To the casual observer, a carpet is, well, just a carpet. Even if it is made with pure, natural materials — paraphrasing Gertude Stein — a mat is a mat is a mat.
A blank canvas, a clean sheet of paper or an amorphous lump of stone await an artist to weave his magic and produce a work of art that can spellbind an observer. But a carpet? Can a humble floor covering be a vehicle for creativity? A group of artists in Al-Harraniya village in the Giza Governorate, Egypt, are doing just that.
Inspired by their rural environment, these artists-cum-craftspeople find expression in unique products of their devising.
Ramses Wissa Wassef (1911-1974) was an architect and professor of art and architecture at the College of Fine Arts in Cairo and founder of the Ramses Wissa Wassef Art Centre. In 1951, he established a centre for textile art and handmade carpets in el-Harraniya.
Hagg Amer Abu Khamis el-Qadi, the owner of el-Harraniya Handmade Carpet Factory, said the centre was set up to ensure that this industry would live on.
“Carpet making is a craft that is handed down through the generations and Wassef wanted to make sure that it would never become extinct,” el-Qadi said.
“We give the artist an idea of what we want to see on the carpet, for instance, a village or a landscape, then his imagination is given free rein to come up with the finished product,” el-Qadi added.
“There’s a competitive edge to this art. Men and women artists vie with each other to be best, the most creative art work. Some women prefer to work their fingers to the bone at home.
“We use no synthetic materials — just cotton, wool, herbs, and vegetable dyes,” he said.
“It takes as long as eight weeks to produce one square metre of carpet and the price per metre varies according to size and materials,’ el-Qadi said.
“Tourists visit the textile factories. Some tour companies have been asked to make special trips to el-Harraniya.
“Carpets are sometimes made for export and have been showcased in craft fairs abroad.”
Discussion about this post