Material Matters Journal

Leeds

I was thrilled to learn our large panel by Jacob Kramer was exhibited for the first time in its new home at Leeds Art Gallery.

It was a real joy researching him and discovering how Avant-garde Leeds was in the early part of the 20th century.

The first British city Kandinsky visited to discuss his Art was Leeds not London.

Ancient and Modern:
The Ikat exhibition “To dye for” is currently at the Arthur M Sackler, Washington DC. The exhibits were a donation from Guido Goldman. This prompted me to again look at his book”Ikat” .He sites his love of Ikat as stemming from his love of German Expressionism and his love of Kandinsky .

I find this fact very reaffirming of human need of colour in both modern and ancient society! Kandinsky was hugely influenced by “Thought Forms” the work of Annie Bessant particularly her paintings of what she saw when she heard the music of Mendelssohn, Wagner and Gounod . Kandinsky had synesthesia- when he heard music he saw colours- he so identified with her painting that he completely changed his painting style and became an Abstract Expressionist. 

Central Asia has more Sufi schools than other part of the world and are highly influenced by Zoroastrianism -which later develops into the more mystical side of Islam . Connecting again the ancient and modern – Johannes Itten,( friend and colleague of Kandinsky) and the major scholar on colour theory at Bauhaus was also a Zoroastrian . I believe that the weavers and dyers of Central Asia knew intuitively the power of colour combinations and harmony and the effect on our well being. It is interesting to think that Asian civilisations had knowledge much earlier than the Modern Western world .

Strangely the reason Kandinsky visited Leeds was to discuss the connection with colour music and emotion .

The Bloomsbury Group and The Algonquin Round Table:

I was also delighted that Marian Stoll has been featured in a scholarly book by Dr Cynthia Fowler-.

“The Modern Embroidery Movement” published by Bloomsbury.(see research). In her letter to Ottoline Morrell ,Marian Stoll mentions she doesn’t mind financial hardship as long as she is remembered posthumously – so I always felt it was part of my duty to bring her to public mind. Recently I have been fortunate to find two more of her embroideries. Also her letters to Bessie Morrison have recently been given to University of Notre Dame in USA. She was an extraordinary woman straddling both the Bloomsbury group here in Uk and the Algonquin Round Table through Alec Woollcott in USA .

New stock : rich pickings 

I have been very lucky in currently handling a fabulous Shahrysabz Suzani, formerly owned by Sir William Burrell , a wonderful velvet Uzbek Ikat, and two rare 18th century shawl fragments.see Islamic

Two of Marian Stoll’s embroideries have come my way and a lovely Omega fragment formerly owned by Howard Hodgkin‘s Irish grandmother Florence Hodgkin .see modernism 

Please don’t hesitate to contact us should you have any rare textile issue. 

Very best wishes to you all
Esther

PS 

It has just been pointed out to me that a lowan is up for sale  in LA . All I can say is “ interesting “

Lot 42

Fine Ceremonial Scarp, Palembang Region, South Sumatra

US$ 30,000 – 50.000
£ 22.000 – 37.000

Adventures

I have been to Singapore, where I was treated with extreme generosity by the lovely Shirin Jacobs. I met Kennie Ting the new young dynamic director of The Asian Civilisation Museum . They have a fabulous collection of trade textiles and are lucky to have items from The Chris Hall collection of early chinese textiles on loan. Singapore is not an easy place to get folk involved in cultural connections .At present they do seem to be more excited by gambling and luxury branded goods than looking at their diverse and rich heritage but it is a young country!…….

