Book Review by Paul Ramsey

From Oriental Rug Review, Vol. 8/2, December/January, 1988

Central Asia, once a center of world trade, has had a long and glorious past. Until the discovery of the sea routes to the Asian continent by the Europeans who were fascinated by the exotic goods of Asian origin, Central Asia contained the principal trade routes between east Asia (China) and west Asia (and therefore Europe). The preeminence of its geographical position for this trade was unquestioned. While many aspects of the cultures in this area, which we now call Turkestan, were unique, many influences came here from the adjacent areas of China, Siberia, the Indian subcontinent as well as Persian culture with which it originally shared a common language. The uniqueness of these cultures and civilizations is in part because of these influences and also in part derivative from the uniqueness of central Asia itself.

A painting by Parviz Kalantari, an Iranian artist. It is titled "Silver Ornaments of the Turkomans," and is from a series of works called, "Along with Iran's Nomads." Speaking of nomads, Mr. Kalantari has said, "These people's way of life and their taste for beauty has filled their hand crafts with color thus creating an appropriate background for painting."

Often misunderstood about central Asia is the lasting influence of the nomadic traditions. The nomadic pastoralism prevalent here owes its origins to west Asia where animals were first domesticated, perhaps 10,000 years ago. (Various animals became domesticated at different times.) Pastoral nomads differ from the hunter-gatherer types of nomads in that they controlled their flocks and held responsibility for their seasonal migrations. These animals were the basis of their economy. Hunter-gatherers followed herds but did not control them -- such as Lapps in northern Scandinavia or the Plains Indians in North America. The economy of the pastoral nomads differs in part from that of the hunter-gatherers in that the former depended in larger degree on trade with the sedentary peoples of the area.

In his The Arts and Crafts of Turkestan Johannes Kalter looks at the arts of central Asia from this perspective, exploring the influences between these nomadic and settled populations in their art forms. And while the success which Dr. Kalter finds in this ambitious endeavor may be seen as only partial, it nonetheless makes a strong argument for understanding the relationship between nomads and the settled populations as "symbiosis" rather than the often emphasized antagonism between two groups.

The original version of this small but handsome volume is a translation from the German Aus Steppe und Oase which accompanied a travelling exhibition of central Asian artifacts in the collection of the Linden Museum in Stuttgart. It is a diverse collection of objects, mostly domestic articles including costumes, jewelry, textiles and carpets.

Arts and Crafts of Turkestan

While many of the articles are old, even l9th century, the collection

has essentially been formed since the early 1970s. Much of the collection was acquired from the trade, a sense of which is given in some of the attributions. An example of this is found in the caption accompanying some earrings: "...the pieces are supposed to have come from Bukhara and may have been owned by princes." Princes? Sound Familiar? As anyone familiar with the stories which come from the bazaars in Afghanistan knows, all this "bazaar talk" can best be appreciated for its color -- and not for its accuracy. Such stories need not nor should not become permanently attached to the objects by publishing them in a serious catalog of a museum collection.

Kalter has succeeded in putting together many various elements into this small volume. One of the fascinations is the documentary photographs of central Asia in the l9th Century. These photographs placed throughout the book are from the Museum fur Volkerkunde in Vienna. They are superb and add immensely to the appreciation of the subject.

For several reasons this book presents a challenge to the reader as well as to the reviewer. It is difficult to find an internal cohesiveness, an over-all approach, apparently due to its ambition in the extent of its coverage -- chapters range from such diverse subjects as an historical survey of Turkestan, a survey of textile techniques (embroidery), the technology of metal decoration, and "The Basic Design Principles of Turkestan Popular Art". The principal chapters, however, deal with costume and jewelry. They are all lavishly illustrated with color and black-and-white plates of the artifacts, with wonderful drawings of the motifs and patterns.

Of all the critical comments I could make of this catalog none is more worthy than the chapter focussing on the "design principles" of Turkestan art. It begins with the statement, "Turkestan popular art originated in an area with a very ancient Islamic tradition. Consequently this popular art is inter alia a legitimate child of Islamic art." How curious, one might think, since ancient usually refers to a time before the Islamic period, and then to compound the error with "very ancient" does cause one to ponder. Certainly many pre-Islamic motifs and elements of art exist in the framework of Turkestan art -- in much the same way that pre-Islamic rituals(particularly among women) have survived to the present. (see A. Stucki, Afghanistan Journal, 1978.)

If it were true that Islamic art is the basis for Turkestan popular art one would think that interpretation of the many motifs in this chapter would easily lend toward some Islamic interpretation. Instead, we get a profusion of cliches (eagles, trees-of-life, insects, solar wheel) to define these motifs. Further to the point, when one does have an easy Islamic interpretation, such as Ills. 157-159 and Ill. 160 which are clearly derived from arabesques in the Islamic tradition, no mention is made of this in the captions and only to one of these in the text. Another missed opportunity for this "Islamic interpretation" is the ewer (Ill. 183) referred to as samovar. At the end of the chapter, Dietrich Wegner is quoted in reference to the difficulty in interpreting symbols. If the writer of the chapter had only followed Wegner's advice!

Comparisons of The Arts and Crafts of Turkestan with Uzbek by Knorr et. al. are inevitable. They are the same size, cover much of the same material, and have illustrations and photographs with which some collectors will compare their own artifacts, often with either book in hand. But each has a lack of real information. Hopefully this interest will stimulate further research -- on the part of collectors, scholars, and curators.

