HALI NEWSLETTER No. 459

[View this email in your browser]( The Decorative Fair returns to Battersea from 7–12 May 2024. With 130 exhibitors, it is London’s largest and longest-running premier antiques, design and art fair. Antique textiles have long been a focus for many specialists at the event, plus visitors will always find a good number of furniture and general stock dealers using antique and vintage weavings as part of their displays so visitors interested in woven art can expect surprises at every turn. Among exhibitors with a wide range of textiles on offer are Owen Parry, textiles and rugs; Galerie Arabesque, oriental rugs and European weavings; Joshua Lumley, rugs and tapestries; Ian Shaw Tribal, African weavings; Bleu Anglais, Chinese and Japanese antique and vintage indigo textiles; and regulars Katharine Pole and Su Mason bring their usual inspiring range of French linens, prints, toiles and decorative pieces. A new mini fair on the mezzanine, organised in conjunction with The House Directory, features a selection of bespoke interiors suppliers, including restorers, weavers and textile artists. Several talks and artisan demos are lined up, covering subjects including contemporary hand-crafted passementerie and appliqué design. Places for these are limited so booking is recommended. Image: Detail of an Egyptian Kalamiya applique tent hanging, Cairo, late 19th century. Owen Parry. [Find out more.]( Showing at Turner Contemporary in Kent, England until 6 May, this mixed media exhibition unites over fifty international female artists, all of which explore radical abstraction through their work. Included are the textile pieces of Maria Teresa Chojnacka, Ewa Pachucka, Sheila Hicks and Nelly Sethna. Image: Installation View. © Courtesy Turner Contemporary. Photo by Beth Saunders. The third episode of the ‘Following the Thread’ podcast is out now! The HALI section features editor Ben Evans discussing [the new issue of HALI]( which is available online from this week. Ben discusses articles of note, many of which relate to the underlying theme of the issue: the carpet and textile heritage of Turkey. Continuing this theme,the final section is an interview with Serra Oruc of the [International Conference on Oriental Carpets](. There are still places available on the Greater Anatolia Rug and Textile Study Tour, offered by The Black Tent Project and HALI, and held from 23 May–5 June 2024 just ahead of the International Conference on Oriental Carpets (ICOC XV) in Istanbul. The 13-day tour offers visitors exclusive access to woven treasures, including those at Istanbul's Turkish and Islamic Art Museum (left), alongside a series of workshops and lectures. [Book now.]( As the 'Decorative Arts of Iberia' HALI Tour draws to a close this week, so too does the focus on Iberian carpet variations for this month's [#RugFactFriday](. In HALI 216, Filiz Çakır Phillip draws examples from 'Lustre and Luxe from Islamic Spain', which had recently been held in Turin, to traces the history of weaving on the Iberian Peninsula from the 10th to the 16th century. Throughout her article, Çakır Phillip places great emphasis on the fact that Iberian weavings are a reflection of the 'intercultural relationship and syncretism between the Iberian Peninsula and the Islamic world in the Mediterranean basin'. During the years of Islamic rule in Spain, there was a particular focus on 'agriculture and related productions, such as silk and cotton'. Later, silkworm breeding was introduced to the Iberian Peninsula via the Arabs, and with the establishment of a royal workshop for silk production, the textile industry flourished. Many of the textiles in production at the time featured Iranian stylistic elements because Iranian textile production has circulated a vast geographical region stretching from Central Asia to Spain.The author goes on to explain that 'Andalusian textiles produced in the 10th century reveal a combination of Coptic weaving techniques from Egypt, and the Sasanian iconography of Iran' and 'the eastern Islamic type of main motifs, which were mirrored, became widespread in the 12th century.' However, the transition to Christian rulership in the 15th century marked a shift in textile production. As delineated by the author, 'the weavers, in search of peace and stability, moved further south to the mountain state of Granada to recoup their fortunes'. Meanwhile, as the textile industry started to incorporate Christian iconography in its designs, the Islamic influence was still obvious. This is seen, for example in the incorporation of asymmetrical designs of textiles from eastern Islamic traditions. Throughout her article, the author delves into specific examples from the aforementioned exhibition that capture specific points in the history of textile production throughout the Iberian Peninsula. Buy a digital subscription to HALI to read more. Image: Installation view of ‘Lustre and Luxe from Islamic Spain: Liquid Frontiers and Entangled Worlds’ at Museo d’Arte Orientale, Turin. [Find out more.]( [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Website]( [LinkedIn]( Copyright © 2023 Hali Publications, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: HALI Publications 6 Sylvester Path London, Hackney E8 1EN United Kingdom Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](. 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