ISSUE no MAY/JUNE 2000

CONTENTS

9 |EDITORIAL

Thoughts on ACOR5in the BayArea; the end is finally in sight for the USembargo on carpets and caviar.

13 |LETTERS

Inlay in medieval Egypt; down with the politics of exclusion; is this a Holbein that 1see before me?

15 |NEWS

Spring rug sales in London; back to the car-park in Bolton; rites of passage at Adil Besim; auction premiums - up.up. and away.

17 |POSTCARD

Ed Stott joins the pilgrims in Armenia.

33 |PREVIEW

Islamic art and textiles from German private collections in Bavaria; bizarre silks at the Abegg-Stiftung; Coptic textiles at Chevalier and millefleurs tapestries at Blondeel-Deroyan in Paris; American coverlets in Chicago.

37 |CALENDAR

Aworld wide listings of auctions, exhibitions, fairs and conferences.

41 |THE HALI FAIR 2000

Previewing some of the diverse array of rugs and textiles to be seen at London's Olympia in June, plus a catalogue advertisement section.

74 |BOOKS

OCTSV, part 2publishes an expanded version of the 8th ICOC Salting Session, reviewed here by Susan Day; Alberto Boralevi's Oriental Geometries discussed by John Mills: Lisa Monnas on Islamic Silk by Carlo Maria Suriano and Stefano Carboni; Murray Eiland Jr. reviews Sovrani Tapped; Steven Cohen on World Textiles, by John Gillow &Bryan Sentance.

81 |E-VIEW

Short reviews of some favourite sites.

82 |WORKSHOP

Peter Harris engages as weaver and detective with the ta'lim, the encoded design charts used by Kashmiri weavers.

85 |FRAGMENTS

Recreating tradition at the Ashmolean: dice from all angles; painted illusions.

95 |FORUM

Yiannis Sarzetakis follows a hunch on the early origins and migrations of the Baluch tradition.

96 |THE RKO FAMILY

Hans Kcinig The rhythmic pattern of strokes and dashes on a Chinese medallion rug reminded Charles Grant Ellis ofthe visual display of sound frequencies. His nickname for the group stuck. The author's sample of 36 RKO rugs provides material for this in-depth anatomisation of the group, which retains a resilient identity, with only minor variations in format and colouring, in Khotan. Ningxiaand Gansu production.

106 |SPLENDID ISOLATION

Tribal Weavings ofthe ATt Bou Ichaouen Nomads Alfred Saulniers The strikingly vivid and unusual weavings of this isolated High Atlas Berber tribe came to the attention of collectors and Moroccophiles only very recently. This discussion of the rugs of the Ait Bou Ichaouen places them in the context of the geographical. social and economic life ofthe tribe, and considers the sometimes archaic nature of their imagery.

114 |ENTERTAINING

ROYALTY British Needlework in the Burrell Collection Liz Arthur Among the many treasures in the eclectic collection of Sir William Burrell in Glasgow is a group of 16th and 17th century needleworks, mainly embroideries, whose fine workmanship and condition readily evoke their aristocratic origins.

118 |APPEN DIX

Acknowledgments, notes, bibliographies, supplementary images.

121 |ISLAM IC ART

Avery rare personal profile of Islamic art collector David Khalili. who talks here to John Carswell. Ottoman ceramics on loan at the JacquemartAndre; a sublime Iznik tile; lustreware at the BM: despondency as winner takes all at the London sales.

125 |THE HALI GALLERY

Ahouse style advertisement section.

137 |REVIEW

Precious dyestuffs mark out royal weavings in a Mediterranean exhibition; Moroccan tribal rugs and a modern artist's response in Madrid: minutely detailed Qing silk kesi at the Phoenix Art Museum; Tibetan klinden in Florence; Silk Road in Sydney; textile art at Altai and Alberto Levi, Milan: Andean textiles at the Bruce Museum; Baluch in Colorado; Alfred Bidder's textile scholarship celebrated in Basel. Atrio of fair reports - Tribal Art in San Francisco, TEFAF Maastricht, and Asian Art in New York.

153 |AUCTION PRICE GUIDE

ASalor kejebe trapping goes public in Dresden; the best of the rest from last winter's sales in Germany and the USA.

159 |DESIGN FILE

Morris &Co, Luca Brancati investigates the phenomenon; marketplace news and book reviews of Emmett Eiland's Oriental Rtigs Today, and Black &De Moubray's Carpets for the Home.

173 |NETWORK

Aclassified advertisement section.

181 |PRO FILE

Peter Bausback talks to Sheila Scott as the family firm celebrates 75 years in the carpet and textile business.

182 |PARTING SHOTS

Fairs are visited around the world as well as Vienna and Seoul.

184 |LAST PAG E

Carole Hillcnbrand takes a look at the crusading Franks through the eyes of their Muslim adversaries.

MALI noI5