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This fragment is part of the "CulturalxCollabs - Weaving the Future" carpet.
Through the fragment we trace the journey of the fragment owners and their collabs as they explore, experiment and creatively advance socially relevant themes. Here is the fragment as we are sending it on this three and a half-year journey.
Follow this story to observe the transformations the fragment undergoes over the course of these years...
...and on we go...
...with Beston Barnett
Fragment #38 of the Pergamon’s Dragon Carpet came to me through my friend Rebecca Romani. I am a furnituremaker here in San Diego, and I run a shared shop called City Workshops where I and seven other woodworkers take commissions on everything from chairs and tables to whole theatrical set designs. Rebecca thought of me, in particular, because much of my practice is with Islamic geometry.
The Persian/Caucasian design motifs found in the dragon carpet are only very loosely related to the sort of strict geometrical lattices that I usually work with. But I found myself attracted to the way the damage done in WW2 has been repurposed in the reproduction as if it was always part of the design. In my own work, I have been giving a lot of thought to the way Time – via damage, disrepair, erosion – can play a role in the design process. So many art objects become more beautiful over time, and not simply because of how impressed we are by age. It’s the semi-random additions (patinas, discolorations) and subtractions (erosion, damage, parts falling off or being poorly replaced) that interest me. So often a piece is improved - or at least made more interesting - by these depredations.
“Solomonica: A Series of Cabinets”
I had a solo exhibit of my work “Solomonica: A Series of Cabinets” at the Maloof Foundation this year. On May 2, 2026, I gave a talk there about my art process with Emily Zaiden, director and curator at the Craft in America Center. In the last few minutes of the conversation, I talked a bit about receiving Fragment #38, and how I see this idea of Time-as-design-partner informing the next series I am working on.
The journey continues...
...with Claudia Fernety
The dragon carpet fragment #38 inspired me to write a song titled "Persian Moon." It tells the story of a carpet's journey across many lands.
Like the carpet, my great grandparents Mariam Haddad and Jibran Fernety (the Lebanese spelling is Ferneini) traveled across many lands, from Syria to Lebanon to France, finally settling in the USA.
I decided to write this song on the Appalachian dulcimer because of the instrument's unique sound and history. It is thought to have originated in the late 1700's in the Appalachian mountains of the United States based on instruments European settlers brought with them. The dulcimer's construction was influenced by the European zither, which dates to Medieval times. The zither was based on similar string instruments from the Middle East.
...and on we go...
...with Rebecca Romani
Ok! I received the fragment a few days ago and am thinking about what I will do. I will not be altering the fragment itself, but I may copy it to make a "skin" for the projecting I am thinking about. I originally thought I might make a reliquary box, but the piece is way too big for that, so I might make an artist folding book or something that incorporates some of the motifs.
I have also started a substack- which is not ready for primetime yet, detailing my journey with fragment and what I have been discovering as I roam about the rug world.
So far, I suspect that it is perhaps Armenian work.
As I work on this project, I may apply for an artists residency that will take me to Joshua Tree where I can work in a certain degree of peace and isolation.
The idea of CulturalxCollabs is perhaps the theme of much of my life. My grandparents were immigrants, and I have always been aware of other languages, ways of seeing things. When I was younger, I discovered the crossroads of Spain and North Africa in the music of the Early Music Ensemble. Later, I followed that crossroads through France, North African literature, and then down to Morocco, where I worked as a freelance journalist and translator.
Now, years later, these types of collaborations express themselves in my own projects. I curate art shows with artists of various backgrounds. I collaborate with various film festivals, and I live along the US/Mexico border where x collaboration is basically a way of life.
So, this project is perfect for me!
So far, I have shared this project with groups I am a part of, friends from Saudi Arabia, and artists I have worked with.
It's been fun! More to come...
This is Domenico di Bartolo's 15th cent. fresco in Sienna at Spedale di Santa Maria della Scala. The title is "The Rearing and Marriage of Female Foundlings". The carpet is seen under the feet of those part of the ceremony.
My readings suggest the motif of dragon and phoenix comes from China- perhaps via the Silk Road. The combination of the two sometimes symbolized union or alliance, which is appropriate for this setting, since foundlings are abandoned children and did not always live to be married; therefore, there would be a sense of divine providence about this.
How the carpet moves from Sienna to Berlin would be interesting to determine.
What I am doing with my fragment:
I am mostly using it and its story as inspiration for an artist book- a constructed book with parts you can touch, manipulate, etc., such as a color wheel for the dyes, a fold-out for the Silk Road, pull-up cards for the motifs, etc. The binding will be coptic and the book will have its own case- like a medieval book. I MIGHT do some embroidery on it- but it would be something that would be undoable- in keeping with modern restoration practices.
Front and Back
About the Project
The Museum for Islamic Art's project, #CulturalxCollabs - Weaving the future, celebrates the transformative power of cultural exchange and the shared threads that unite us all. All the things we love, have loved and will ever love come from cultural exchange, migration and diversity, or as we like to call it #CulturalxCollabs.
100 carpet fragments, cut from a replica of the iconic dragon carpet, will travel the world (delivered by DHL). The fragments will ignite #CulturalxCollabs with co-creators, inspiring human ingenuity, fostering community and ultimately demonstrating how cultural exchange enriches all our lives.
Follow #CulturalxCollabs on Instagram as the project unfolds...
...or learn more here
Weaving the Future
Join us on a journey with 100 carpet fragments as they travel around the world for three and a half years, finding temporary homes while bridging cultural boundaries, fostering worldwide community united by the power of human stories.
Fragment Journeys
100 carpet fragments part of the "CulturalxCollabs - Weaving the Future" project. Follow their journeys through the ever changing owners' over three and a half years.
Creating a carpet
A 17th-century Caucasian carpet, burned by an incendiary bomb during the Second World War, serves as the model for a replica, woven in 2022 by a family in Rajasthan, India. Over 2.3 million knots later, it is being sent out into the world in 100 fragments. This is the story of how it came to be.
Where is the Dragon?
The star of the "CulturalxCollabs - Weaving the Future" project is a so-called Caucasian dragon carpet from the 17th century. A dragon carpet - all well and good - but: where is the dragon?
