Most Recent
NewsObituary: Şeref Özen (1967–2026)
The well-known Istanbul dealer, connoisseur and former HALI representative, known for Turkish and Central Asian textiles and rugs, has died
Daniel Shaffer·3 min
NewsHajji Baba Club members gather for Nazmiyal New York roundtable
On 27 September, sixty members of the Hajji Baba Club gathered for a roundtable at Nazmiyal in New York for ‘The Thrill of the Hunt: Collectors in Conversation’.
Hali magazine·3 min
MarketplaceGrogan & Company, Boston, 1 October 2026: sale review
A Salor wedding trapping made $87,500, more than double its low estimate, as Grogan & Company's sale of three collections totalled $890,000.
Ben Evans·5 min
NewsSilk and Splendour: A Man's Surcoat from Uzbekistan
Editor's choice this week was made in the professional workshops of Shakhrisyabz for a wealthy patron: a silk-embroidered surcoat as striking today as when it was made
Ben Evans·3 min
MarketplaceThe XXXIVth Biennale Internazionale dell’Antiquariato di Firenze, 2026
A rare small medallion Uşak and a well-travelled ‘bird’ Selendi rug led the carpet offering in Florence, alongside Tang tomb figures and Vittorio Zecchin’s zoomorphic mosaics. HALI Chairman Michael Franses reports.
Michael Franses·12 min
ReviewsWoven Histories: Reading the Croÿ Tapestry in Greifswald
A two-day symposium in Greifswald turned fresh eyes on the Croÿ Tapestry, the monumental 1554 weaving that places Martin Luther in the pulpit between the ruling houses of Saxony and Pomerania.
Markus Voigt·8 min
News
Improvisation in Transylvania
A classic Transylvanian prayer rug on close inspection connects the viewer with the the hand of the weaver and her improvising spirit
Lost Tudor tapestry returns to Oxburgh Hall
A rare Tudor tapestry, missing for more than a century, has been rediscovered and returned to Oxburgh Hall in Norfolk
Silk, Wool and Motion: An Uzbek Suzani in Doha
This week's Editor's Choice is a well-known ‘Lakai’ suzani from the former Vok collection, which features in 'Uzbekistan: Heritage in Motion', on show at the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha.
Features
LACMA's new David Geffen galleries
The buzz created by the new David Geffen Galleries at LACMA has not all been positive. However, the radical approach, with the emphasis on fluidity, shows confidence in both the curatorial team and the intelligence of visitors
Wedding textiles around the world
A celebratory occasion in cultures globally, marriages demand that the fanciest of textiles are brought out on parade-to impress in-laws, wedding guests and passers-by alike
An inscribed Caucasian dowry rug and its matrimonial symbolism
An inscribed and dated Caucasian dowry rug reveals its ceremonial sequence, protective symbolism and matrimonial significance. More than a domestic furnishing, it emerges as a woven record of marriage, where geometry, ritual, memory and gift-giving are intricately intertwined
Reviews
Anni Albers: Material, Mind, and Meaning
An exhibition in Austria celebrates the work of Bauhaus weaver, Anni Albers
First Faig Ahmed exhibition in Baku
Carpets by the contemporary Azerbaijani artist Faig Ahmed are being exhibited in his home country for the first time
Discussing the upcoming Greater Anatolia Rug and Textile Study Tour
Offered by The Black Tent Project and HALI, and led by Deniz Coşkun, the ‘Greater Anatolia Rug and Textile Study Tour’ is being held from 24 May–5 June 2024. Participants will be taken on a journey through weaving regions in Turkey, encountering an eclectic array of rugs and…
Marketplace
The XXXIVth Biennale Internazionale dell’Antiquariato di Firenze, 2026
A rare small medallion Uşak and a well-travelled ‘bird’ Selendi rug led the carpet offering in Florence, alongside Tang tomb figures and Vittorio Zecchin’s zoomorphic mosaics. HALI Chairman Michael Franses reports.
Past and present veneration
Milan's Galleria Moshe Tabibnia has just announced that it will exhibit at Frieze Masters in London this October — prompting us to look back at HALI's last review of the gallery, originally published in HALI 214.
A market for Modernist carpets
A recent sale in Paris featured several carpets and rugs designed by Ivan da Silva Bruhns for the Maharaja of Indore. Using this auction as a starting point, Daniel Shaffer looks at the high end of the market for artist-designed Modernist carpets
Issue 229Autumn 2026Autumn 2026 — The Bayeux Tapestry at the British Museum
HALI 229 offers a comprehensive guide to the Bayeux Tapestry, the embroidery currently on show in an immensely popular British Museum exhibition. Meanwhile, the Koldinghus Museum, Denmark, focuses on how woven imagery has carried different messages across the centuries.
- FeatureIssues raised by the 1976 World of Islam Festival in London, fifty years on
- FeatureA Rabat-based collector explains his fascination with curtains from his home city
- FeatureA visit to the MAK, Vienna, prompts questions about the role of a great museum
- FeatureKashmiri shawls at Houston’s Museum of Fine Arts
- FeatureSilk mantles of Madagascar at Cleveland Museum of Art
An editorial letter, each Thursday.
Long-form reading recommendations, auction previews, and reports from museum floors — from the HALI editorial desk.