Daizangi Kilim with Colourful Diamond Pattern

Another day at Arastan: a new tribal rug arrives, we learn about another weaving technique, we are awed again by a brilliant skill. Today’s splendid new product is the Daizangi kilim from Afghanistan.

Though often confused with Berjista or Mashwani Nakhunak kilims, Daizangi kilims in fact constitute a genre apart.

The Daizangi are a Hazara tribe from western Afghanistan, living mostly in Badghis and Herat provinces. Daizangi women typically weave on their own looms in village homes, using designs common to their tradition, but also adjusted to suit the requirements of modern rug traders.

Like other Afghan tribal weavers, they incorporate multiple weaving techniques in each rug. Most frequently they combine a background made with weft wrapping (sometimes known as plain soumak) with design elements in knotted pile.

The precision required to make small design elements in knotted pile dictates an unusually high knot count for tribal rugs, up to 300 knots per square inch. Thus the pile, which is usually trimmed quite short, appears as small, densely knotted islands on the flat-woven background. This makes the surface of the rug appear as if it were engraved or embossed. In this regard Daizangi kilims are similar to Berjista kilims.

Diamond Lattice Daizangi Kilim

A pattern constructed with knotted pile
against a flat-woven surface

What sets Daizangi rugs apart from other Afghan textiles, however, is the use of a much lighter, brighter and more varied colour palette, eschewing the dark, sober hues typical of many Baluch and Mashwani textiles.

Daizangi Kilim with Framed Diamond Design

The Daizangi kilims available from Arastan include several examples in which gentle pastel hues predominate, especially light browns and yellows, but also strikingly colourful geometric compositions that feature reds and browns, with purple, blue, pink and ivory accents.

Designs favoured by the Daizangi tend to be repetitive diamond patterns, often with crosses or elongated diamonds within other diamonds. They make minimal use of any distinctive tribal motifs, but extensive use of multiple concentric frames, often blurring the distinction between border and field.

These kilims are made using a combination of camel wool and  sheep’s wool. Colours are achieved with both natural and synthetic dyes.

Please visit our online store to view other examples of this striking kilim artwork from Afghanistan, and click on the images below to see some of the patterns up close.

View the complete Daizangi Kilims from Afghanistan article on The Arastan Journey.

Karen Orchid Necklace

Karen Silver Jewellery: necklaces, pendants, earrings and rings. Highly individualistic, superbly crafted, finely designed – each piece a conversation stopper! Hand-crafted by the Karen hill tribe, this silver jewellery combines aspects of their native culture and natural environment with modern designs, styled for the woman of today.  And you can practically see evidence of each piece having been formed by the hands of a Karen craftsman. These pieces are not usually hallmarked in any way, but there is absolutely no doubt as to their origins or authenticity. Because, only the Karen can make silver jewellery this beautiful!

The Karen People

The Karen hill tribes are from amongst Thai and Burmese hill tribes, originally from Tibet, and whose ancestry can be traced back to the 12^th century AD. The largest group from around 20 hill tribes, the Karen population presently numbers over seven million spread across the Union of Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand.

In Thailand, about 400,000 Karen live at between 800m and 1800m up, in the mountainous and densely forested areas on Mae Hong Son, due west of Chiang Mai, remote and quite isolated from civilisation.

Rice paddies and mountains in Mae Hong Son Province
Takeaway at en.wikipedia

The Karen hill tribes can trace their antecedents back to what is present day Tibet, and China’s Gobi Desert. According to historians, the Karen began to move south during the 18^th century, across the Salveen River from Burma (Myanmar) as far as Northern Thailand. Karen legend states that their ancestors crossed a “river of running sand” – this is thought to be a metaphor for the Gobi Desert.

They live off the land, their houses made of teak or bamboo, constructed on stilts to provide space and shelter for themselves and their livestock. The Karen Tribes are generally farmers of agricultural produce for their own use. They are often referred to as “the farmers of the forest”. The Karen has been known to use elephants to help clear the land for farming, and have since established a reputation as elephant trainers or mahouts. There are several sub groups of Karen tribes, the most common being the “Dam” (Black). The language used by various sub groups is different, but since all originate from Sino-Tibetan, they have no problems communicating.

