" Wandering Weavers " at Textile Museum of Canada

Wednesday, 31 May 2006 11:17

Toronto, Canada - Curated by Natalia Nekrassova, Curator at the Textile Museum of Canada, Wandering Weavers showcases more than 70 objects made by nomadic people of Central and West Asia.  Functional and beautiful, these works are emblematic of the nomads’ severe and poetic life, one that is gradually vanishing.  In response to twentieth-century social and economic changes, some groups have settled in one place while others continue their annual migration from summer to winter pastures.

Wandering Weavers features vividly embellished felts and rugs, woven garments, bags, trappings for camels and horses and tent bands used for constructing and decorating portable dwellings.  Countries of origin for these materials, selected from the Museum’s holdings, include Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Iraq and Turkey.

Wandering Weavers examines how these textiles were made using textile construction techniques such as felting and various types of weaving, plaiting and netting.

A wonderfully knowledgeable interview subject, Natalia Nekrassova is the former Curator of Rugs and Decorative Arts of the State Museum of Oriental Art in Moscow where she worked for more than twenty years.  She has traveled extensively in Central Asia and the Caucasus, acquiring first-hand knowledge of traditional culture in these regions.  Exhibition from May 31 – October 29, 2006.

Visit the Textile Museum of Canada at : www.textilemuseum.ca