BOOK:Knots Art & History,Skira Editore
The first English publication of the reunited carpet collection of the Museum für Islamische Kunst, Berlin, located in the Pergamonmuseum on Museum Island “Knots. Art & History-The Berlin Carpet Collection”, by Skira Editore, introduces the most remarkable examples from the Berlin collection, including the internationally celebrated Dragon-Phoenix carpet from Anatolia and the Bode-Synagogue carpet from Spain. It is impossible to imagine the cultural history of Europe without the carpets and tapestries produced by Islamic cultures. They attest to the continual cultural dialogue between Europe and the Near and Middle East. At the end of the 19th Century, Berlin became both the birthplace for oriental carpet studies and the centre for collecting and preserving the most extraordinary examples. The book features some of the oldest pieces in the collection, originating from the estate of the founder of the museum, Wilhelm von Bode. His interest in Islamic art as an independent art form that was equal to that of Europe was the original impetus for this collection, which even today remains a rarity, including carpets and tapestries from present-day Turkey, Iran and the Caucasus. Also, the book displays textiles that were damaged by fire during the hail of bombs that rained down on Berlin in 1945. The destruction of important Persian carpets in that year was a heavy loss for the collection. One of the fragments featured is the Persian carpet from the 16th Century that in 1904 was assigned the inventory number “I.1”, identifying it as the first work of art in the collection. Another highly characteristic item is the Caucasian dragon rug from the 16th Century, which exhibits burn damage over its entire length of six metres.-Dimitris Lempesis
