Tag Archives: museum

India Journal: Wazir Museum Quality Vintage Textiles

Posted on Monday, December 12, 2016 | 6 comments

This is my last day in Bhuj, Gujarat, India. Tomorrow, Tuesday, December 13, I begin the journey back to America. It is morning here. I awake to the sound of Bollywood-style raucous music, loud, cymbals clanging, trumpets tooting, and look out the window.

A.A. Wazir, born in 1944, shows vintage Rabari embroidered bag

There is a parade with floats on the street beneath my hotel window and everyone is dressed in white: flowing gowns, turbans, tunics. Today is Mohammed’s birthday, Eid, celebrated with a lavish feast that Muslims around the world observe. There are many Eid celebrations during the year, moving with the lunar calendar, the most auspicious being Ramadan.

Old embroidered Ahir textile with fine detail

Kutch, Gujarat, India is a mixed region that represents most faiths of Asia’s subcontinent: Hindu, Muslim, Parsi, Jains, Ismailis and more. There are centuries of acceptance and tolerance here. The Kutch is on an ancient trade route between Persia, Africa, China. It’s culture and peoples are rich and diverse.

Natural dyes of madder root, saffron and turmeric root color this 80 year old textile

Last evening I spent time again at the home and gallery of A.A. Wazir and his sons who operate Museum Quality Textiles. Youngest son Salim Wazir, who was our guide to the Great Rann of Kutch, is soft-spoken and filled with knowledge about Kutchi traditions and textiles. At the end of the evening, A.A. Wazir invited us to return today for the feast of Eid in their home. We are honored by the invitation and accept without hesitation.

Souf embroidery with their famous satin stitch, graphically powerful

Eid Mubarak. This is the greeting of the feast day, I learn from Wikipedia. The tradition is to serve sweets. Young girls paint their hands with henna. Blinking lights adorn the house in preparation.

Reserve side of embroidered textile, on old block print

We are treated to a show and tell of vintage textiles that are part of A.A. Wazir’s 45 year old collection. He tells us that he donated many pieces to the International Folk Art Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico some years ago. His dream is to open a museum here in Bhuj, but there is no funding from federal or state government to do it properly, with good preservation techniques.

Finest embroidery on silk bandhani tie dye, a special occasion garment

A.A. Wazir began his education in Mumbai in the early 1960’s as a commerce student. He didn’t take to the subject, instead wanting to spend his time at the Prince of Wales Museum studying painting. He speaks Gujarati, Kutchi, Hindi, Arabic and English. He began visiting Kutch tribal areas as a young man when the border between Pakistan and India was open, when relatives could travel and visit back and forth without restrictions.

Mid-century commercial lace made in England for India market

His collection expanded to include pieces from the rich Sindh river valley. After several devastating earthquakes in the region, the course of the rivers changed and western India became more arid. People needed money and began to sell off more of their dowry textiles to buy food.

Rabari embroidered storage bag, 40 years old

For collectors, there are still many beautiful pieces available including gold-filled silver brocades on silk, machine-made lace made in England for the Indian market, stunning embroideries on natural, hand-woven cotton, fine silk bandhani saris and scarves.

Stunning silk brocade work with gold-filled silver threads.

We learned that people wore their wealth in textiles and jewelry. Many still do. The old textiles are embellished with precious metal threads, intricate bead work, coins, small, tight embroidery stitches, designs of flowers, birds, elephants, trees of life.

Salim’s cousin shows us the bodice of a child’s dress.

Being with the Wazir family for several hours is a treat for the visual senses. When you come to Bhuj, be certain to plan several visits so you don’t feel rushed.

Another incredible collector’s piece.

6 Comments

Posted in Clothing Design, Cultural Commentary, Photography, Textiles, Tapestries & Weaving, Travel & Tourism

Tagged AA Wazir, Bhuj, Embroidery, folk art, Gujarat, India, Kutch, museum, Salim Wazir, textiles, vintage, Wazir

A Glimpse of Dali’s Jewelry: Surreal Glitz and Glam in Figueres, Spain

Posted on Thursday, May 14, 2015 | 2 comments

As you may have guessed, I’m back in the U.S.A. recovering from jet lag in my sister’s NoCal home, though missing my morning cup of Spanish espresso. Fuerte. Muy fuerte. My body is still in the state of “Does anyone know what time it is?”

We love those ruby red lips to wear. Would you?

Memories of Spain are swirling in my brain, especially the glitz and glam of Salvador Dali’s gem encrusted jewelry creations on exhibit at the Dali Theatre-Museum in Figueres, a 15-minute train ride beyond Girona.

Dali’s relationship with his place of birth is powerful, deep and intense. He rescued and restored the burned out theatre across from the church where he was baptized, and where he held his first exhibition as a painter. The museum is his personal design based on his own aesthetics. It holds the representative range of all his works created during his lifetime.

The connotation of limp clocks. You guess why.

This is why you go to Figueres and then on to Cadaques-Port Lligat, to explore the persona of Salvador Dali as translated through his art and antics.

The museum brochure advises visitors to take any circuitous path through the museum if they wish — there is no chronological order to a visit. You get to create your own surreal experience, according to Dali’s non-plan.

Travel Tips, What We Did and Should Have Done

Car Rental: we rented a Europcar online in advance and picked it up at the original downtown Figueres train station knowing we wanted to drive north along the Costa Brava. Fortunately, we arrived at the old station. We didn’t realize Figueres has two train stations, one for the AVE high-speed train and the older downtown station that serves mid-distance (older) trains. So, when we wanted to return to Barcelona on the AVE, we had to return the car to the original station and then take a taxi to the high-speed station. An added expense of 17 euros. Europcar does not serve the Figueres AVE station. To get to Cadaques on public transport is difficult.

