'The Explorer's Exhibition Guide', from the LA COLLECTION KHALILI
exhibition.
ET SES TEXTILES DE LA SCANIE at the Centre Culturel Suédois
in Paris - spring 2000.
The guide, which is written en French, includes a comprehensive
summary of the history of weaving techniques from southern Sweden
in the 18th and 19th centuries. All the items that are described
and displayed belong to the international Khalili Collection.
Besides short and concise descriptions of the 43 items exhibited,
the guide also contains information about the Khalili Collection,
the history of textiles with maps and a Swedish/French glossary.
Background facts
For almost one hundred years from the middle of the 18th century,
a little known and very beautiful art flourished in Skåne, the
southernmost region of Sweden. These were generally small textile
panels that were made for wedding ceremonies. The marriage ritual
has always been of great importance to small communities: it
involves the setting up of a new home and represents a sense
of continuity in tradition. For each wedding in Skåne, an extensive
dowry comprising many kinds of woven textiles was created by
bride-to-be.
The most usual weaving method employed was a double interlocked
tapestry technique known in Swedish as rölakan (interlocked
tapestry). A number of techniques and styles were often worked
side by side, the effects of each are very different. Interlocked
tapestry, for example, was used to produce strongly geometric
designs: the colours are bright and the patterns naive, though
they stem from very ancient symbols. Their charm and simplicity
are reflective of the work of a young woman in preparation for
her marriage. The textiles made in the dove-tail tapestry technique
known in Swedish as, flamskväv (dove-tail tapestry) on the other
hand, are generally woven with a black or dark brown background,
and show small pictorial vignettes surrounded by naturalistic
and semi-naturalistic flowers composed in a freehand manner.
The colours and the appeal of the designs remain as fresh and
vibrant today as when these beautiful weavings were created
during the high period of the art, over one hundred and fifty
years ago. Each textile is a work of art in its own right. The
extraordinary patterns are not only of interest to collectors,
connoisseurs and contemporary weavers - appealing to lovers
of both traditional and contemporary taste - but also represent
a comprehensive design source.
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