Wednesday, 26 August 2009

The Pazyryk Rug


Illustration: The Pazyryk rug, c500bc.

The Pazyryk rug is the oldest surviving example of a complete rug discovered so far. It was probably produced in the 5th century BC by the nomadic Scythian people and was discovered by the Russian archaeologist Sergei Rudenko in a Scythian burial mound in the late 1940s.

The rug itself was probably a funereal item and could well have been woven for that specific purpose and so was probably never used. The grave was that of a prince and so the rug itself would probably have been of the highest standard that was available at the time.

The rug is nearly symmetrical in shape with the length being slightly longer than the width, the actual measurements of the rug being 2m x 1.83m. The design is made up of concentric squares separated by various borders. The central panel is made up of what is assumed to be symbols that represent the sun. This is surrounded by a border of winged griffins, which is then in turn surrounded by another border filled with antlered deer. There is then a small border of abstract floral motifs, which is then followed by a border of horses being alternately led and ridden by their riders. This border has the horses travelling in the opposite direction to that of the earlier antlered deer. There is then a final border of winged griffins, which then completes the rug.

Like many traditional carpets and indeed many forms of textile, symbolism is abundant and can often be either misinterpreted or misunderstood. For example, the griffins are often thought to represent some form of guardian whether in life or the after life, while stags can represent wisdom and long life. However, we will probably never fully understand the symbolism involved within the pattern of the rug.


Illustration: The Pazyryk rug, close-up, c500bc.

Interestingly, the rug itself was preserved due to the grave being robbed at some point in the past. Because the seal of the grave was opened, moisture got into the grave goods and the rug was frozen into a solid ball of ice, thus preserving it until its rediscovery by Sergei Rudenko.

The discovery of the Pazyryk rug caused a sensation at the time and has changed our perception of the history of woven rug design. It had long been thought that early rugs and carpets would have been fairly primitive in both construction and design, so it came as a surprise to find a rug over 2500 years old that had this level of sophistication and finish. It was also discovered that the rug was constructed using the traditional Turkish knotting system, which strongly implies that the nomadic Turkish tribes who occupied central Asia two millennia ago, share an unbroken tradition of rug making with that of more modern traditions.

The sophistication of the Pazyryk rug informs us that a high level of design and construction had been achieved by the 5th century BC. It would have taken generations to achieve this level, which implies that this level of rug making must go back much further than the 5th century.

The rug itself is now housed and fully displayed at the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg. There are also good reproductions of the original design that are available to buy. The best one that I have come across can be found online at The Magic Carpet, an image of which is shown below. It gives a good indication of the high standard that was achieved by the makers of the original Pazyryk rug.


Illustration: The Pazyryk rug. The Magic Carpet, Nevada City, California.

Further reading links:
Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg
The Magic Carpet
The pazyryk: A 2500 years old knotted rug found in an icegrave in the Altai, its uses and origin
Frozen Tombs of Siberia: The Pazyryk Burials of Iron-Age Horsemen
Archaeological Collections of the Hermitage: Pazyryk Burials, Egyptian Collection of the Hermitage Museum, Pereshchepina Treasure, Kul-Oba
Kurgans: Pazyryk Burials, Kurgan, Noin-Ula Kurgans, Mamayev Kurgan, Merheleva Ridge, Kul-Oba, Thracian Tomb of Aleksandrovo Kurgan, Black Grave
Scythians: Anacharsis, Pazyryk Burials, Indo-Scythians, Kharahostes, Apracaraja Indravarman's Silver Reliquary, Tocharians, Saka, Kamuia
Costume and Textiles Pazyryks Altai. / Kostyum i textil pazyryktsev Altaya.
The Pazyryk felt screen and the barbarian captivity of Ts'ai Wên Chi
Ancient Horsemen Of Siberia (Time Travelers)
Posted by John hopper 14 comments Links to this post

Monday, 24 August 2009

The Journal of Design and Manufactures


Illustration: Textile design, 1851.

One of the seminal early influences on nineteenth century design reform, was undoubtedly The Journal of Design and Manufactures.

The journal, which was published between 1849 and 1852 by Chapman & Hall, was the brainchild of Henry Cole and Richard Redgrave. The journal was set up primarily as a guide to the formation of a good and comprehensive design strategy that could be formulated and then used throughout the manufacturing, retail and education systems across Britain. There was a relatively large proportion of textile design work shown throughout the history of the journal, but it was by no means limited to such.


Illustration: Textile design, 1850.

The journal was not only a guide, though that was its primary aim, it was also a forum of debate. Many critics of the mid-nineteenth century were naturally judgemental concerning the poor state of the British design industry, which often placed an emphasis on profit rather than any form of design strategy. It was considered by many that the entire interiors supply industry needed a complete overhaul. Not only was it thought that an emphasis should be placed firmly on that of the designer being aware, and being in a position to implement fundamental practises regarding design, it was also considered that many designers were lacking in any formal design education, which not only ultimately let down the industry, but also the retail  trade and the customers they served.

The journal tried to highlight an educational aspect to its publications, by producing a proportion of examples, sometimes as line drawings, but very often with examples of the actual textiles and wallpaper as produced by the manufacturer. These examples were often given an individual systematic dissection by the journal, as to the merits of their respective design work. However, the journal was not always complementary about design work reproduced in its pages, as often examples were used to highlight the failings of particular design work.


Illustration: Textile design, 1850.

