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1999
90 Detroit Jewish News
6000
LYNNE KONSTANTIN
Special to the Jewish News
I
n 1975, Guido Goldman wan-
dered into a New York City
gallery and was astounded. An
enthusiast of the bright colors
and distinct patterns of the Fauves
and Expressionists, it wasn't surpris-
ing that a textile emblazoned with
both these Modernist characteristics
would capture the attention of the
Swiss-born art collector — and son
of Zionist leader Nahum Goldman.
However, the piece that caught
Goldman's eye that day
was created
more than
150 years
before the
advent of
Modernism,
by Central
Asian weavers,
both Muslims and Jews.
When Goldman bought the tex-
tile, he did so from an urge to
acquire what moved him. Today, he
holds the largest private collection of
Central Asian ikats in the world; 49
of his collection of more than 200
works are on display at the Art
Institute of Chicago in "Ikat:
Splendid Silks of Central Asia from
the Guido Goldman Collection."
The show runs through Jan. 9, 2000.
The word ikat stems from the
Malay-Indonesian word mengikat,
which means to tie or bind," and
refers to an ancient technique of
tying or binding threads and dying
them in hues of deep reds, blues, yel-
lows and greens before they are
woven. This method causes an inter-
connection between colors at right
angles, resulting in the ikats' exquis-
itely complex patterns.
"There is a rigidity in the pattern-
ing of ikats. Weavers needed to know
exactly where two threads would
intersect; otherwise, the whole thing
would be thrown off," says Christa
Thurman, the curator of textiles at
the Art Institute of Chicago who was
responsible for the museum's installa-
tion of the ikat show.
Examples of this resist-dying tech-
nique are estimated to date from the
fourth-ninth centuries, from areas as
widespread as Japan, Southeast Asia,
India, Yemen, Africa and South America.
A substantial portion of
19th-century Central
Asian Jewry contributed
to the art of ikat,
examples of which are
on display in a new
exhibit at the Art
Institute of Chicago.
"Woman's Munisak Robe," Central
Asia; third quarter of 19th century; silk
velvet. Collection of Guido Goldman
However, the interpretation of the
technique which is the focus of
Goldman's collection, and the exhibi-
tion, was unique to the Central
Asian cities of Samarkand and
Bukhara, which are today in
Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
In their Central Asian manifesta-
tion, only the warp threads of the
textile are dyed, while the weft
threads are plain in color, character-
istically producing a slightly blurred
visual effect that is known by the
Persian word abr, or cloud. An apt
name, considering These fabrics lack
all harsh outlines that are apparent in
so many other printing, coloring and
patterning techniques.
Samarkand and Bukhara, central
to the 19th-century Silk Route, were
responsible for a revival of ikat pro-
duction, and a substantial Jewish
community in these cities played an
integral role in the production, trade
and symbolic importance of the ikat.
Bukhara in the early 19th cen-
tury had the
largest Jewish
population
among Central
Asian cities,
numbering
around 10,000.
Although Jews were
recognized as dhimmi, or
outsiders, with a protected sta-
tus within the Muslim state, they
were still outsiders, and were forced
to do the work that no one else want-
ed to do. Many found opportunities
as thread dyers of ikats.
In a society that ate with its
hands, hand-stained dyers were
on the bottom rung. However,
even in this "lowly" endeavor,
some Jews managed to pros-
per in the dyeing and trad-
ing of textiles.
"Uzbeks and Iranians
were the weavers, and
Jews controlled the
dyeing and trading of
indigo blue," says
Claudia Nahson,
coordinator of the exhi-
bition's visit to the Jewish
Museum in New York City last year.
"The process could take a few
months, with several trips to the dye
house, so these different ethnicities
were passing through each other's
workshops constantly."
As a result, the ikats were similarly
used in the homes of Muslims and
Jews alike. "Theirs was a terribly bar-
ren, arid landscape," says Nahson,
and they'd hang these beautiful, col-
orful textiles on the mud-plastered
walls like an artificial garden. They
were the backdrop that enlivened
everyday life."
In addition to being used as wall
ornaments, ikats also were used as
robes and coats, some men layering
as many as 10 atop each other —
despite the heat and discomfort — as
an indication of wealth. Ikats were
CC