‘Antique Textile Art I’, Galleria Battilossi, Turin

November 1, 2018

Galleria Battilossi have opened a new showroom in Turin with ‘Antique Textile Art I’, an inaugural exhibition of exceptional antique textiles from a prominent private collection.

Large-Medallion Suzani, Uzbekistan, Emirate of Bukhara, 18th century. Silk embroidery on cotton, 154 x 205 cm

The following is an extract from the exhibition catalogue:

‘The pieces in this exhibition were brought together as the result of a deep-rooted appreciation for beauty, skill and materiality, qualities never better expressed than in the textile medium. On the surface, the exuberant palette of a large-medallion Bukhara suzani embroidery may seem a world apart from the muted golden and red tones of a sophisticated Mughal tent panel fragment, yet to those who speak the language of textiles, the delights of either are instantly understood and cherished.

Silk Velvet Tent Panel with Stamped Gold Decoration, North India, 17th century. 118 x 188 cm

This is the first in a series of presentations designed to inspire and enlighten; to make one stop and reflect upon the primal forms expressed through the sumakh weft-wrapping technique in a Caucasian ‘Dragon’ carpet or find oneself lost in orientalist reverie at the sight of an Ottoman bohça, perhaps once wrapped around precious goods and taken through the streets of Istanbul. While design is important—delicate spiral tendrils, ingenious infinite repeats, harmonious compositions—it is texture that sets these works apart. The sheen of silk thread, the sumptuous tactility of velvet: this is an exhibition to make one feel as well as see.’

Dragon Sumakh Carpet, the Caucasus, dated 1806. All wool, weft-float brocading, 229 x 336 cm

Visit ‘Antique Textile Art I’ at Galleria Battilossi on Via Giolitti 45 G. Turin, Italy, and view the exhibition highlights on Galleria Battilossi’s Instagram @galleria_battilossi.