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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...
Climate change. The coronavirus. The effectiveness of vaccines. Evolution. The Holocaust. The spherical shape of the Earth. The moon landing. Contrails. Photosynthesis. The origin of carpets.
We live in a world where it seems possible to deny anything, to declare it fake, a forgery. Deniers often resort to bizarre alternatives or conspiracy theories to explain the world to themselves and others—preferably in a way that aligns with their desires or their greatest fears, but always in a way that makes them feel they possess a secret, exclusive truth. A perceived truth. In this way, facts are degraded to mere opinions.
But it is actually possible to determine what is true and what is false if one looks closely. Sometimes it’s simple. Like, for example, with a piece of the CulturalxCollabs copy of the famous Dragon Carpet. Why is it not a piece of the “real” Dragon Carpet?
The patterns are mirrored.
The parts that were burned in the original are in wool-white silk.
There are no signs of wear.
The knurled band is made of plastic, which did not exist at the time when the original was woven.
There are plenty of living witnesses who can attest that the copy was commissioned only recently. Then there are the statements from the people who wove, transported, and stored it.
And there are even more witnesses who were present when the copy was cut into individual pieces.
A more difficult question: Is the “original” Dragon Carpet really from the time it is supposed to be from? How do we know that it isn’t a copy or even a complete fake from, say, early twentieth-century France, instead of from the 17th century and the Caucasus, as the museum claims?
There are no more living witnesses. Therefore, it requires scientific analysis: carpet studies, history, biology, physics, chemistry, and logic.
All these methods cannot, of course, be applied by just anyone. That’s why there are scientists who specialize in various fields and often dedicate their entire lives to them.
To refute a claim about a matter (such as the age and origin of the Dragon Carpet), it is sufficient to disprove one of the aforementioned aspects. To substantiate it, the coherent interplay of all findings is required.
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...
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.
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.
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?