Turkmen textile masterpieces at major cultural even in Kuwait
Traditional Asian Textiles Exhibition has started on Wednesday, 17 January, in Sadu House museum and cultural center in Kuwait city. The event showcases the pri¬vate col¬lec¬tion of Jasleen Dhamija, famous Indian textile art historian and crafts expert.
Ms Dhamija’s impressive collection, created during over 60 years, includes a dozens of masterpieces, belonging to the art heritage of her own country, as well as Iraq, Baluchistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Iran, Turkey.
One of the exhibits is the Turkmen female head-dress "chyrpy", purchased by Jasleen in 1970s in Tehran. Traditionally, chirpy are sewn from silk fabrics of "keteni" of white, yellow, dark-red color and richly ornamented with embroidery in the form of flowers - lotuses, tulips, geometric figures, as well as animals and household items. Sleeves and hem of this robe is decorated with fringe. Nowadays, the robes of "kurte" and "chyrpy" are especially popular among brides and fashion-followers.
A variety of men’s and women’s robes and clothes, patchworks, hand-made bags, hangings, dhurrie, rugs and a lot of other showpieces, rich in color and embroidery attract the audience’s attention.
Along with the collection passion, Jasleen is engaged in tremendous scientific work, con¬tri¬bu¬ting to study of tex¬tile weaving traditions in Asia Pa¬cific, South, West and Cen¬tral Asia. She is an author of several books on crafts and textile.
The exhibition, organized by the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters of Kuwait, Al Sadu Society and the World Craft Council Asia Pacific Region is held on the sidelines of 24th edition Al-Qurain Cultural Festival, Kuwait's leading arts event. It will wrap up on 21 January.
