en
- de
- en
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 Markus Voigt
For the old school eye, trained for decades on antique rugs, the pointillistic arrangement of knots is the first thing I see after opening the purpose made packaging. Even in full sunlight I notice the muted colours and appreciate the modern interpretation of the Dragon carpet, which I find much more satisfying than any attempt to get close to the original. The holes in the original rug are replaced with white silky pile that is left higher than the rest, creating the total opposite effect than the losses from the fire.
The Revenant
Blumberg 28.5.
Whenever you hold a carpet fragment in your hands, you try to imagine where it might have been placed in the original. It is no different with the newly created piece. Since all the borders except the top one are burned, it is quickly located, but I suddenly have the fragment that my wife Lucy Upward received months ago in front of my eyes. In fact, out of 100 fragments, our two have found their way together.
Wiesbaden 31.5.
The new fragment will one day also be antique. When the dragon carpet was bought in 1881, it was already a few hundred years old. In contrast, the antique pieces exhibited here, in the renowned Rippon Boswell auction house, were new or had not yet been created.
A customer at Rippon Boswell wonders whether all the fragments will be returned voluntarily or whether DHL might lose one? This would mean that the new carpet would also become a fragment.
Eimeldingen 15.6.
I was kindly invited to give a lecture for the Forum for Textiles and Textile Art Basel. Afterwards I had the opportunity to present the project of the (revenant) carpet. That is the name I use for the re-weaving for myself. According to legend, a revenant is someone who returns after death to offend, annoy and frighten the living. Here, past and present wars close in a recurring destructive circle.
Munich 7.7.
20 years ago, the Islamic Museum in Berlin celebrated its 100th birthday. For this occasion, the fragments of the dragon carpet were also preserved in proportion to the size of the original. Christian Erber reported on the event in Hali 138 page 104 and noted: ‘At first glance you are reminded of the work of a contemporary artist, but slowly, forms and colours become discernible.’
The fragment at the Carpet Diem event at the Museum Fünf Kontinente with Professor Borkop-Restle and Dr. Michael Buddeberg, the organizer of the quarterly lecture series.
The Hali Team in London 10.7.
The revenant sneaks into the library of Hali, the magazine for antique carpets, textiles and Islamic art. In 4 years it will be the 50th anniversary of the most important publication in this field. (Full discloser I also write for them)
Blumberg 22.9.
The ICOC (International Conference on Oriental Carpets) concludes its Switzerland tour with a visit to my exhibition 500 Years of European Textile Art.
Blumberg 16.10.
Zelda (the blessed one, Jewish) is not happy to be disturbed by the fragment.
26.11
Professor Helmut Eberhart, long-time director of the TKF (Textile Art Research) Austria, thought the fragment, before I handed it to him, was a greatly enlarged photograph, which corresponds to the pixel-like coloring of the individual knots.
The journey begins...
...with Christina Klessmann in Sweden
As handweaver, weaving is part of my life and I am deeply impressed by the history of the Caucasian dragon carpet and am in awe in front of this amazing art work. It’s history about being saved during World War II is touching. I am very impressed by the great idea of the project CulturalxCollabs to create an ongoing attention during the closure of the Museum for Islamic Art by weaving this doppelgänger carpet and sending 100 fragments into the world. Carpets always have been part of everyday life, they have different functions in different cultures. I think this will be more obvious during the different journeys of the carpet fragments. As I know the story about this dragon carpet and it’s Doppelgänger, I see a unique handwoven piece with a lot of emotions. For me, a knotted carpet in this quality would be used on the floor. As it’s a small carpet fragment, I will use it as a seat pad - but will use it carefully!
I find it amazing how the colours of the Caucasian dragon carpet and the colours of the red houses and the nature and the snow here are matching: it shows that the natural colours of the dragon carpet are timeless, classy and connecting together different cultures!
I am textile designer and handweaver in Berlin. I took this carpet fragment no 4/100 from Berlin / Germany to my house in Sweden where I will use it in my weaving workshop as seat pad for a while before sending it to the next owner! Here is the history how I got involved with the project CuluralxCollabs: In summer 2023 I gave a weaving workshop to the textile students of the Kunsthochschule Berlin in Weißensee ( KHB) in cooperation with the museum of Islamic Art Berlin and the theme was the history, the techniques and the colours of this famous Caucasian dragon carpet. We visited the Museum of Islamic Art and saw the original dragon carpet and learnt a lot about its history. We also visited the carpet workshop at the Archäologisches Zentrum in Berlin and could see and touch the Doppelgänger carpet and look at the carpet archives. I teached the students different rug weaving techniques like kelim technique, different knotting techniques, soumak. In the end there was a presentation of the many weaving samples during the Open Days at KHB in July 2023. It was a great opportunity to get to know this exciting project CulturalxCollabs. I am so happy to be part of these 100 carpet fragments and am excited to follow their journeys!
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.
