Ming Chinese Carpets of the Forbidden City
Michael Franses tells the remarkable story of his 34-year quest to find the missing 16th-century classical Chinese carpets of the Chinese Imperial household.
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Chinese Carpets in the Victoria and Albert Museum
As part of the continuing series of In-Depth archive articles from early issues of HALI magazine, here the King, Pinner & Franses team focus on the Chinese carpet collection in London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. First published in HALI 5/2, 1982. To read the article please click here.
East Mediterranean Carpets in the Victoria and Albert Museum
The third of HALI’s occasional series of In-Depth articles on the carpet collections of London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, on the Mamluk, Cairene Ottoman and other classical East Mediterranean types, was published in HALI 4/1 1981. The collection is introduced by Keeper of Textiles Donald King, and the carpets are discussed and analysed by Robert… Read more »
Lyon, Splendours in the City of Silk. 4: The remaining Classical Carpets, by Ian Bennett
The third of Ian Bennett’s in-depth articles on the Oriental carpet collection at the Musée Historique des Tissus in Lyon, France was published in HALI 35 (1987). The article features the non-Persian holdings of 16th and 17th century classical carpets – from Spain, Egypt, Turkey, India, East Turkestan and China. To read ‘The Remaining Classical… Read more »
Lyon, Splendours in the City of Silk. 3: The Safavid [Carpet] Masterpieces, by Ian Bennett
The second of Ian Bennett’s in-depth articles on the carpet collection at the Musée Historique des Tissus in Lyon, France was published in HALI 34 (1987). In he discusses the remaining holdings of 16th and 17th century classical carpets from Safavid Persia at the MHT, with additional comment extracted from the writings of the late… Read more »
Lyon, Splendours in the City of Silk. 2: Ten Safavid [Carpet] Masterpieces, by Ian Bennett
In the first of his three in-depth articles on the extraordinary carpet collection at the Musée Historique des Tissus in Lyon, France, published in HALI 33 (1987) Ian Bennett discusses ten 16th and 17th century classical carpets from Safavid Persia, with additional comment extracted from the writings of the late Kurt Erdmann. To read ‘Ten… Read more »
Caucasian ‘Shield’ Carpets by Michael Franses and Robert Pinner, 1978
Caucasian Shield Carpets’ by Robert Pinner and Michael Franses, published in 1978 in the inaugural issue of HALI magazine, remains to this day the definitive study of these 17th and 18th century carpets with variants of the classical shield palmette design.
Ashtapada – An Indian Silk Carpet In The Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, by Michael Franses
The oldest securely dated complete silk pile carpet from the Muslim world, now in the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, is particularly significant in the history of oriental carpets. Its synthesis of patterns casts light on the extensive trade and cultural links across Asia and the Mediterranean region between 1350 and 1450 that enabled… Read more »
Iberian & East Mediterranean Carpets in the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, Qatar, by Michael Franses
To date, the National Council for Culture, Arts & Heritage of the Emirate of Qatar has acquired five historical Spanish carpets and eight from Egypt and Syria for the new Museum of Islamic Art in Doha. It is these that are the focus of the second in our series of in-depth surveys of the MIAQ collection by Michael Franses. An abridged version of this article, without references or citations, appears in HALI 157, Autumn 2008.
Safavid Carpets in the Museum of Islamic Art, Qatar, by Michael Franses
Qatar’s Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, capital of the oil-and gas-rich Gulf State, opened its doors to the public on 22 November 2008. In this, the first of an occasional series of articles on highlights of the collection, we concentrate on the group of Safavid Persian carpets acquired by the MIAQ over the course of the past decade from private collections and at public auction. This article by Michael Franses is an extended version, with citations and references as well as additional images, of the abridgement published in HALI 155, Spring 2008, pp.72-89.