How the Karen Live and Work

Karen Hill Tribe Village
© Zoe Children’s Homes

The Karen typically live in villages of around 25 houses, raised on stilts. The villages tend to be in clusters. Individual households consist of parents and their unmarried children. Married daughters and their families may also live in the same house. The highest authority in the village is the priest who runs the village along with the elders.

The Karen have few possessions, little if any furniture. They usually sleep on floor mats, cook on open fires and draw water for all their needs from nearby rivers. Karen men produce musical instruments, animal bells, unique tobacco pipes and numerous other crafted items.

The Karen have rituals by which to live with the “Lord of Land and Water”, as well as with nature’s spirit in the rocks, trees, water and mountains that surround them. They also believe in having personal guardian spirits and in the soul.

Karen women are noted for their skill in weaving, which is done on a back-strap loom. The cloth they weave is predominantly red with white, blue or brown vertical stripes. Stitching is clear and decorative. The men may wear simple forms of this material in a sleeveless tunic (or northern Thai clothing), while the women wear more elaborate styles on their sarongs. Generally, each of the many sections of this ethnic group has its own style of dress. Unmarried girls wear loose white blouses. Married women wear blouses and skirts in bold colours, predominantly blue and red.

Karen Silver

Although most Southeast Asians treasure gold, the Karen people have no use for gold. They have traditionally worn silver jewellery that they make by hand, using methods that have been passed down over the centuries.

Karen Fan Blade Pendant with Fish and Drum

The Karen hill tribes’ skill and craftsmanship at making fine and quite unique silver jewellery goes back centuries. They painstakingly roll, shape and engrave their jewellery by hand, using traditional methods with the simplest of tools. The hand-hammered and chased details are wonderful to say the least! The Karen tribe take pride in their silver, since it is part of their age-old culture, and the hand-made process makes these pieces truly special and unique.

The Karen work with silver much purer than sterling silver (92.5%). The solder used to fuse pieces together is what prevents the metal from being close to 100% silver. It is this high purity that makes the metal more malleable, enabling the women to create intricate designs. Karen jewellery has a distinctive weight, matte sheen, and satin finish that only comes from using such rare, fine quality silver.

When you buy Karen silver, you are also helping to sustain a traditional craft and providing the Karen people with a reliable source of income, thus ensuring that the Karen people continue to make a living from a centuries-old craft.

View the complete Inspired by Nature. Designed for Today. article on The Arastan Journey.

A trip to Chiang Mai was long overdue. Over eight years had passed since I was first there and over three years since I moved to Bangkok. Living in Thailand, it’s hard to escape the allure of Chiang Mai. Every Bangkokian tells you how it’s a shopping haven, a creative paradise and a beautiful, peaceful place. So when Nisha asked if I could go there for a few days to source for Arastan, the decision was easy.

Chiang Mai is the creative cradle of Thailand. Nestled in a valley surrounded by the Doi Inthanon mountain range in the northwestern part of the country, it’s the second largest city in Thailand. Yet, time moves much slower there. The verdant mountains and misty cloudy sky create the perfect backdrop to the slow paced, relaxed vibe of the city. Upon my arrival, I wandered through the town, covering the major section on foot, admiring the ingenuity of the artisans, soaking in the creativity and naturalness of the people, chatting with the shop owners and artists. It was completely relaxed, convenient and interesting – a true shopper’s paradise.

Hmong Market

My second day was devoted to textiles. Influences from neighboring Myanmar and Laos along with the colourful traditions and skills of Thailand’s own hill tribes lend a distinct and beautiful touch to the goods found in the city. Vibrant intricately embroidered and adorned textiles for everyday life are the trade mark of the hill tribe people. Life’s milestones are always marked with hand woven textiles that incorporate the most beautiful and treasured materials and symbolic designs e.g. the baby wrap, the wedding sarong or the funeral cloth. Weaving styles, colours, embellishments like beads and pom-poms, they all start to take on a meaning, a name and a purpose. It’s addictive and fascinating to sift through textile shops and Chiang Mai has its share of choice ones.

