Manila, Philippines – On 28 June, 2014, the Salcedo Institute of Art, with the support of Asia Society Philippines and ELLE Décor Philippines, hosted a specialist lecture on hand-knotted oriental carpets at the opening of Orient Road: Fine Persian Carpets and Rugs, an exhibit at Salcedo Private View. Chamuel Sameyeh, the exhibition’s curator and internationally-renowned Oriental carpet specialist, gave a lecture to an audience composed of art patrons and visiting members of the Asia Society about the history, beauty, and unique qualities of this ancient craft.

Born into a family of antique carpet dealers, Mr. Sameyeh is the author of Islamic Art: Hand-knotted Oriental Carpet published in 1993 and has organized exhibitions at the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg and the Museum für Kunsthandwerk Frankfurt Am Main.

Beginning with a brief historical overview of the Persian carpet, Mr. Sameyeh illustrated how Oriental carpets became one of the most precious and lucrative commodities transported through trade routes from East to West. As part of his lecture, Mr. Sameyeh discussed the ways on interpreting the design and themes of carpets in the context of geography and history. Carpets bear strong connections to their origins and are named after the city or village where the weavers belong. Some designs also revolve around foreign influences brought by traders. For example, Taoist-influenced graphic elements as cloud bands and Islimi style in the form of arabesque and floral patterns which pervade the mosaic-like compositions characteristic to most traditional Persian rugs.

Many of the traditional carpets feature designs that are inextricably linked to the lives of the knotters. For some carpet knotters, the carpets provided a vehicle for articulating their conditions and reflect their desires and beliefs. While a considerable amount of carpets share some recognizable and recurrent motifs, no two carpets are to be considered aesthetically the same unless they were purposely duplicated. A hand-knotted carpet often takes a few years to finish making them much more valuable than carpets that are made using machines and synthetic dyes. The Oriental carpets exhibited, made with time-honored construction methods, are testaments to the stories, craftsmanship and rich traditions carried on by carpet knotters.

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Orient Road: Persian Carpets and Rugs will be on exhibit through Saturday, 12 July 2014 at Salcedo Private View.

The online catalog and more information about this exhibit are available at salcedoprivateview.com.

About Salcedo Institute of Art:
Salcedo Institute of Art, established in 2014, is the education division of Salcedo Auctions, the country's only auction house. It hosts lectures on a wide range of topics related to art, culture, and design. Later this year, it will be inaugurating a selective internship program, as well as certificate courses in partnership with a leading Philippine educational institution.
 

About Salcedo Private View:
Salcedo Private View, established in 2012, is the private sale division of Salcedo Auctions, the country's only auction house. Unique among Philippine art spaces, Salcedo Private View runs a rich and diverse exhibition program showcasing local and international artists and artisans working not only in the fine arts, but also in the decorative and applied arts such as jewelry, textile and fashion, furniture, and industrial design.

Text by and with special thanks to Therese Angela D. Sulañgi

Photos and captions by Salcedo Private View