The program takes advantage of Alberto Boralevi’s previous trips to the region and also from the cooperation with Dr. Roya Tagieva of the Carpet Museum in Baku. As usually on my tours we will see carpets and textiles, meet weavers and very nice people, visit some of the most significant places in the region. At the moment we have 15 participants from Europe and US and we plan to take 25 pax. Time to take a decision is very short. Participants who can spend more time will be assisted to visit other regions. Join a new carpet adventure!
The inaugural HALI Art and Culture Tour will take participants on a unique journey through a pristine landscape, visiting not only the repositories of grand carpets, but also first-rate folk-art museums, UNESCO World Heritage Sites, stunning medieval towns, Royal castles and more.
A new revised and expanded edition of the Handbook of Fakes by Tuduc will be presented in Berlin, at the Volkmann-Treffen 2012. It is based on a large body of examples attributable to the workshop of Teodor Tuduc and his entourage together with authentic examples, which served as prototypes for his forgeries.
“Thank you so much for a truly wonderful trip. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. You are a fabulous host and guide. We look forward to going on another adventure with you one day.Thank you again for all your time, energy and enthusiasm. A bientot I hope,”
Mary Jo Otsea
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“Thank you Stefano — and many, many thanks for your organisation and generosity on the tour — it was just great. It’s seldom that a totally new perspective and depth of inquiry on an “established” group comes up — and I think you’ve given the carpet world just that. I feel very fortunate to have benefited from your hard work and vision.
Best wishes — and thanks again,”
Susan Scollay
Photos and testimonials from the past study tours.
Along the Silk Road: join a new adventure starting on April 19 in Tashkent: this is the best time to visit Samarkand, Bukhara; the tour will cover the main Islamic treasures of Uzbekistan avoiding long bus journeys. International textile oriented group, great hospitality, fusion food, all meals included.
Transylvania continues to be the repository of the richest and best preserved corpus of small-format Turkish rugs outside the Islamic world. Almost 400 examples from late 15th to mid 18th century, including the golden period of the Ottoman production, still survive in the area. On the top, almost 200 examples, which are today in European and American collections can be traced back to Transylvania READ MORE »
This was an unusual tour which, based on personal experiences. We all met in Sartirana the day of the Preview of the Textile Show organised by Alberto Boralevi. Download the brochure of the tour: TRIP TO ITALY SEPTEMBER 2011
“Tim and I want to thank you so much for arranging yet another fabulous tour. We can’t tell you how much we appreciated all of your hard work on our St. Petersburg excursion!
“Ekaterina Ermakova and I would like to thank you for the amazing trip to Romania. We both enjoyed it a lot. Every day we discovered something new, either learned about Transylvanian rugs or enjoyed an organ concert, or visited a wonderful museum. Thank you for putting together this rich educational and entertaining program. A variety of our activities was the most pleasant and your good-natured and strong leadership allowed us to fulfill the program without missing a single event or sight. We both have been enchanted by Romania, its beautiful nature, culture and people. We find the trip very useful for everybody interested in rugs and will recommend it to our friends and colleagues. ”
Thank you again
Natalia Nekrassova
Curator, Collection and Research
Textile Museum of Canada
Toronto Ontario
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Dozens of Romanian folk kilims (scoartze) and almost 300 Ottoman rugs from late 15th to 18th century, in the Lutheran Churches and the Museums of the region, including examples in the store-rooms.PleasecontactStefano Ionescu.
On behalf of ACOR (American Conference on Oriental Rugs) Stefano Ionescu was invited for a 3 weeks speaking tour of the major Rug Societies in US: Philadelphia, Washington, New York, Boston, Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles.
Ghiordes prayer rug, West Anatolia, about 1700, 5ft.1in. x 3ft.9in, wool on wool, lazy lines. Light wear, a few scattered areas of old repiling. For its design, colours and proportions this is a great example of that particular type of West Anatolian prayer rugs, dating from the beginning of the 18th century, highly sought after by collectors. RUG SOLD.
Greek, Roman, Byzantine, early Christian, Jewish, Armenian and Islamic vestiges in an Eastern Mediterranean country characterised by a variety of cultural influences.
La sfârşitul celui de-Al Doilea Război Mondial arhiva, covoarele si alte odoare aflate în Biserica Evanghelică de la Bistriţa au fost luate spre a fi salvate de saşii care s-au refugiat în Germania.
Moves are at last underway to restore to their rightful home more than fifty Ottoman Turkish rugs taken fromTransylvania to Germany late in WorldWar II by the Saxon parishioners of the Lutheran Church in Bistrita, Romania. Since 1952, the rugs have been held in storage, ‘on loan’ to the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg.
On December 2008 the volume Antique Ottoman Rugs in Transylvania has been awarded the G. Oprescu Prize of the Romanian Academy in History of Art. This is the most important award for a book in Romania and also one of the very rare academic awards for a carpet book, worldwide. READ MORE »
A new, revised and expanded edition launched on the occasion of ICOC 2007. Edited by Stefano Ionescu
Text: Alberto Boralevi, Stefano Ionescu, Andrei Kertesz
This is the first time after the great exhibition of 1914 from Budapest that rugs from the Transylvanian Lutheran Parishes are exhibited abroad.
23 outstanding Ottoman rugs, from the secont half of the 15th century to the end of the 17th century, from the great Parish collections of Brasov (Kronstadt) and Medias (Mediasch) and from smaller Transylvania Parishes – Bagaciu (Bogeschdorf), Ghimbav (Weidenbach), Halchiu (Heldsdorf), Richis (Reichesdorf), Rupea (Reps), Sânpetru (Petersberg), Valea Viilor (Wurmloch) –, with examples from the Brukenthal Museum in Sibiu were exhibited at the Museum of Islamic Art in Berlin.
Marilyn Wolf writes: Transyvaniacs met again in Budapest under the intrepid guidance of ‘Il Professore’, the ever-scholarly Alberto Boralevi, the indefatigable Stefano Ionescu, and aided by the wonderfully erudite Professor Ferenc Batári. Some 22 Italians and three Americans continued the on the trail of the “Hungarian” Transylvanians during 14 – 17 November 2004.
We were privileged to search the storage of the Applied Arts Museum, where we saw some beautifully conserved and maintained Transylvanians. We saw the breathtaking “Crevelli” on view at the Nagyteteny Castle and marvelled at the Transylvanians on public view at the Hungarian National Museum.
An amusing account of an eventful tour of Romanian Transylvania, led by Alberto Boralevi and Stefano Ionescu, in search of the the rug collectors’ Holy Grail, seen by the keen eye of J. Glass, one of the participants. Download the article.