Day three I focused on silver. The Karen people’s skillful silversmiths create hand-hammered pieces that never stray far from everyday symbols and the natural environment around them e.g. the frangipani flower, a woven cloth, the roughness of a stone, insects, fish or tree bark. Several streets around town are devoted to silver so there is plenty to look through. A trip to some of the nearby villages dedicated exclusively to silver making will be on my itinerary next time, for sure.

Eggshells on Lacquer

Bamboo Base for Lacquer

Lastly, it was time to hunt down some special lacquer. Lacquerware is another handicraft that has been cultivated and refined in the Chiang Mai area. The patience and skill necessary to finish one piece is inspiring. First the shape must be formed with strips of bamboo then a coat of lacquer and glue is applied and allowed to dry. Next, seven layers of paint must be applied, allowing 1 week between layers and polishing with sandpaper between each layer. Once the piece is formed and painted the artist can begin the decorative process such as gold leaf, eggshell, engraving or painting. Being able to see some of these steps in progress, it’s easy to understand the spectrum of workmanship and quality when shopping for lacquer.

Vastly different from my first trip to Chiang Mai when I was on a cooking mission – but no less enjoyable that’s for sure. Chiang Mai, continue on your artistic path, I’ll be back soon.

View the complete Chiang Mai Shopping article on The Arastan Journey.

Kilim and Cushions

We had a wonderful ten days at Good Earth in Bombay. Saw lots of our old customers and many new ones. The space we had was lovely although with carpets you simply cannot have enough. The Good Earth team were warm and gracious and our accessories looked so beautiful mixed with Good Earth’s furnishings. Then there was the master class in visual merchandising: Mrs Lal is brilliant at it and has clearly inculcated it in the organisation.

As well as the carpets, our latest collections of ottomans, cushions and ceramic were enthusiastically appreciated but the highlight was probably our tribal cushions – especially the bright and colourful tribal kurta cushions which all sold out!

Arastan’s Set-up at Good Earth

Pakistani Tribal Kurta Cushion

Cushions and Ceramic

Some of my favourite carpets from the collection (as you can tell I have many!):

Kurdish Confetti Flowers

Beni Yacoub Lozenges

Eight Floral Squares Gabbeh

Diagonal Stripes Talish

If you liked anything you saw but didn’t get a chance to come back, contact me on nisha@arastan.com. We ship globally (well nearly everywhere).

Back and unpacked. Happy Holi and Happy Easter.

View the complete Arastan at Good Earth in Mumbai article on The Arastan Journey.

Mughal Miniature: Abu’l-Fazl ibn Mubarak giving Akbarnama to Akbar

The historic, colourful and bustling city of Jaipur, Rajasthan, is home to some remarkable artists who are repositories of that ancient skill: the painting of miniatures. Miniatures that have found their way around the world! And, thanks to my meeting with one such extraordinary individual, a selection of Jaipur Miniatures now graces the display cases at Arastan.

It is no exaggeration to say, that every time I see a miniature, I am taken by surprise!

Its size never ceases to amaze me. Then there’s the intricate detail – down to the last, delicate eyelash resting on a rosy cheek. The smooth, flowing lines of the human body, a bird’s wings, a horse going full tilt. Vibrant, vivid colours – picked out in burnished (in fact 24 karat!) gold and sparkling silver.

Amazing! And to think that the Indian miniature is an art form that can be traced back to about the 10th century. Maybe a little bit of time travel is now called for…

Life portrayed in mere inches

This is a timeless world where men and women, birds and animals, trees and flowers are depicted on an impossibly small scale. On talking to the artists behind the magic, I found that they are quite matter-of- fact about the skill, experience and talent that go into the making of these miniatures. One of these brilliant artists, I found out, has been doing this for over 30 years, winning a number of awards and much accolade in the process!

Buddhist Manuscript on Palm Leaf

Ancient Temple Carvings at Ajanta and Ellora Caves
© Danial Chitnis

The earliest examples of miniature painting in India exist in the form of illustrations to religious texts on Buddhism executed under the Palas of Eastern India. The 10th century illustrated Buddhist text, Prajnaparamita, is the first known example of a painting on a canvas of miniature size. In style, the Pala miniatures resemble contemporary bronze and stone sculptures of that age, reflecting some of the classical art forms found at Ajanta and Ellora Caves in Maharashtra.

