WOVEN GEMS ALONG THE SILK ROAD: Small Pile Weavings of the Turkic Nomads of Central Asia

WOVEN GEMS ALONG THE SILK ROAD: Small Pile Weavings of the Turkic Nomads of Central Asia

with Dr. Richard Isaacson, Collector and Independent Scholar, Arlington, VA

Log-in 9:55 a.m. / Program *10:00* a.m., Pacific Time, Saturday, March 13, 2021

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The familiar red textiles of the Türkmen tribes of Central Asia are appreciated by rug collectors, artists, and interior designers in the west. With the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, several new independent countries arose in Central Asia, and textile lovers were presented with their first detailed exposure to the previously hidden artistry of several other related ethnic Turkic groups, i.e. Uzbek, Kyrgyz, Kazakh, and Karakalpak weavings. These textiles demonstrated many similarities, but also many individual differences compared to the previously known Türkmen artifacts. Dr. Richard Isaacson’s talk will begin with a review of the principal small weavings of the various Türkmen tribes, and will also describe recently researched evidence concerning the function of a particularly striking item, the eñsi. In the second part of the program, he will show examples from the other related Turkic tribal groups in Central Asia, and compare them to their Türkmen counterparts.

Richard Isaacson attended Columbia and Stanford Universities, and received his PhD in Theoretical Physics from the University of Maryland. He taught at Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, then moved to the U.S. National Science Foundation in Washington, DC where he served as the Program Director for Gravitational Physics for almost three decades. He simultaneously pursued a strong interest in art and oriental carpets. Dr. Isaacson has published in Oriental Rug Review, HALI, Steppe, and Carpet Collector magazines, and has written the exhibition catalogue Architectural Textiles: Tent Bands of Central Asia. He has lectured frequently at the Textile Museum, and the Türkmen Treffen in Hamburg, Germany. He has also spoken to many rug and textile societies across the US, and at various museums.

Co-sponsored by:

International Hajji Baba Society (IHBS, DC)

Colorado Textile Group (CTG)

Seattle Textile & Rug Society (STARS)

Chicago Oriental Rug & Textile Society (CORTS)

Portland Area Rug Society (PARS)

San Francisco Bay Area Rug Society (SFBARS)