In brief, Kalter's effort with this collection has not only shown a concern and a certain grace with these central Asian art forms but has put it in a theoretical framework as well. Perhaps his theoretical oeuvre is excessive. At any rate this is not unfortunate, as more understanding of the relationship between settled and nomadic populations is necessary if we are to shine light on these complex issues. The Europeans certainly seem more interested than Americans in creating museum collections of central Asian art.

Despite the many flaws in The Arts and Crafts of Turkestan it is a book which should and will be used for reference on this kind of material. The collection of these artifacts in the Linden Museum is undoubtedly an important one and we are indebted to Dr. Kalter for his efforts in bringing to a broader audience not only the artifacts but also his understanding of these nomadic and cultural traditions.

Animal Figures in South Persian Rugs

by James Opie

From Oriental Rug Review, Vol. 11/3

Illustration 1. Luri Lion Rug, Late 19th century, 4'5"x8'5". Evidence mounts that "lion rug" traditions began with Luri weavers in the Zagros region and spread to Qashqa'i women to the south. Courtesy of Bennie Norris.

Weavings depicting animals and birds have always been personal favorites, a taste shared by many collectors of tribal and village rugs. In the number and variety of animals and birds they contain, south Persian tribal pieces lead the field. In my study of the origin of this vein of tribal art, evidence points to a long history among native tribes of the region. Prominent among these groups are the Lurs,1 Bakhtiyaris, and Kurds. The current fragmented state of the Lur tribes conceals their influence during earlier periods, when Bakhtiyaris were part of the Luri group. Native Iranian sub-tribes also exist within the Qashqa'i and Khamseh confederacies. A number of south Persian rugs and bags with animal figures therefore suggest deep historic roots, offering the attraction of scholarly inquiry, as well as the pleasures of sight and touch.

Lion Rugs

Lions which once roamed the mountains of southwestern Iran are now extinct.2 Nonetheless, the lion remains king of the south Persian rug bestiary. Lion figures appear in several formats, including large, whimsical ones featured in Luri and Qashqa'i gabbeh rugs (lllustration 1).3

Illustration 2. "Shekarlu" (Qashqa'i/Luri), late 19th century, 4'6"x7'9". "Shekarlu" rugs come from a Luri dominated group allied with the Qashqa'i Confederacy. Courtest of Timothy and Betsy String.

Illustration 3. (Detail from Illustration 2.) Counting animals is a tempting exercise in the company of some south persian weavings. This detail contains scores of animal-heads, many one-headed animals, a two-headed creature, three peacocks, and four lions. In all, this single detail contains over 200 references to bird or animal life

Smaller lions appear in a number of rugs from a Qashqa'i sub-tribe called "Shekarlu" (lllustrations 2 and 3). Another type of lion motif is occasionally found in flatwoven Qashqa'i work (Illustrations 4 ). Lions of various sizes also occasionally appear in examples from the Khamseh Confederacy and from Bakhtiyari sources.

Illustration 4. Qashqa'i horse cover fragment, late 19th century, 2'2"x3'9", courtesy of an anonymous collector.

For a detail of this piece see front cover, Vol. 12, No. 2

Are any of these lion-motif traditions "ancient" in the true sense of the word? In approaching this question it is useful to recognize that some woven lion forms are so similar to the lion-and-sun image of Iranian royal insignias, popular in Iranian urban art, that, in these cases, a city source external to the tribes is likely. Lion figures with a sun on the lion's back can be traced to Iranian art of the first and second centuries A.D.4 However, this observation does not imply that related images in tribal weavings have existed among tribal groups continuously through this entire period. The lion holding-a-sword image seen most clearly in illustration 4 is so close to a popular Qajar dynasty version (19th century) that there is every likelihood it was transplanted from urban art. Precisely who transmitted the pattern to tribal settings will probably never be known, but evidence suggests that tribal chiefs (il khans) and their families were important points of contact between urban styles and tribal weavers Throughout Asia, khans and other wealthy tribal members maintained residences in regional capitals and were a part of the urban elite, with whom they primarily identified. This was certainly true of the Qashqa'i tribe. For over a century the il khan (paramount chief) owned one of the finest homes in Shiraz.5 Consequently, influences from urban life were considerably greater among these families than among the-rank-and-file tribal nomads. Lion images of this type may have entered the vocabularies of Qashqa'i nomadic weavers through this channel, originally as status symbols, implying the royal stature of major khans.

In contrast to these royalty-related lion figures, large lions in gabbeh rugs and also smaller folk-art lions in other south Persian rugs appear to represent a much older local tradition, possibly one that has been continuous since early periods of Iranian art. Ancient lion images were produced in stone, bronze, and gold by a series of cultures in southwestern Iran (Illustration 6).6

Among my favorite weavings containing smaller lion figures are examples from a now deftunct Qashqa'i sub-group mentioned above, the "Shekarlu."7 illustration 3 shows a detail that includes lions, peacocks, two-headed animals, animal-head tree forms, small animal figures, and other motifs based on repeating animal-heads. A human figure with hands that form animal-heads completes the scene. Illustration 7 shows another rendition of a human with animal-head hands.

Peacocks and Birds

The peacocks in Illustration 4 are among the most appealing examples of bird forms in south Persian weavings. Other attractive bird images populate a number of south Persian rugs, some of which can be ascribed to Khamseh tribes. I have suggested the name "bird rugs" for this type.8 Illustration 8 pictures a classic example featuring pairs of birds facing each other, divided by a vertical form. It is significant that no urban rugs contain this pattern. Birds in "city" rugs are more realistically drawn and are fewer in number. It is also noteworthy that no locales outside of Iran adopted the complete "bird rug" design. It is uniquely south Persian and could represent a pre-Islamic local tradition.

Illustration