Bahubali (Balarama) in Meditation

Between the 10th and 12th centuries, miniature painting evolved further in Western India. Generally two to four inches in size, these miniatures illustrate Hindu and Jain manuscripts and are largely to be found in the region comprising Gujarat, Rajasthan and the Malwa area of Madhya Pradesh.

This was principally due to the support given to this art form by the Kings of the Chalukya Dynasty who ruled Gujarat, and parts of Rajasthan and Malwa, from 961 AD to the end of the 13th century. An enormous number of beautifully illustrated Jain religious manuscripts were commissioned from 12th to 16th centuries by the princes, with their ministers and rich Jain merchants who, not wanting to be left behind, enthusiastically followed suit!

Kamancheh Player, painting from Hasht Behesht Palace, Isfahan, 1669

During Mughal rule, the art of miniature painting grew and developed. While doing my research, I found that the Mughal style of miniature painting is a happy synthesis of indigenous Indian style and the Safavid school of Persian painting – a style based on close observation of nature, with images captured in fine, delicate lines.

As I studied the Jaipur miniatures (painted in the Mughal style) in the Arastan Collection, I saw that these miniatures are, indeed, a lovely blend of Indian, Persian and Islamic styles. The best of all worlds, I thought to myself! Mughal miniatures featured the pomp and pageantry of life in the royal courts and palaces as well as depictions of plants, flowers and animals. Mughal kings wanted visual records of their deeds as hunters, conquerors and rulers.

Their artists accompanied them on military expeditions and missions of state; recorded their prowess as animal slayers; and depicted them during the great dynastic ceremonies of marriage.

Floral Rajasthani Miniature Painting

The Mughal School of painting actually began during the reign of Emperor Akbar in 1560 AD. At the beginning of his rule, he established an atelier of painting under the supervision of two Persian masters, Mir Sayyed Ali and Abdul Samad Khan. A large number of Indian artists from all over India were recruited to work under these Persian masters. More than a hundred painters were employed, most of who were actually Hindus from Gujarat, Gwalior and Kashmir!

These bygone artists (unheralded and unsung) used a palette of natural colours, derived from insects, shells, minerals and vegetable matter, as well as silver and gold, to bring miniature paintings to vibrant life. Real gold leaf is generally understood to be ultra-thin sheets hammered out of pure (92%) gold, which gives them a rich and regal look. This process of gold leafing has remained virtually unchanged for hundreds of years and is still done by hand. A variety of materials were used as surfaces to paint on: from handmade paper and boards of wood to ivory and marble. Paintings were done using squirrel brushes, sometimes with just a single strand of fur! Looking at the incredibly fine lines, I couldn’t even begin to imagine the effort and care involved in painting these miniatures.

Emperor Jahangir receiving his two sons: album-painting in gouache on paper, c1605-06

During Emperor Jahangir’s rule, miniature paintings acquired greater charm, refinement and dignity. He had a great fascination for nature and delighted in the portraiture of birds, animals and flowers. Paintings from this period are remarkable for their superb illustrations, fine modelling and realism.

There is liberal use of gold on the borders, which are decorated with floral designs. Quite often, text in Persian appears along the borders. Under Emperor Shah Jehan, Mughal paintings maintained their fine quality but the style, however, became florid and over-blown during the latter part of his reign.

The Jaipur miniatures in the Arastan Collection have all the best aspects of Mughal miniatures. The artist, whose skilled and experienced hands work their magic on even old, used government stamp papers, is the proud successor of an artistic tradition that goes back hundreds of years.

View the complete A World in Miniature article on The Arastan Journey.

If you read my first, tentative post about carpet motifs, you may remember that I promised a follow-up dedicated exclusively to border motifs. My attempt at compiling a comprehensive glossary of border motifs, however, very quickly ran into a wall. There are countless border motifs out there in that jungle that is the world of oriental carpets, and many of them have multiple interpretations and variants. No wonder that no-one has bothered to publish a simple, helpful compendium of border patterns. It would be a mind-boggling and thankless task.