Sleeping: we booked and pre-paid for a charming bed and breakfast country inn online in advance using Booking.com. We thought, oh, great, a countryside experience. The inn is about 15 minutes beyond Figueres in a small rural village with one pub/eating place. We arrived early evening with the intention to spend two nights, but the inn was located on the curve of a main side road with constant traffic, so with little sleep we decided to leave the next morning, visit the museum and head for the coast.

Visiting Dali Theatre-Museum: If you arrive early, parking is plentiful in the adjacent garage. We didn’t need tickets in advance here but you might depending on season and time of day. The main entry is opposite the church on the square. Don’t miss the jewelry exhibit. It’s easy to miss since the metal door is obscure and is through a separate entrance. Your museum ticket includes admission to this part, too.

Dali’s wife and muse, Gala, appears in many of his paintings. In this one, above left, is she fragmented or defined as floating eggs? Eggs as Dalian symbolism appear everywhere.

Recommendations: In hindsight, I would stay two nights in Girona, rent a car there, drive to Figueres in the morning and go directly to the Dali Theatre-Museum, and then go on later in the afternoon to Cadaques and spend at least three to five nights there. It takes about an hour to drive from Figueres to Cadaques and road signs are good, although the road is narrow and curving. Pay attention to the roundabouts. It stays light until well past 8:30 p.m.

Salvador Dali is an enigma to me. I see and understand his creative genius. I question his non-political position in the face of two wars that destroyed his country and most of Europe. Surrealism was both an art and political movement. By eschewing politics, did he further his artistic career more than any other contemporary? More than Picasso or Joan Miro?

Many in the arts world called Dali a fortune seeker, greedy. In response, he created the Avida Dollars necklace, shown above left, as a snub to the critics. His jewelry is one more testimony to his creativity and skill to reimagine the ordinary in a spectacular way. And, what can we say about those ubiquitous eggs?

Let’s just create a Cadillac that rains on the driver and passengers each time the umbrella that floats above opens, to say nothing of the ship that floats alongside in the air. A buxom figurehead adorns the car hood, protecting all who ride.

Where is your imagination?

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Posted in Cultural Commentary, Travel & Tourism

Tagged art, Cadaques, criticism, Figueres, Girona, history, museum, photographs, Salvador Dali, Spain, tips, tourism, travel

Return to San Pablo: Oaxaca’s Indigenous Cultural and Academic Center

Posted on Saturday, January 14, 2012 | 1 comment

At Centro Academico y Cultural San Pablo we discover secrets, surprises and ancient stones.

An 18^th century rosary chapel with contemporary stained glass window designed by Francisco Toledo, the imposing green stone façade mingled with original 16^th century adobe, and a gold-leaf altar are only a few of the architectural delights of San Pablo de los Indios, the first Dominican convent in Oaxaca.

Our guide, Janet Chavez Santiago, coordinator of educational programs, described the features and history of this glorious structure. She said there were important surprises found during the excavation for the foundation:

Two female skeletons were uncovered that date from 500 B.C. These are the oldest found in Oaxaca, older than those from Monte Alban I. The women were buried with ceramics of the same style found at Monte Alban, though older.

Every convent has a fountain, Janet says. The location was evident but the design of the original fountain was illusive, so architect Mauricio Rocha created a symbolic water feature out of obsidian, a native Mexican stone.

In the main patio, the outline of a doorway framed by ruffled stone, was the opening to Benito Juarez University, which was known as Instituto des Artes de Oaxaca.

Later, Janet would show us where Benito Juarez, director of the institute, later president of Mexico and leader of the reformation, had his offices. At the entrance, there are two layers of painting: 17^th century frescoes and grafitti and 19^th century wallpaper.

The main patio area, called the sala capitula, is where the Dominicans assembled to govern the convent. Architects wanted to go down to the original floor and as they did, they found a large rock and river stones. As they kept excavating they uncovered a Zapotec temple foundation that was the same age as the bone discoveries. Archeologists who were brought in to examine the materials believe the city was an indigenous religious center that pre-dates the famed mountaintop site.

The beauty of San Pablo is more than skin deep. It takes us back to the origins of Oaxaca and it is not too difficult to imagine life as it might have been then. The convent is dedicated to the cultural and linguistic diversity of the state and preserving the traditions and language of its indigenous people. Originally, it was the only convent to serve the indigenous population.

As Janet explains the language of the stones used in the original structure (flat and hand hewn) and the later restorations, she also tells us that one of her primary goals is to teach Zapotec (Tlacolula valley dialect) to anyone who is interested. She hopes the courses will begin in May 2012.

As we leave, we take one last glimpse at the imposing green glass wall that surrounds and protects the library archives. We marvel at this architectural masterpiece that so consciously and sensitively blends past with present and future to keep the dream of cultural continuity alive.

Footnote: Originally, the entrance to San Pablo faced toward the Zocalo and was framed by a large patio. There were three alleyways open to access it. Over the years, these alleyways were closed off and the patio disappeared as the Dominicans sold off property to pay to restore the church bell tower and other damage during a major 18^th century earthquake. That’s when private homes and the Macedonio Alcala Theatre were built. San Pablo was last used as a hotel when the Alfredo Harp Helu Foundation purchased it in 2005. The restoration began in 2006, totally supported by the Foundation.