grand Vizier’s unapologetic display of pure decadence apparently so enraged...
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Architecture, History, Islamic Art, Textiles
Ottoman Silks launches a line of kaftans with Glyndebourne
By Emma Harper | June 15, 2016
The wavy stem of a tulip, the fanning of a carnation, the lattice pattern created by delicate peony blossoms… the floral motifs of classical Ottoman silks are simply sumptuous. No wonder they were the first choice of Sultans, who commissioned teams of weavers trained in the art of silk hand-weaving...
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Design, Islamic Art, Shopping, Textiles
A rare exhibition at London’s Asia House
By Roger Williams | May 6, 2016
Turkestan Journey, the current, free exhibition at Asia House, recalls a time a hundred years or more ago when women of Central Asia were adorned with an armoury of jewellery. The 60 pieces in a dozen glass cases are part of a thousand items collected over the past 20 years...
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Exhibitions, History, Textiles
A journey through Turkish homes
By Lynn Gilbert | April 11, 2016
In this blog series, the photographer Lynn Gilbert takes us on a journey through Turkish homes. Visiting the town of Borçka, in Artvin Province in Turkey’s Black Sea region, turned out to be an experience which I savoured long after my visit. For in this small, unassuming town I gained...
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Architecture, Design, Photography, Textiles
Applications due October 31, 2016
By Emma Harper | April 2, 2016
Have an idea for a research project related to things Turkish or textiles? Now is the time to put pen to paper and apply for the Ancient & Modern Prize, an award of £1,000 given to a candidate aged under 26 or over 60. Applications are open until October 31,...
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Archaeology, Architecture, Culinary Arts, Design, History, Islamic Art, Literature, Textiles
A new publication featuring kilims from a private collection
By Emma Harper | September 2, 2015
With the publication of
The Poetry of Simple Things (Die Poesie des Einfachen), Harry Koll and Sabine Steinbock have provided a valuable new resource for those interested in Anatolian kilims. The limited-edition monograph, which is written in both German and English, displays 131 Anatolian kilims from the authors’ private collection....
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Books, Textiles
The ‘Kadınlar: goddesses – harem – power’ exhibition
By Victoria Khroundina | July 16, 2015
Women’s stories take centre stage in a fascinating show currently on at the TwentseWelle in Enschede, Netherlands. This city, close to the German border, is home to thousands of Turkish migrants, so a Turkish-themed exhibition seemed a welcome idea for the museum.
Kadınlar: goddesses – harem – power takes viewers on...
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Exhibitions, History, Islamic Art, Museums, Textiles
By THE CORNUCOPIA BLOG | June 23, 2015
Inspiring design motifs abound at the Halı Gallery at Olympia Art & Antiques Fair. James Cohen Antique Carpets presents this magnificent silk Bukhara
suzani on Stand 44. Price on request. James’ assistant Ekaterina Ivanova adds a further layer of beauty with her embroidery-inspired silk-print blouse. Photo by Julie Witford.
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Design, Textiles
How to show off your Grayson Perry tapestry
By THE CORNUCOPIA BLOG | June 22, 2015
Our neighbour at HALI at Olympia International Art & Antiques Fair, the carpet designer Gideon Hatch, was commissioned last year to create a carpet to go with a client’s recently acquired tapestry by Grayson Perry – the magnificent ‘Map of Truths and Beliefs’ (and if you haven’t yet seen the Grayson...
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Design, Islamic Art, Modern Art, Textiles
By THE CORNUCOPIA BLOG | June 21, 2015
The first weekend of HALI at Olympia International Art & Antiques Fair was off to a good start. Robert Chenciner (author of a memorable article in Cornucopia 28, ‘The Peoples that Time Forgot’), gave a characteristically vivid account yesterday afternoon of eagle motifs in North Caucasian – and particularly Dagestani –...
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Design, Islamic Art, Textiles
By Julie Witford | May 27, 2015
At HALI at the Olympia International Art & Antiques Fair – taking place between June 18 and 28 – Cornucopia will unveil an extraordinary ethnographical portfolio published by Annette and Volker Rautenstengel. Following their in-depth studies of Central Asian nomadic textiles, the Rautenstengels, with the help of Peter Alford Andrews (recipient of...
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Books, History, News, Photography, Textiles, Travel
HALI at the Olympia International Art & Antiques Fair
By THE CORNUCOPIA BLOG | May 19, 2015
For those with happy memories of the glory days of the Hali Fair at Olympia, it is good to see the venerable rug magazine HALI making a return to the Olympia International Art & Antiques Fair this summer with a select group of international antique rug and textile dealers (June...
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News, Textiles