Out of the galaxy of border motifs that can be found in oriental rugs, I have chosen just a few, because they are either common and worth knowing, or because they are simply cool to look at. This short list, therefore, is not by any means exhaustive. It is just a beginning, an elementary text to jump-start your own motif-hunting expedition.

As in my previous post, the aim here is to develop a toolbox of simple terminology, a handy vocabulary to help us understand, visualise, and describe rug designs. Though often colourful, discussions on the origin or semiotics of these border motifs are less important, because they are invariably speculative, and because in any case such mythologies are relevant only when analysing rugs that were made in a time when tribal and nomadic ways of life still prevailed among carpet weavers.

Running water

Running water motif in the border of a Qashqai rug

Running water (su yolu or akarsu in Turkish) is a common border pattern. Its meaning is straightforward: among all carpet-weaving communities, water, the indispensable element, was associated with life itself, as well as with rituals of purification and renewal.

Appearing as a triangular, saw-blade or wave-like pattern (and sometimes labelled ‘saw’ or ‘mountains’), it makes for a simple yet elegant border design. It is found in tribal carpets everywhere, from Anatolia to the Caucasus to Persia. The difficulty, however, lies in distinguishing it from other, similar patterns, such as the running dog and meander motifs (see below).

The running dog pattern above and below a Bergama border

Running dog

Well-known in classical architecture, the running dog is a decorative motif consisting of a repeated, stylised scroll form, rather like the profile of a breaking wave. The running-dog pattern is sometimes referred to as the Vitruvian scroll, after Vitruvius, a Roman architectural historian of the first century BC. It is also known as the wave ornament, or wave scroll.

It is common in rugs from many origins, appearing especially in border stripes. A similar, more rigidly geometric pattern is sometimes known as ‘running hook’.

Barber’s pole

A pattern of adjacent oblique stripes that mimics the old-fashioned signs often seen outside barber shops. Popular and versatile, the barber’s pole can also appear in combination with other motifs. For example, in the right-most image below, taken from a Khotan rug, the bands of the barber’s pole contain swastika motifs.

Examples of the barber’s pole border,
and the real thing

Kotchanak

Two examples of the kotchanak

Found especially in Turkmen and Afghan rugs, the kotchanak (or gochanak) design is probably a derivative of the ram’s horn motif. It has several variants that usually consist of a geometric shape (such as a compressed hexagon or a rectangle or an hourglass), with protruding ram’s horns on two sides.

However, in a talk hosted by Arastan in March 2013, textile expert Thomas Cole posited that the kotchanak is in fact a fertility symbol of Scythian origin, representing a goddess with child.

Kotchanak variants

Cup-and-leaf

Variants of the cup-and-leaf border

Also known as leaf-and-calyx or leaf-and-wineglass, this border motif is primarily Caucasian, and is found especially in kazak carpets. It consists of a serrated wave-like form (the ‘leaf’), with small, goblet-like, geometric flowers (the ‘cups’) nestled in each wave trough. The name, of course, was applied by western scholars.

The meaning and origin of this border motif are unknown, but we can be quite certain that the ‘cup’ was never meant to represent a chalice or a wineglass. At least one scholar believes that the pattern is derived from another, purely geometric border pattern (known as Bergama), sliced in half.

Meander

The meander border in a modern rug

The meander (also known as Greek key) is a decorative pattern drawn in a continuous line and shaped into a repeating geometric motif. The name comes from the River Meander in western Turkey, known in antiquity for its many twists and turns. It is also known as “Greek key” pattern because it was widely used in ancient Greece in architectural friezes and earthen pottery, and because its shape is reminiscent of the tooth or bit of a simple key.

Though there are curly versions of the meander motif, if usually occurs in the squarish form shown in the image. Note how the meander has a (squarish) wave profile, such that it is often interpreted as a running dog or running water motif.

S-shape, or hook

The S-shape or hook pattern in three different rugs

The S-pattern or hook is a very common border motif, appearing almost everywhere in the landscape of oriental carpets, both as a very geometric figure and as a curly arabesque. It is regarded as a protective sign that can ward off the evil eye, but as a hook that joins two elements, it can also be considered a symbol of union and togetherness.

