Hajjis Donate in Memory of Newton Foster,

Hello,

There is a wonderful new addition to the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York Courtesy of the Hajji Baba Club. They are an unparalleled rug club that completely escapes comparison with any other club. I would go to more meetings but I would have to wear a tie. I enclose the wonderful description written by Hajji member and Curator at the met Daniel Walker

Best wishes,
Barry

Probably northern Turkmenistan (Chodor or Yomud tribe) Silk and wool; L. 50 3/4 in. (128.9 cm) Purchase, Hajji Baba Club and The Page and Otto Marx Jr. Foundation Gifts, in memory of Newton Foster, 1998 (1998.244)

Description This striking Central Asian coat belongs to a small and distinctive group represented by less than a dozen examples of coats and headdresses or headdress pieces. Typically, the embroidery work is in silk of various colors in a very fine chain stitch on handspun red wool fabric that seems to have been brushed on one side. The fabric was dyed after weaving. This example has decoration characteristic of the group—a border containing geometric and abstract floral motifs, multiple bands of similar motifs at the cuffs, large triangular panels at the shoulders and sleeves, and an otherwise nearly allover pattern of clusters of abstract floral elements—but its decoration is particularly rich, balanced, and well preserved. This type of embroidery stands apart from other Central Asian work, and its precise origin is obscure. Some scholars assign the group to northern Turkman tribes, the Chodor or Yomud, but attributions to the Karakalpak and the Kirghiz peoples have also been proposed. (Entry written by Daniel Walker)

Please visit:
http://www.metmuseum.org/collections/co_rec_acq/co_rec_islam_1998_244.htm

For Further Reading:

Guide to Rugs & Books

La Miniature En Orient

Southwest Asia Time Line

Thanks and best wishes,

J. Barry O'Connell Jr.

Persian Rugs the O'Connell Guides