As far as textiles were concerned, the journal tried to point out fundamental differences in aspects of textile construction and the approach design work should take to reflect and harmonize with those differences. For example, it was pointed out that the differences between woven and printed textiles meant that the same design work was not always appropriate for both mediums. Emphasis was also placed on the very nature of fabric and its construction as a flat medium. It was thought that 2-dimensional graphic type design work would be more appropriate and fitting to the flatness of the fabric, rather than trying to produce the illusion of 3-dimensions within a limited format.

The images shown here are all approved textile design work pieces from the journal. Compared to much of the work that was available at the time, these pieces are incredibly restrained and minimal in construction. Because the journal was using examples of already produced work, and was at the beginning of a long campaign of fighting for a systematic and logical approach to design work, they are perhaps not as revolutionary, by nineteenth century standards, as they would perhaps have hoped for. However, considering that these pieces were produced during a period of excessive use of 3-dimensional flower posies, garden features and romantic scenery, it is surprising that the journal was able to find any examples that they were able to approve of.

Although the journal lasted for such a short space of time, it did manage to galvanise early criticism of British design manufacturing, and although it took perhaps another century for the details of the design reform movement to sink in, Britain did eventually largely embrace the concept of flat design work for a flat medium.

The University of Glasgow Library has four of the six volumes of the Journal of Design and Manufactures, a feature of which can be found here.

Posted by John hopper 7 comments Links to this post

Wednesday, 19 August 2009

Sandor Nagy Tapestries and the Magyar Origin

Illustration: Sandor Nagy. Sakuntala tapestry, 1909.

The two tapestries shown here were both produced in the first decade of the twentieth century but reflect very little of that century or even its potential as seen from it's beginning, one that was to alter the decorative and fine arts irrevocably.

Both tapestries were firmly rooted in the folklore of a nation, but perhaps more importantly, they also aimed to pinpoint the origins of that nation and to give it a legitimacy in the hierarchy of European nationhood that it had sorely been lacking.

Sandor Nagy, the Hungarian artist, produced the tapestries in 1908 and 1909, to a formula that gained its inspiration and style from the English Arts & Crafts movement, with the tapestries themselves borrowing certain elements from the technical working style of William Morris.

However, the subject matter and narrative is entirely Hungarian in origin and reflects much of the new found confidence of Hungary, due largely to the restructuring of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, creating a dual monarchy and giving Hungary at least an appearance of equal power with its more influential and traditionally more powerful co-ruler Austria.

To make the differentiation between the German and Magyar sections of the empire more acute and therefore more obvious to outsiders, Hungary needed to emphasise the differing origins of their nation from that of Austria. Nagy, along with a number of other influential artists, designers, architects and composers, paid special attention to this origin question. Nagy himself, in the two tapestries shown here, drew an analogy between the Magyars and the Huns, seeing Attila the near legendary leader and also near destroyer of the Roman Empire, as a form of pseudo founder of the Magyar nation. Choosing Attila could have been no coincidence, especially as Austria had always seen itself as one of the inheritors of the Roman Empire. By choosing the near destroyer of that empire, Hungary was placing itself diametrically opposite to that of its co-ruler.

It is largely immaterial whether the analogy between the Huns and Hungary was mere supposition or based on fact. The important point is that Nagy, along with much of the creative talent that made up the late nineteenth and early twentieth century Hungarian Arts & Crafts movement, looked determinedly towards the east for inspiration and tradition, rather than west, as the Austrians did. By doing this, Hungary placed itself firmly in the eastern European tradition of art, craft and architecture, seeking its legends and identity from a Transylvanian birthplace and sometimes even further east. However, at the same time Hungary also strengthened contemporary cultural links with Western Europe, particularly Britain. This in some respects produced a Hungarian culture that looked to the East for inspiration as to its traditions, but to the West for the reinterpretation of those traditions.

These tapestries while appearing to innocently display and represent myths and legends from a nations past, were in fact part of a political and cultural shift in the perception and goals of that nation. 
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Tuesday, 4 August 2009

Art Nouveau Design Work and the Swan


Illustration: Maurice Pillard Veneuil. Border design work, 1897.

As nature comes in an infinite variety of forms, so too did the design work inspiration. Some of the work merely reproduced flora and fauna in its natural setting, or at least as natural as the decorative piece could allow, while other work used much more of a stylised effect in order to produce an all over pattern that would appear to be optically motivated while at the same time still being based on the natural world.


Illustration: Maurice Pillard Veneuil. Border design work, 1897.

Swans were a particular favourite as they were considered to be both majestic and elegant and by their very nature were also, with their long sinuous necks, a perfect example of an animal made for instant duplication and involvement within the exaggerated sensuous swirls and tendrils that were the hallmark for so much of the Art Nouveau decorative style.


Illustration: Maurice Pillard Veneuil. Design work, 1897.

There seemed to be less of an inclination to incorporate swans into all over pattern work, and much more that of placing them within an elegant border as if they were somehow aloof from the everyday design work and more attuned to the specialised areas of decorative design, as you would expect any self respecting swan to be of course.

It is perhaps misleading to see the swan as a major decorative effect within the Art Nouveau movement. There were after all many other motifs that were much more popular, such as the dragonfly, but it is still an interesting design mechanism that has been used throughout the history of decorative design work, and revealing the swan in only one of its many incarnations over the centuries is still worthy of notice.


Illustration: Maurice Pillard Veneuil. Border design work, 1897.

Firther reading links: 
Posted by John hopper 5 comments Links to this post
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