Exhibitions

Weaving Magic at The National Gallery – Chris Ofili – “The Caged Bird Song”

Unlike Grayson Perry’s vernacular woven wall hanging “vanity of small differences” Ofili’s triptych “The Caged Bird song” is actually a tapestry. It was woven at the Dovecote Studio in Edinburgh, over two and a half years by five weavers. In a world of “Fast” this weaving is an alchemical feat of concept and vision with craft and skill. The result – a little magic -hence the National Gallery’s title “Woven Magic “. I can’t think of a modern tapestry that works as well as this one does. It feels soft and vulnerable. Walking close to it in its setting at the National Gallery I felt as if I might get splashed from its waterfall. Ofili anchored its poetry in time, modelling the male subject on the very real but almost mythical figure of the footballer Mario Balotelli. The triptych was commissioned by the Cloth Workers Company – an ancient guild which today has little to do with the textile industry but does provide educational grants mainly through the Royal College of Art. If you miss seeing it at The National Gallery you can make an appointment to see it at The Cloth Worker Hall, Mincing Lane, EC3R7AH. It is wonderful!

Ravilious and Co – The Pattern of Friendship at The Towner Art Gallery. Eastbourne 

William Rothenstein (former Principle of the Royal College of Art) had a vision for the Royal College, which was to make it relevant and therefore modern. The board of Education had appointed him with hope that he would reform the hide-bound institution, overly focused on the training of art teachers. “we have to many trivial painters and indifferent teachers and too few good and adventurous craftmen or designers.” He began by appointing artists as teachers one of which was Paul Nash. The result was as Nash put it “an out break of talent”.

The talent he referred to was Eric Ravilious, Edward Bawden, Tiraz Garwood, Enid Marks. Barnet Fredman, Percy Horton, Peggy Angus and Helen Binyon.
They met at the Royal College and remained lifelong friends and colleagues.
Nash teaching style taught practical advice helped with introductions to the commercial world (see essay in research Paul Nash). This group of artists designed textiles, books, posters, pottery murals, theatre design and campaigns. Rothenstein said at the end of his 15 years at RCA he was most proud of this group. 

The exhibition at Eastbourne is comprehensive and engaging, Ravilious only designed one textile before his life was cut short working as a war artist in Iceland. It was called Garden Implements, which he did for Edinburgh Weavers. I have had both the green and the black versions. You can see one FIT in New York, the other is in The Whitworth in Manchester but none were present in Eastbourne. Enid Marx’s textiles however are well represented in the exhibition. 
While at Roedean Enid Marx was taught art by Dorothy Martin . She was also apprenticed to Barron and Larcher, Marx is possibly best known for her industrial designs for London Board of Transport , for her work on Utility Furniture Scheme and was the first female engraver to be designated as Royal Designer for Industry. 
The importance of this exhibition was in exploring how Fine Art could be adapted to the modern commercial world in all its disciplines. The success of this group set down the model of art training that is still followed in the Royal College of Art today. 

The Market

The sale of a magnificent Ottoman velvet at Sotheby’s in April was a world record. If I came across a tiny fragment of this velvet I would have been extremely happy but a complete panel with great provenance it was going to sell for a huge price and it did – selling for £ 1,076,750. (see pdf BBC Homes and Antiques)
Rippon and Boswell sold the last section of the Vok collection including two Suzanis which sold for over £76,000 – so the good Suzani market is still strong.

I recently went to the Tribal Arts London Fair which is the only opportunity to view the tribal market in the capital. There was not a great deal of textiles but there was a very good Devrish Jibbeh, I have always been drawn to these Sudanese Mahdi robes made from the uniforms of the rank and file to high light the life of austerity and piety which devotees had to follow. This one was £18,000. 

New acquisitions

To the European section I have added a very rare embroidery by Lily Yeates daughter of the painter John Buttler Yeats and sister of William Buttler Yeats and Jack B Yeats.

Lily trained under her friend May Morris currently you can see May Morris Art and Life at William Morris Gallery Walthamstow until January 2018.

I have found some rather wonderful Yoruba Aso Oke strip weavings from 1950s. which are in the African section. I also have been able to buy back a wonderful Bizarre Silk which in 1690-1720 incorporated what appears to be stealth bombers and pomegranates into its design.

Horst Kolo and I will be up-dating our website so this will be the last news update in this form. In the meantime keep safe and calm in our troubled world.

