Compass

Editorial: The importance of interacting with subscribers offers a fresh perspective for both the future and the past. The contributions of two significant figures in the world of tribal rugs are remembered

Dialogue: Indian textiles at the V&A, a royal Polonaise at Sotheby’s New York, a Spanish Holbein, Hans König’s Stromata postscript and Chilkats in Santa Fe

Diary: Our choice of the most important rug and textile events during the next quarter

Calendar: Some of the best fairs, auctions, exhibitions and conferences of the season

Thread of time: The works of two women designers on opposite sides of the Attantic use very particular techniques to produce textiles that bring their own interpretations of ancient myths

Travellers’ tales: Jaina Mishra Toronto’s Aga Khan Museum of Islamic Art proved just right in aesthetic style and didactic content for the Singaporean textile collector

Profile: Paris is the city of Samiro Yunoki’s dreams. ‘La danse des formes’ at the Musée Guimet celebrated the Japanese textile artist’s recent major donation of seventy-two works

Comment: Mary Schoeser The textiles housed within Britain’s churches are often their most valuable treasures. Yet they are at risk, and a co-ordinated strategy is urgently needed to protect them

Anatomy of an object: Dr Moya Carey A little-seen Safavid fragment from the V&A stores illustrates the qualities of the famous ‘Vase’ carpet genre, casting light on the value of continued study of museum collections

Features

In pursuit of high standards Thomas J. Farnham Quick tempered, diligent and hostile to all forms of pretension: George Hewitt Myers, founder of the recently expanded Textile Museum in Washington was a collector like no other

An object lesson Ben Evans An exhibition in London held by one of the world’s most experienced dealers in non-Western art shows the virtues of having a unique vision and a curious mind

Patterns of change Vanessa Drake Moraga An exhibition at the Neuberger Museum, New York brought to light the earliest known Kuba skirts

Views from Iran Cheri Hunter A recent trip by the Amercian writer to some of Iran’s historic sights allowed her to see an unimpeded view of the country, the culture  and people rather than through the prism of the media

In search of the Flowery Yao Lee J. Chinalai Obscure history and hidden meanings are encountered in the elaborately embroidered skirts made and worn by the Huayao women of Hunan in southwestern China

Kimono for the jazz age Japanese meisen kimono are a little explored area replete with insight into changes in Japanese society in the 20th century. But that is set to change with the imminent publication of a sumptuous new book produced by HALI on the collection of Karun Thakar

Reviews

Exhibition preview 

The International Conference on Oriental Carpets (ICOC XIII) returns at short notice to Washington in August with lectures at the TM/GWU, exhibitions of rugs, prayer rugs and woven pillows from local collections, plus post-conference trips to New York and Philadephia

Exhibition reviews 

Ottoman carpets from the MAA Budapest at TIEM Istanbul; ‘Sultans of Deccan India’ at the Met; ‘Triumph of Ornament: Fifteenth-century Italian silk-weaving’ at the Abegg-Stiftung; ‘The Red that Colored the World’ at MOIFA, Santa Fe; Sonia Delaunay at Tate Modern

Book review 

Tai Magic: Arts of the Supernatural in the Shan States and Lan Na by Susan Conway, reviewed by Jenny Balfour Paul

Marketplace

Fair preview 

The ICOC XIII  Carpet Fair at the conference hotel in Georgetown with an international roll call of specialist dealers

Auction review Steven Cohen 

Steven Cohen investigates the ‘unique’ Mongol flatweave sold at Christie’s London in April 2015

Auction price guide 

Carpets and textiles with provenance from Vok 1 at Rippon Boswell, Munkacsi and more at Austria Auctions, The Duchess of Roxburghe at SLO and the King of Ming at CNY’s Rockefeller Center, plus London in April Islamic week (including Tipumania at Bonhams), the Dorotheum and Freemans in Philadelphia

Last page

Three Hawaiian featherwork adornments on view in San Francsco at the de Young Museum; HALI 185 (Autumn 2015) previewed

For a new and convenient way to subscribe and order issues of HALI, visit the HALI Shop.