FRAGMENT NO. 50

The project CulturalxCollabs completes a circle in my life in the world of antique carpets. And has opened up a new path for me into this fascinating world. To explain a bit: As the editor-in-chief of a trade journal for the carpet industry, it was inevitable that I would eventually have to delve deeply into antique carpets. After the initial contacts, the subject quickly turned into a passion. It didn't take long for me to publish Carpet Collector from 2012 to 2018, a magazine for carpet collectors.

The highlight of this episode in my life was certainly the organization and execution of the Berlin Antique Rugs Exhibition in Berlin. The fair took place in the Alte Münze, where the carpets of the Berlin Museum were heavily damaged or destroyed by an aerial bomb shortly before the end of the Second World War. Among them was the Dragon Carpet, whose counterpart has now been cut into 100 fragments. Now I hold fragment number 50 in my hand. And it moves me deeply. I think of the special time I had and still have with antique carpets. But I also can't forget Kurt Erdmann's poignant description of the events in the Berlin Münze. It was clear to me that I had to use this fragment to draw attention to the special value of the Berlin carpet collection - especially in the carpet industry, which today revolves much around machine-made carpets and online trade.

Since September 2023, #50 has accompanied me on my travels to the most important interior design fairs and carpet providers. My experiences vary greatly. Most of my conversation partners are interested in the topic but usually don't know much about the Berlin carpet collection or its backgrounds. Above all, dealers are interested in the fragment and CulturalxCollabs. Surprisingly, however, there is also a significant number of conversation partners who have no access to the history of the carpet. The few conversations with people outside the carpet industry were also varied; some found the topic exciting, while others wanted nothing to do with it. In one case, it was even clearly rejected to take photos of my conversation partners with the fragment. I would like to now publish the most important stops of my travels with fragment #50 here.