View from the Fringe Newsletter of the New England Rug Society Vol. XV, No. 1 September 2007 www.ne-rugsociety.org September Meeting: Jerry Becker on Navajo Blankets By Tom Hannaher Any rug lover who watches Antiques Roadshow will remember the famous moment when the Navajo first- September Meeting Details phase “Chief’s Blanket”—which had adorned the Date: Friday, September 21 owner’s piano for 30 years—was appraised at half a Time: 7:30PM million dollars and deemed “an American treasure.” If you’ve always wondered what made one Navajo weav- Place: First Parish, Bedford Road, Lincoln ing worth $50 and another $500,000, then don’t miss Note: $5 guest fee for non-members st the NERS meeting on September 21 at the First Parish Directions: in Lincoln. Jerry Becker, one of the country’s leading From Rte. 95 (128) take the Trapelo Road West exit experts on southwestern weavings, will make a presen- (#28B) in Waltham. Proceed west about 2.5 miles to tation on Navajo wearing blankets. a stop sign at the five-way intersection in Lincoln (there Jerry started Elk Creek Trading Co. in 1972 and is a white planter in the middle of the intersection.) began trading in antique American Indian art. Soon he Go right on Bedford Road for 0.1 miles to Bemis specialized in vintage Navajo rugs and early Navajo Hall, a large brick building on your right. The parish wearing blankets. Elk Creek Trading is currently con- house is on your left. sidered one of the top dealers in the world in this field. From Rte. 2 take Bedford Road, Lincoln Center exit The Becker collection of Southwest textiles was started (eastbound, turn right at light; westbound, go through in 1985, and is considered by many to be one of the top light, turn right, and circle 270 degrees to cross Rte. three private collections of this type in the world. Jerry 2 at the light.) Proceed 0.9 miles and you will see is still an avid collector. In addition, he has curated mu- Bemis Hall, a large brick building on your left. The seum exhibits on Southwest weaving, and is a contribut- parish house is on your right. ing editor for Hali Magazine. He is the consulting ex- Parking: pert on Navajo textiles for Christie’s, NY, and Heritage Auction House, Dallas, TX . In back of the parish house plus along the street. It’s Continued on page 2 OK to park in front of Bemis Hall provided the build- ing is dark and not in use. October Meeting: Ann Nicholas and Richard Blumenthal on South Persian Tribal Weavings See meeting details on page 4. and Ann have discovered in their searches since then, A couple of years ago, NERS members Ann and with many interesting new insights into nomadic life Nicholas and Richard Blumenthal talked to us at the in South Persia. So don’t even consider staying home Collins Gallery in Newbury about the colorful bags wo- because you think you’ve heard it all before! ven by the South Persian nomads. On October 19 they Ann and Rich are longstanding members of NERS. will be back—this time at the Collins Gallery in Ann is on the steering committee and writes member Watertown—with another look at the same topic, but profiles for the newsletter. Both have been interested in with a whole host of new historic photographs that Rich Continued on page 4 Please don’t forget to send in your membership renewal form! Page 2 View from the Fringe September Meeting Continued from page 1 Jerry will discuss classic period Navajo textiles with an emphasis on three major categories: chief blankets, Serapes, and Mantas. Among other things, he will re- view the qualities that separate a great Navajo blanket from a good one. He will talk about the market for Navajo blankets, and will touch upon the subject of fake Navajo rugs being made in Turkey and sold as Ameri- can Indian weavings. Very importantly, he will show us how to tell the difference between a fake blanket and the real deal. Jerry will bring classic period examples from the Becker collection, including a poncho serape, a Ute style First Phase chief blanket, an early Third Phase chief blan- ket, and a Navajo manta. Jerry is encouraging mem- bers to bring in any items related to southwest weaving —Mexican textiles included. He will date and evaluate pieces brought in by members. This will be a rare opportunity to learn about one of the most important weaving traditions from one of the world’s leading experts in the field. Navajo classic period poncho serape, 1840-50 Our Calendar Goofed! We apologize to any members who might have concerns that we scheduled our first meeting for September 21, the day on which Yom Kippur begins at sundown. We had carefully checked our calendar before