From top to bottom, the image on the right shows the hook motif in the borders of a Caucasian rug, an Afghan Mashwani, and a Kurdish kilim, respectively.

Birds-on-a-tree, birds-on-a-pole

The birds-on-a-tree border motif, common in Caucasian rugs, suggests a flock of birds roosting on a tree. In more curly renditions, it matches its name nicely, but in more geometric versions the figural element is almost lost.

Variations of the birds-on-a-tree border motif,
from the figurative to the geometric

A typical bird-on-pole border motif; note also the running dog in the border stripes

Just to keep things confusing, there is also a birds-on-a-pole motif, which is rather different in appearance. Staying with bird imagery, we might say that it looks like a flock of toucans sitting on a power line; alternatively, it looks like a row of connected hooks or S-shapes that have been fattened and then stretched diagonally.

Herati

A common Persian rug design, the herati features a rose as a centerpiece, often encased in a diamond shape, surrounded by four leaves. While this pattern can be used to cover the entire main field of a rug, it also appears as a border motif in Persian and Caucasian carpets.

In the image below, we see a classic Herati all-over pattern (left), and a corresponding, though much simplified, Herati pattern in a border (right).

Herati patterns

Mystery border motifs

Strange and unexplained

And here are a few border motifs that I find truly puzzling. I was unable to determine their names or origins or meaning. If anyone knows, please share. Or, if anyone would like to give them an interesting label…

Clockwise, starting with the top left, we see what seem like fairies hovering in the border of a triple-medallion Tibetan carpet; a strange, winged creature, perhaps a griffon, in the border of a Caucasian zeiva rug; and an odd, key-like symbol (possibly an elongated boteh) in a herringbone cartouche, as seen in a Persian suzani kilim.

Kufic or Kufesque

Several versions of the popular Kufic border pattern

Last, but certainly not least, the Kufic or Kufesque border pattern. I left it for last because the speculation about its origin is quite intriguing. It is common in Persian and Caucasian carpets. The first time I heard this pattern described as Kufic, I immediately thought: “This looks nothing like calligraphy! Why do they call it Kufic?”

Indeed, the word ‘Kufic’ or ‘Kufi’ refers to an early form of Arabic calligraphy, used by the first Muslims to record the Koran. The script was called ‘Kufi’ because it was thought to have been developed at Kufah in Iraq, an early Islamic centre of learning. Originally, the script was angular and staccato, but later a floral Kufi was developed, and then several other varieties, including foliated Kufi, knotted Kufi, and square Kufi. Eventually, it seems, the word ‘Kufic’ came to denote any form of ornamentation based on calligraphy—a word art—including both highly decorative scripts and purely geometric, abstract ones.

Back to my original question: how do we go from Koranic calligraphy to our Kufic/Kufesque border motif? I scoured several books on oriental carpets, as well as the Internet, for an answer, and came up with very little. The only viable, if highly speculative, answer that I could find was in a blog entry by artist Martin Erik Andersen. Simplifying his theory somewhat, and putting my own spin on it, yields the following argument.

The most important word in the Arabic vocabulary, of course, is Allah, the name of God, and it must also be the word most frequently rendered artistically. In a simple ornate script, the word is shown in part A of the composite image below. It is not uncommon, however, to depict the word with the first letter, the alif, shifted to the middle, so that the composition looks a bit like a trident, as shown in B.

The Kufic symbol: from calligraphy to carpet border

Now, anyone wishing to incorporate such a script into a textile would want to simplify it, and make it symmetrical. In a geometric rendition, we might come up with something that looks like C. (This, as Andersen points out, is already similar to some border patterns found in 13th-century Seljuk carpets that may be early versions of the Kufic border.)

Now we turn our rudimentary pattern by 90 degrees and give it a mirror image, as shown in D. All that is left to do is to join the two middle tines and turn the messy tangle of diacritical marks in the centre into a floral flourish, or an endless knot, and we have a basic Kufic border motif (E).

Is this how it came about? Maybe. The progression of steps seems laboured and a bit contrived. Moreover, it seems unlikely that anyone would knowingly have woven the name of God into a rug, where it would be trodden upon continually. Then again, in olden times most weavers would have been illiterate, and may have perpetuated the use of this pattern without being aware of its etiology. Fascinating all the same.

