the big red Turkoman pile is back on the floor!

This week we put my favorite large rug back on the floor, in front of the stage! It's a soft red tribal pile rug from Turkmenistan, with the geometric black-line subtle pattern and soft wool, nice for sitting or dancing on. Turkmenistan is, by the way, that arid zone between Iran and Uzbekistan (homeland of the suzani tapestry) east of the Caspian sea, and just north of Mashhad, Iran's holy city, which geographically looks kind of like Tucson. 

Our store carries several smaller Turkoman tribal rugs also, though this big red one is a customer favorite. Come by and check it out in person! Or, you can get a glimpse of it here. It's 10' x 14' and retails for $10,000  - a desert palace furnishing like no other. 

More adventures in the suzani room

1979 Uzbek cotton/silk suzani, $200

  The suzani room of People's Imports: a place of bliss, history, and a little bit of mystery...where the trans-Saharan caravan and the Silk Road meet on a tapestry.  As we have rearranged the space by region and decorated the walls, old and new items keep telling us their stories.

Uzbek (Bukhara?) all-silk prayer suzani, $249

 First there was the classic Uzbek suzani signed and dated 1979, same year as the Iranian revolution and during the later period of Soviet rule. The artist still filled her canvas with nature's beauty and the gifts of the region's earth goddess, whom we found to have been Anahita. Then, the all-silk pink prayer suzani, unique in color and material, with palm trees and more Islamic iconography. A few moments with this one and we are watching an epic sunset at a bazaar in Bukhara. 

Uzbek prayer suzani, cotton/silk, $125

Then, as the Yoruba and Benin sculptures (both of Nigeria, more on that later) were organized by tribe, we filled the space beween them at the room's east end with our other prayer suzani. More classic in color and design, it also balances the Islamic with the nature-worship before it.

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Thioup from Senegal, 100% cotton, $150

Lying on a wooden stool in the room is this yellow Thioup (cotton tapestry), newly arrived from Senegal. The printed floral pattern is much simpler then the suzani and is unlike anything else from Africa in the shop. The Thies region of Senegal (West Africa on the Atlantic) is known for its tapestries, and you can read more about them here.

Just another day in the temple we call the suzani room. Next time, Yoruba beadwork and Benin bronze go "head to head" on a Turkish wedding blanket.
 

Silver Rings from Taxco just arrived

the modern town of Taxco, Guerrero, Mexico

This week we have some new items in stock. First, a collection of beautiful silver rings from the famous silver mining town of Taxco, Mexico (about 80 miles south of Mexico City, north of Acapulco in the state of Guerrero, which has been hit by a major earthquake recently). There are about 30 rings, each a little different, but many with curved lines and spirals and other geometric patterns.

some of our collection of spiraling silver rings

The rings retail for $20 currently and are individually sized for average adult fingers. Come check out these awesome wearable works of art from Guerrero, Mexico!

About Taxco:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxco

Nimba's Male Mistery

Nimba

      
    One of my favorite things in the store is Nimba, a stylized four legged protector. I have found her mentioned in a number of books leading to discovering more pictures of her on the internet.
      The weird part of this search is any mention of her male counter part has been absent....

     So, this has inspired me to find out as much as possible about Nimba and even more about her mysterious male counter part. The worse part is I have a superstitious fear of mistaking any the masks or statues identities. I will post anything and everything I find!

Nimba's male

New Suzanni Room

      About a month ago a very engaging costumer, with a handful of visits already to People's Imports in just a few weeks finished with a purchase. The item although not much in price, size or glitz; an eight intwined African figure stand that collapses, when taken from the Suzanni room caused a cataclysm of change. First to go was the glass sheet that the stand held, along with six or so Benin bronze cast heads.
        As I stood before a room full of disorganization dishevelment (due to the unbarring of said stand) I came to a quick, easy decision (or so I thought). I would set the statues together with ones of there same style, tribe or location. The Benin bronze castings already took up the corner, then came the Yaruba head dresses and statues, followed by the tribes of the congo on south and finally cut off by the bed. The grouping fades away on the other side of the bed where Ari, Daltin and I have hung the pillow cases we have neatly all over the wall.

Amazing what one little missing piece can do to the picture of the entire puzzle!