HALI NEWSLETTER No. 447

[View this email in your browser]( Registration for DOMOTEX asia/CHINAFLOOR 2024 is now open! The leading flooring show in the Asian-Pacific region, hosting 1600 exhibitors across eight halls, will return to the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai from 28-30 May 2024. 'Our show is the only dedicated international event in the region which assists the flooring community to tap into new opportunities all over Asia', explains Thomas Baert, co-founder and co-organiser of the event. Various leading companies in the industry such as Classen, Oriental Weavers, Paulig, Standard Carpet, Voxfloor (Carpet) and Zimmer (Carpet Tech), have already confirmed their participation at the 2024 edition. More than 150 international buyers and several buyer delegations will be hosted at the upcoming edition of the show. Selected buyers will benefit from a range of benefits including free accommodation, access to a dedicated lounge, free access to all onsite events and seminars as well as various entertainment. [Register and find out more.]( Hosted by the Alberto Levi Gallery, this online exhibition of Berber woven art is an expression of the varied materials and motifs that feature in these pieces. The exhibition is comprised of a mix of older and newer pieces, and while the former 'occasionally offer a more mature attitude...the works of the younger generation of Moroccan women have been equally vital in continuing the tradition by venturing into more textural grounds, evolving the language from its earlier substrate into symbols of their time.' In this live illustrated virtual talk, presented by The Textile Museum Associates of Southern California, Walter Denny will focus on carpets from the Ottoman Empire acquired by early 20th-century American collector James Ballard. Today divided between the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Saint Louis Art Museum, Ballard's collection has influenced a century of American carpet collecting and changed the way we look at carpets made in Anatolian workshops, villages, and nomadic encampments. Register below for the talk which will take place on 27 January at 10am PT (6pm GMT). ‘There is no scholar in the field of Southeast Asian textile art whose field research, academic publications and museum exhibitions have proven so influential as the late Dr Mattiebelle S. Gittinger’s,’ writes Thomas Murray. Gittinger, who passed away in October, is shown here at a 2009 exhibition opening at The Textile Museum. As we approach the 8th edition of Morocco's National Handicrafts Week, the next segment of [#RugFactFriday]( shines a light on Moroccan rugs. Drawing on their own research and a wealth of knowledge, in HALI 211 Gebhart Blazek and Gus Cooney explain what we understand, and what we have yet to learn, about the crucial role male and female master weavers’ play in Morocco‘s rural textile culture. The authors begin by explaining that most rugs from the Middle Atlas date from the 20th century and that the majority served as 'objects of everyday use'. The designs are mostly without borders and range from subtle to bold. When they pick up borrowed motifs, they are usually elements that were fashionable during the period of production. Motifs from urban Rabat carpets, often expressed using new ‘chic’ aniline dyes and 'a distinctive feature of rural rugs is that weavers arrange these motifs somewhat randomly, in a haphazard beauty.' Although occasionally, 'one can find rugs in the Middle Atlas that show a much more regular, organised concept, with horizontal and vertical borders, and based on dense, repetitive geometric elements.' The authors continue by describing the process of their production: 'With input from the family, a master weaver was responsible for the rug’s conception and construction, either in collaboration with local women or using his own crew. Master weavers would have stayed with the family for the period of the production, normally a couple of months depending on the size of the rug... Their production was understood as an important event, and visitors often came to see the rug grow. This was accompanied by rituals and festivities at all stages, until it was finally removed from the loom. Not only were these rugs created in ceremony, but they were also put to ceremonial use during their lifetime, often reserved for special occasions, such as the arrival of an honoured guest or a meeting of tribal elders.' Blazek and Cooney go on to analyse specific examples of Moroccan rugs in this article, which can be accessed with a digital subscription to HALI. Image: Beni Ouarain rug found in Ain Fndel, north-eastern Middle Atlas, in January 1996, woven in 1951/1952. Image courtesy of Gebhart Blazek. [Buy a digital subscription to read HALI 211.]( [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Website]( 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](. This email was sent to {EMAIL} [why did I get this?]( [unsubscribe from this list]( [update subscription preferences]( Hali Publications Ltd · 6 Sylvester Path · London, England E8 1EN · United Kingdom