Miscellaneous border motifs

A miscellany of borders

Here’s a medley of other border motifs that I found during my research. They have colourful names, but there’s little in the way of scholarly study to be found about them.

From top to bottom, they are: sainak, crow’s feet, Bergama, and fence.

View the complete Bordering on the Infinite: Border Motifs in Oriental Carpets article on The Arastan Journey.

As it was once said, “We are who we were…” And it is this truism that Tom Cole, internationally acclaimed Central Asian carpet and textile expert, brought to life vividly and evocatively in the talk he gave for Arastan last Wednesday.

Turkmen Bag Detail

Gonor Temple Complex

Tom talked with great depth and knowledge not just about the crafts but the historical, cultural and symbolic linkages that accompany them. As one who specialises in tribal weavings and textiles of artistic, historical and ethnographic significance from Central Asia, Tom is the position to do so very authoritatively. As he put it to an interested and involved audience, his presentation on ‘Myth and Design’ endeavoured to identify pervasive myths and symbolism at the core of our very existence as human beings – as illustrated in patterns and symbols spanning the breadth of the Asian continent.

Scorpion Bronze Seal

Scorpion Boteh

Supported by interesting and relevant visuals, Tom talked about certain images and icons that have been intrinsic to rugs and textiles that have emanated from the long journey along the legendary Silk Route… from East to West. He touched upon the bronze age origins of some of these designs; Tibetan rug designs inspired by stupas; the floral patterns in Mughal rugs; the Boteh or mango shaped (popularly referred to as the paisley in the West) designs that can be found in profusion from China in the Far East to Persia and Turkey in the West.

A wide variety of fertility symbols are a common motif along the Silk Route – ranging from flowering pots of pomegranates to the kotchanak (a fertility symbol of Scythian origin) representing a Goddess with child to Uzbek silk Ikat panels with Goddess imagery. In fact the Goddess imagery, as exemplified by the fecund female form, can be traced back to the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods.

Kotchanak Dowry Weaving

Kotchanak Gold Plaque

The other motifs that are found in profusion from these regions are graphic and abstract depictions of the tree of life, various iterations of the swastika, animals, birds and fantastic beasts such as the dragon, phoenix and the griffin. These have all found stylised and emotive expressions in rugs and textiles from along the Silk Route.

The presentation was enlivened by an audience who not only listened but also took an active part by asking interesting and probing questions. The display of beautiful and authentic carpets did much to bring home the truth and significance of the myths that underlay these wonderful designs which have come down to us through millennia.

Thanks Tom for a wonderful evening!

View the complete Myth and Design, as presented by Thomas Cole at Arastan article on The Arastan Journey.

Kazak Latch Hook Carpet

We’re delighted to be returning to Mumbai to feature the best of artistic traditions from the Silk Route, this time at Good Earth’s flagship store at Raghuvanshi Mills, Lower Parel, for 10 days from from Monday 4 to Wednesday 13 March.

The caravan of treasures includes carpets from across the Caucasian region and from Kurdistan, embroidered glassware from Azerbaijan and a new collection of our popular blue ceramic and silk ikat from Uzbekistan, as well as our one-of-a-kind tribal cushions and ottomans.

Rugs include some much sought after collector’s pieces such as those from Shirvan and Quba in the Caucasus, plus Gabbehs and other tribal Persian carpets, and remarkable new Daizangi kilims from Afghanistan. More Uzbek ceramic includes smaller platters and plates, and we have an entirely new collection of  silk cushions made with authentic fabrics including Uzbek ikat and Moroccan sabra silk.

This coincides with a series of events planned as part of India Design Week, a precursor to the India Design Forum. Do pop into see us at Good Earth!

Good Earth
Raghuvanshi Mansion
Raghuvanshi Mills Compound
Senapati Bapat Marg
Lower Parel, Mumbai 400013

Monday 4 – Wednesday 13 March 2013

You can also follow Arastan at Good Earth on our Facebook event page.

View the complete Arastan at Good Earth in Mumbai: 4-13 March 2013 article on The Arastan Journey.