Silk carpets at Ballenberg museum
- Precious silk objects at Ballenberg museum
The Swiss open-air museum Ballenberg dedicates itself this year in form of numerous exhibitions and events to the annual subject “silk”. Label STEP presents in cooperation with Pfister in this very context an exhibition of precious silk carpets. The exhibition is open until the 15. October 2009.
The little exhibition in the courtyard of Novazzano at the Swiss open-air museum at Ballenberg is intended to give an idea of the diversity and beauty of silk carpets. Whether classic or modern, or from Hereke, Tabriz, Kashmir or Kathmandu – all the carpets on display here testify to the intrinsic beauty of the natural fibre of silk and to the artistry of the carpet knotters.
The exhibition is brought to you courtesy of the Pfister company and by Label STEP, the label that stands for fair trade with hand-made carpets. By visiting house no. 1021 in Matten, the interiors of which have been furnished by Pfister, you can also experience how carpets – fair trade carpets, obviously – help to turn a traditional house into a contemporary home.
Learn more in the following texts about the art of knotting silk carpets and about the exhibited pieces – and let you seduce to a visit of the Ballenberg museum!
Dreams knotted in silk
- Carpet weavers in Kathmandu, Nepal
Silk and silk carpets are one of the first – and most precious – commodities to be traded throughout the world. Carpet knotting is a handicraft that has been around for thousands of years, providing millions of people with an income right up to today. Due to the valuable raw material used, the high knot density and the predominantly complex patterns, silk carpets are regarded as the supreme discipline in the art of carpet knotting.
The first silk carpets came to Europe by way of the Silk Road, a network of ancient caravan and trade routes extending thousands of kilometres. The main route used to connect the Mediterranean region to East Asia, or the Orient as it was once known. The origins of the Silk Road are somewhat obscure: no-one quite knows when the first caravan set off from China to the West. All we know for certain is that such expeditions were used to transport only the most precious and exquisite of goods – and that silk was the most valuable commodity of them all.
Even today, silk remains the most valuable raw material in the production of hand knotted carpets. Only the most talented and experienced male and female knotters make silk carpets. In such cases the patterns are often extremely detailed and exquisitely knotted – it’s not rare for over a million knots to be tied per square metre of carpet. Depending on the knot density, the intricacy of the pattern and the size it can take many months from the first knot to through to final completion of a silk carpet.
Hereke
- Hereke (1980, 103 x 150 cm, ca. 1,2 Mio. knots per m2)
The Turkish coastal town of Hereke lies close to Istanbul and has a legendary reputation for being a centre of hand knotted carpets. In the mid-19th century Sultan Abdülmecid I summoned the best master knotters in the Ottoman Empire to Hereke. The Imperial Manufacture produced carpets exclusively for the Sultan’s palaces – it was strictly prohibited for them to be sold freely in the bazaars. This exclusive right was only abolished in or around 1890, as of which time carpet lovers – mere mortals! – were permitted to buy them. What has remained right up to the present day is the stunning quality and overwhelming beauty of the carpets from Hereke.
Tabriz
- Tabriz (left: ca. 1850, 124 x 162 cm, ca. 640'000 knots/m2; right: ca. 1900, 122 x 159 cm, ca. 600'00 knots/m2)
The city of Tabriz is situated in one of the oldest and most famous carpet manufacturing regions in northeast Iran. Many people regard the historic city as home to the most skilful carpet knotters in all Persia. A wide selection of oriental carpets continues to be produced in Tabriz right up to today. Even so, the two carpets on display here are over 100 and 150 years old respectively. Both are extremely precious hand knotted prayer rugs made of silk. In both cases a characteristic feature is the prayer niche (known as the Mihrab) depicted on the inside. At prayer-time the carpet is laid out in such a way that the Mihrab points towards Mecca.
Kashmir
- Kashmir (2008, 155 x 99 cm, ca. 350'000 knots/m2)
The most exquisite silk carpets in India today are predominantly hand knotted in Kashmir. The art of carpet knotting was introduced to the Indian sub-continent by the Mogul rulers in the 16th century and can be traced back to Persian origins. The design of the carpet on display also originates from Persia: so-called garden carpets have been made from the 6th century onwards. A garden motif is depicted in each of the rectangular areas, with the resplendently beautiful wonders of nature shown to great advantage in the silk knots.
Nepal
- Modern design carpets from Nepal
The art of carpet knotting only reached Nepal in the 1950s when refugees fled there from Tibet. Today the Himalayan state is regarded as a workshop for modern design and a laboratory for innovations in the carpet industry. The examples on display mark a radical break with the traditional design of oriental carpets and appeal to lovers of modern design. Yet in one respect they are no different from their classic predecessors: these carpets have also been 100% hand knotted using high quality natural raw materials.