Very best wishes
Esther

Life in flux.

Life has always been in flux but 2016 was shocking for the liberal elite…….. My total disbelief that Donald Trump had been elected as President of America still has me awake at night….. However I believe the Chinese word for crisis actually means opportunity! So maybe this is what we have – an opportunity!

I have been given a little hope through looking at the work of the Prof James Doty who is a Clinical Professor of Neurosurgery at Stamford University . His work comforts me on two levels; one that he advocates the power of compassion, (a win, win for the world !) secondly that the liberal elite comprehend science fed philosophy . Iconsider myself as part of intellectual liberalism but I have always been slightly outside it because I am more informed by feeling rather than thinking. So my comfort is coming from now knowing that the things I felt to be true in the past ( that caring was more important than counting ) are now more fact than fairy-tale. So if through integrity, not law, we know how to behave, we will not have to stray into the world of political correctness and all it’s double talk. Hence suffering the result of the silenced folk who could not speak what they thought and just voted instead and the world appears punished for it……

Enough of my personal musings – back to rare textiles

Paul Nash at Tate Britain ( untili 5th March) is billed as the most important exhibition of his work for a generation. Having spent some time researching Paul Nash’s block prints and designs for textiles I was really looking forward to this exhibition. It is a good exhibition – the war paintings are haunting and beautiful
his surrealist work understandable as landscapes of the mind ! It does however have notable absences: Paul Nash was a key figure in getting artists involved in textile design (see his article in in Listener in the research section of this site link ) and he was significantly involved in wood block prints both on textiles and paper . There is no reference to textiles design and only a passing references block printing made in the exhibition. So it really is not a comprehensive exhibition of his work.

Opus Anglicanum. V&A until 5th February
This is a fabulous exhibition on so many levels. Firstly that Brand Anglicanam was up there in the 13th century warms the heart. Art and design history so often tells us that style had to be imported to England as we had no indigenous talent or feel for it!
The exhibition was scholarly and thorough, describing the richness of materials and the market in which they existed. However I did wish there was an overview by somebody like Grayson Perry, Alan de Botton or even the recently deceased John Berger who would have seen the exhibition magic and ultimate beauty , humour and humanity which seems to have been overlooked by the art historians. In the Whally Abbey Vestments ( no 71 in the catalogue) there is a depiction of Mary and Joseph in the carpenter shop with Jesus and his baby walker which is adorable. Johannes Itten (teacher of Preliminary course at the Bauhaus) taught that to draw a lemon it was good to taste it first.
Your experience of the lemon would then be transfered into your drawing, These embroideries had first to be drawn, to maintain the resonance through the embroidery is exceptional and to my mind shows the devotional aspect and engagement of the embroiderer. In Tibetan art a sutra is a meditation but its literal meaning is a stitch with intent. These embroideries were stitched with intent and as a result many of them are masterpieces not just of English Medieval Embroidery but any Medieval art any where! It’s a must see …..

New acquisitions.

I have hit a rich vein of rare and wonderful textiles in the last few months. I was incredibly lucky to acquire a fabulous Shahrysabz suzani formerly in the collection of the Embroiderers Guild, some Lovely Greek embroideries, 16th/17th century Italian Burato and some new Lawons. Completely out of my buying practise I found a Bugatti shelf unit. I found it in an unexpected place but it gave me hope that in these times one can find treasure anywhere and one should never stop looking.

May I wish you all a Happy New Year and may we all find solutions to the problems that 2016 bought to the surface.

Art and Weaving 
One of the great treats of dealing in this niche market is the people one meets.
Brief encounters over a shared passions is one of the un taxable joys of my world.
I recently met with my all time favorite ” brief encounter”when she passed through London .
We set out from St James around 10 am with the intention of walking  to Tate Modern to see the new extension . We walked and talked and stopped and talked, coffee’d and talked and lunched and talked and eventually arrived at Tate modern in time for it to close with more talking still to do and completely nourished ! We did get a few moments in the Louise Bourgeois room who uses textiles ( almost as a language as an expressive medium for conceptual ideas. When Blake wrote  “you can see the world in a grain of sand ” he hadn’t looked at textiles. Textiles connect so many things! 

