A Visit to HAZARA GALLERY

Oakland Ca. Monday November 17, 1997

On my recent trip to the San Francisco Bay area I was especially anxious to get to the shop of Mohammad Zavvar. Several years ago I was introduced to Mohammad at the Textile Museums Rug Convention by Michael Craycraft. Hazara Gallery has a delightful assortment of Baluch, Timuri, Yacub Khani and other tribal rugs very near and dear to my heart. We were discussing the late Col. Jeff Boucher's great book "Baluchi Woven Treasures" when I snapped this picture. Someone who liked the Boucher rugs would like the rugs in the Hazara Gallery.

An Ad in Hali

To be honest it was this picture in an ad in Hali that prompted my visit as much as anything. Unfortunately the family budget won't stretch to cover this piece this year I had to at least see it.

Note: Hali #84 The Hali Gallery, page 129. For those of you who are new to rugs, Hali is a wonderful magazine about Rugs and Textiles published in London, England.

Detail of Timuri Carpet

In person the rug is even more spectacular than in Hali. I have been drawn to these ever sense I spotted plate 22 in "From Bosporus To Samarkand". When I showed these pictures to author W. Russell Pickering he marveled at the quality of the rug and commented that it was a better rug than the one he had owned (plate 22).

A Timuri Carpet Design

While I do not think you are on safe ground attributing on pattern along I have never seen this design on anything but a Timuri flatweave. Not that I have stated an absolute I expect to be deluged with photos of examples from China to Morocco.

A Yacub Khani Timuri Main Carpet

Mohammad showed me another superb Timuri in the traditional Yacub Khani design. This one has very unusual coloration as well as one of the best float weft brocade end finishes that I have ever seen.

Traditional structure borders and shirts but a field pattern I have never seen before. As is typical in these the browns are heavily oxidized.

Maimana Kilim

Friends often ask me what I think are the best values in today's market. In flatweaves Maimana Kilims are a good bet. They are in some of the books. So they are identifiable but they have not caught on in a big way so they are still rather inexpensive. Maimana is a market town on route a-76 in Northwest Afghanistan. These are mostly woven by Uzbeks.

Hazara Gallery is more than just Baluchis and Afghan tribals. There is an interesting assortment of pieces such as this very striking Kerman Saddle Rug saddle rug.