arranging the date and were misinformed that it began at sundown on September 22. Next year we’ll check TWO calendars just to be sure. President’s Year End Review As we enter our 23rd season, I am pleased to re- bers, we are in a position to be a bit more charitable. In port that the New England Rug Society is in sound and July, for example, we gave a $500 grant to ALMA that secure health. Our membership stands at 179, an all- NERS members Susan and Gary Lind-Sinanian re- time high. Our finances are robust, and planning is al- quested in order to fund a survey to determine the cura- most complete for another year of worthy events and torial needs of their rapidly growing textile collection. memorable meetings. And as many of you will recall, we raised the sum of Perhaps the most significant news of the past sea- $847 back in February through sales of Hali magazines son was NERS’s expanded commitment to charitable donated by NERS member Jo Kris Powell and local giving. In the past we have budgeted approximately artist Susan McCraw. This money had been earmarked 10% of our revenue toward donations to worthy causes. to support the Josephine Powell Foundation in Istanbul, These have included primarily the Textile Museum, the but we are still waiting for the organization’s financial Boston Museum of Fine Arts’ Textile and Fashion Arts structure to be resolved following Josephine’s death. Department, and the Armenian Library and Museum of Meanwhile we are exploring other potential gift oppor- America (ALMA). tunities for the society. Currently, thanks primarily to careful budgeting and It was a year of well-attended and well-received the extra generosity of our Patron and Supporting mem- Continued on page 3 Page View from the Fringe 3 President’s Year End Review Continued from page 2 Bob Alimi is continuing to shepherd the growth meetings. The NERS 06/07 season kicked off with of the highly successful NERS website. This past year Wendel Swan’s talk on oriental rugs as Islamic art. In he added another online exhibition consisting of the 30 October Jim Blackmon flew in from San Francisco to Baluch rugs from my collection that were shown at tell the story of one of the world’s greatest examples of ACOR 8 in Boston. Work is now underway to add textile art: the Tiwanaku tunic. Nomadic band collector one or two more ACOR 8 exhibitions to the site in the Fred Mushkat visited us in December and presented a year ahead. treasure trove of his wonderful textiles. Then in Febru- Special thanks are due those 24 members who ary John Collins hosted us at his Watertown gallery went the extra mile with Patron and Sustaining mem- and gave a comprehensive presentation on Persian rugs. berships. Their extra funds went a long way toward Fred Ingham from Seattle was our March speaker, pre- helping the NERS secure its financial health, and we senting us with another of the popular Good Rug/Great warmly appreciate their generosity. Rug panel discussions. And in April our own Tom Our membership continues to be as diversified as Hannaher gave an inspirational talk on how to collect it is enthusiastic. A breakout of our members’ where- textiles valued under $200. Finally, we closed out the abouts follows: season with our annual picnic and show-and-tell, this time in a new setting: Judy Smith’s lovely summer cot- Eastern Mass. 128 tage on a small lake in Plymouth. It was an interesting Western Mass. 24 and fulfilling season. Connecticut 4 As usual, I have the pleasure of thanking that band Rhode Island 1 of loyal members called the Steering Committee without New Hampshire 5 whom the New England Rug Society just plain wouldn’t Vermont 3 work. The group, as ever, whirred like clockwork to Maine 4 make things happen: Lloyd Kannenberg, Gillian New York 5 Richardson, and Tom Hannaher handling food and Indiana 1 refreshments at the meetings; Yon Bard doing the news- Illinois 1 letter with the able assistance of Jim Adelson, Ann Florida 1 Nicholas and others; Jeff Spurr and Julia Bailey help- California 2 ing to coordinate the speaker arrangements; Bob Alimi building and administering our website; and Janet Smith Finally, many warm thanks to all the members of handling the logistics of mailings, nametags, and other the NERS for such generous support over the past sea- indispensable tasks. son, for pitching in when help was needed, and for con- Others who pitched in meeting after meeting were tributing the enthusiasm and encouragement that is so our audio-visual team: Buzz and Louise Dohanian who vital to keeping our organization a healthy and reward- managed the projector screens; and Turgay Erturk and ing one.