HALI NEWSLETTER No. 404

[View this email in your browser]( Sotheby's 'Arts of the Islamic World and India, including Fine Rugs and Carpets' auction will take place on 26 April 2023 at 11am BST. The sale is led by the Afia ‘Ardabil’ carpet fragment ([Lot 147]( comprising a border cartouche from arguably the most iconic pair of Persian carpets ever produced. The elegantly drawn cloud bands and flora give a glimpse of the outstanding sophistication of Safavid weaving at its peak, while the story of the ‘Ardabil’ carpets and the handful of surviving fragments provide a fascinating insight into the worlds of dealing and collecting in the late 19th century and early 20th century. This fragment was previously in the collection of Victor Afia (1908-1992), who purchased it locally in Oxford, around 1940, and has remained within the family since. Offered alongside it is a private Italian collection of Persian weavings which encompasses the artistry of the Qajars including a remarkable Kashan Mohtasham carpet depicting Nizami’s Haft Peykar ([Lot 141](. The mastery of courtly Anatolian weaving is showcased by a previously unpublished ‘Lotto’ carpet from an important European collection ([Lot 157]( while a majestic Azerbaijani gallery carpet is beautifully woven, displaying a glorious array of colour ([Lot 158](. [E](mailto:Frankie.Keyworth@sothebys.com)[mail](mailto:Frankie.Keyworth@sothebys.com) Frankie Keyworth for further information. [View the sale]( [News] The Oriental Rug and Textile Society presents 'Collecting Late Antique Textiles at the Victoria and Albert Museum', a talk with Egyptologist and Curator of the Middle Eastern section of the V&A, Dr. Benjamin Hinson. This will be held at the University Women's Club, London on 19 April 2023 at 6pm. The Victoria and Albert Museum is home to one of the largest collections of Islamic textiles from ancient Egypt, yet part of the collection's history, and those who helped form it, is still unknown. The talk will seek to shine a light on these individuals, and will trace the formation of the collection as it currently exists. Non-ORTS members will be charged £7 to attend the talk. [Find out more.]( Roseberys will hold its 'Antiquities, Islamic and Indian Arts' auction on 28 April 2023 at 10am BST, featuring 528 lots from mainly private collections, including a large group of early Islamic works to be sold without reserve. Sale highlights include a rare Iberian limestone bust of a lady, a number of early Islamic Kufic folios, Mamluk, Ottoman and Safavid scientific manuscripts, and also some early Christian works, including an Armenian book of Gospels dating from the 16th century or earlier. There will also be a wonderful private collection of Indian miniatures featuring several folios from an 18th-century Mughal album (including [Lot 91]( shown above) and a Kangra painting. A wonderful collection of Deccani metalwork and a fantastic Bindu work by contemporary Indian painter S.H. Raza also feature. Finally, a group of botanical drawings by P. Mooroogasen Moodeliar compliments a watercolour of a snakeskin painted for Patrick Russell’s eponymous 18th century monograph on snakes. [View the sale.]( [News] Welcome back to [#RugFactFriday]( a series in which we try to make the rug world more accessible by focussing on a different type of weaving each month. In Chapter 3 of Baluch Month, we dip into the HALI Archive to look at a specific example of how Baluch groups operate, and what can prompt them to migrate. In 'Steppes into the past' from [HALI 205]( Elena Tsareva explores the weaving treasures and related archival material from Turkmenistan held in the Kunstkamera Museum in St Petersburg—in the process throwing light on the Khorasan Baluch and the Russian researchers who visited them in the early 20th century. She explains that 'two-thousand years of non-stop wars and migrations had dispersed the stateless tribes of the ‘Wandering Baluchs’ across an enormous territory within Eurasia, including the Khorasan area of Iran and Afghanistan.' She goes on to say that in the late 19th century a small group came to Mary Velayat, joined by several other Baluch groups in the 1920s. This migration was prompted by the tribes’ attempts to flee 'the Afghan and Iranian khans’ excessive taxes and other forms of oppression, and the attractions of the Soviet authorities’ policy of providing agricultural lands and pastures to the poor.' Tsavera writes: 'the newcomers settled in the Yoloten, Bayram-Ali and Serakhs etraps (administrative areas) of Mary Velayat in Turkmenistan. The Baluch, inveterate travellers, here followed their traditional ways of life and occupations, including sheep breeding and agriculture as well as domestic crafts. Carpet weaving and felt-making provided the materials for their gedan ‘black tents’, and their furnishings. In the 19th century the Khorasan Baluch became of particular interest to Europeans—especially the English and Russians, when both empires penetrated the western lands of the Central Asian region.' Our exploration of Baluch weavings will conclude next week in Chapter 4 of Baluch Month. Be sure to follow HALI magazine on [Instagram]( and [Facebook]( to never miss a Rug Fact Friday post. [Read more in HALI 205.]( We are in the process of revising our privacy policy. If you would like to unsubscribe click [here](. [Follow Us] [Facebook]( [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Instagram]( [Been forwarded this email and want to receive it regularly? Subscribe to this newsletter]( Copyright © 2023, Hali Publications Ltd., All rights reserved. [unsubscribe from this list]( [update subscription preferences](