 The fashion designer Duro Olowu reiterates these connection in  a delightful exhibition he curates at The  Camden Arts Centre entitled Making and Un Making . Here Olowu explores the relationship of fabric to society through the works of Annie Albers, Brice Marden ,Yinka Shonibari, Isaac Julien, Claud Cahun and many many more. He also includes many West African textiles. Including two Dida pieces.

The desire to be creative in the confines of ones environment is powerful!
The Dida people of the DR of the Congo made extraordinary raffia skirts and panels. They wove them with out a loom using there feet and fingers keeping the tension even, they weave in tubes -in the round with out seams! If that is not impressive enough they tye and resist dye using indigenous dye sources .  What they achieved was subtle and  beautiful for use in sacred ceremonies and celebrations. Post the second world war few people continued to make them. So I feel lucky to have found a large panel. ( posted in our African section )

I have also acquired my first Tapas cloth from Fiji. Again with limited materials some thing wonderful is achieved.  The whole village join in in the beating of the inner bark of indigenous trees to make the ground cloth. Rhythm is beaten in to them and the best of them have rythm painted ,blocked  and smudged on to them in the decoration . I was thrilled to find the tapas now posted in our Abstract section . A new exhibition at Fijian art will open in October at The Sainsbury Centre for Visual Art in Norwich where one can see more of these beautiful things.

I have also posted new textiles in Asian, Modernist and Indigo sections.

On Friday afternoons I have taken to giving textile classes to a friend, if any body else local to North London would like to join in your very welcome. 

I enjoyed doing the Battersea Fair back in April, it has to be the easiest fair I have ever done but the Brexit effect took its toll on the confidence of the visitors! We are living in strange times !

I wish you all well in these strange times and hope by the next time I do my website update Hillary Clinton will be President of America and the labour party in UK will remember what the job of opposition really is and have clarified their idea of leadership. My lovely former assistant Nat Turner always told me it wasn’t good to mix politics and aesthetics but every thing is connected and we do live interesting times ……….

The best thing by far that happened in the past few months was my trip to the Venice Biennale. I am told by the avant garde who regularly do this event that it was not the best year but there were some stunning exceptions. It was difficult to find anybody to disagree that Proportio while not officially part of the Biennale was the best exhibition in Venice.

Find the pattern spot the difference not just in a textile but a philosophy for life. In the past we were all finally attuned to the subtle, we knew when things were out of sync. We still know! if we attune ourselves but in the past decades we have not been encouraged to use our intuition to tune in . Proportio curated by Axel and May Vervordt took the subject of sacred geometry and explored it through artists from Botecilli to Marina Abramovitz and Anish Kapoor . A fabulous book illustrates the exhibition but nothing compares to being there , so thousands of apologies for not getting my act together to tell you this before the exhibition finished.

How to find order in an increasing chaotic universe ? Architecture, physics, music, psychology the micro and the macro all were shown to be connected. At the moment when life seems full of uncertainties I found it life affirming.

Each Biennale is given a theme. in 2015 it was “All our futures” taken this into account I think the the British Council’s dated choice of Sarah Lucas was a cause for their resignation. Seriously! It was really awful.

On the new acquisition front the past few months have been quite fruitful- almost like the pre 2008 years. I have found a really lovely 1840 kashmir shawl, some really interesting abstracts, a possible Voysey printed velvet, a very old ewe cloth and an mperial yellow brocade made more recently into a small jacket.

I am planning to do the Battersea Spring Decorative Fair from April 19th to 24th. Please come. It’s a friendly fair and you can even bring the dogs.

I hope that as many of you that could, managed to see the Alexander McQueen show either in New York or London. His interest in world culture and the whole debate about what it is to be human was beautifully explored in what really was an exhibition of the most inspiring cat walk shows ever . I didn’t expect to be blown away but I was! I totally identified with his areas of exploration. The cabinet of curiosities, memento mori,the museum of the mind his knowledge of myth and story, the tribal world ,18th century tailoring and more, much more. 

I loved his curiosity. On the bus home I fantasized having breakfast with him (the day would not have been long enough if we started with lunch) sharing book references, my love of Egonata, the work of Robert Lepage, William Morris, Bill Viola ect. 

One sometimes despairs in the modern world that people are only interested in flat screen tv, mobile phone aps and shopping. That the past is a distant planet and our culture is dying. For a brief moment Alexander McQueen made people in high fashion – those that bought it or those that just talked about it, sit up and think, he awakened in a certain group of people their cultural curiosity. If you didn’t go try and get the book!

New on the site

After about 15 years of requests to find a reliable source of modern Tibetan chequer boards I have succeeded! We now have both black and white and indigo and white samples to take orders from. Sixty knots to the inch which is much tighter than the traditional Tibetan chequer board. So we have new category on our website called Rare Contemporary. 

I have acquired a group of seven Ethiopian pilgrim sticks. Each of these sticks is a the sole possession of a pilgrim on his oddesy. I have found a Ethiopian chair remarkably carved from one piece of wood. We have also a bold graphic group of phulcaris’, a lovely aubergine Lowan, new indigo pieces and a rare textile we are attributing to Duncan Grant or possibly Ashley Havinden in Modernism section .Also a new suzani and a bolster cover from Fez in Islamic.

Our omega textile “maud” not only is touring the world but was recently seen in the new BBC drama series “Life in squares ” a not brilliant glance at the Bloomsbury group but good to see the familiar life style of the original Bo ho. Sadly for me the fact they were thinking people didn’t come over at all in the drama.

I have just heard of the sad news that our friend and client Sam Josefowitz has died. Sam was larger than life. He was definitely one of the reasons why I love my job. He had an agile and curious mind that made him the best company .His visits were a joy he was one of life’s enthusiasts. I used to joke after his visits that I had Sigmund Freud for tea. He had that Jewish Eastern European intellect but wore it lightly. He died in New York at the age of ninety three . He will be much missed but a life well lived!

I hope you are enjoying the holidays and will return happy and fresh for a new academic year. I love the word Recreation – ‘ to re create oneself. ‘

Textiles continue to influence the contemporary art world. The Tate’s B.P Spot light at this time is on the work of Caroline Achraintre. – It is very reassuring to see a major gallery full of textiles. Some of her work is very reminiscent of tribal saddle covers.

A wow moment happened at Christies Hong Kong in November when a textile I advised on in 1994 sold for over $45 million. In 1994 the silk Imperial thangka had come up for sale in Christies New York where it was being sold on behalf of the Jain Foundation. An American client who eventually bought it asked me to take a look at it .He eventually sold it in 2002 for $2million. This is brilliant marker for early Chinese textiles and is the most expensive textile ever to have sold at auction.

I was thrilled to have sold our Seed and Spirit of Modernism book ( Abstract Asian) through Koenig books at the Whitchapel Art Gallery during Richard Tuttle exhibition.

The Picasso to Warhol Artist textile show is still on tour having started in London then it went on to Holland, has just left Massachusetts and opens in May In Toronto at the Textile Museum. So our textiles are travelling even if I personally am conserving my carbon footprint.

Back in the UK our Paul Nash, Footprint, Omega and Follit textiles will be exhibited at The Gordon Russell Design Museum exhibition ”Teaching the machine manners” Making in the dawn of the modern world, which opens May 2nd to July 18th. 

I have become interested in vintage art equipment so have added a few new additions to our rare object section. I have also acquired a lovely emerald green lowan which is in our abstract section and a soft subtle Bukhara susani which is in our Islamic section.