On a Magical Carpet Ride

When one thinks of carpets, the image that comes to mind is probably of something just large enough to add colour to a swathe of a living room or bedroom, perhaps made of delicately woven silk or a mass-produced mystery material that feels soft under the feet. Walking into Carpet Stories From the Old Silk Roads displaying 70-odd carpets from collector and former finance executive Danny Mehras vast collection, turns all those assumptions on their heads. Craning his neck to see the entirety of the 7 to 12ft tall carpets covering the walls of the gallery, Mehra says, These were created as works of art, mostly, for personal use. They were not made to sell like we do in India today. The carpets on display were made between the 18th and 20th centuries across Central Asian countries, each one woven by women from nomadic tribes using wool taken from their sheep and coloured using natural dyes. Each carpet may have taken five years or more to make and she would have been weaving it from her imagination, influenced by the flora and fauna around her and the familys shamanic beliefs. As much as they were works of art, the carpets served practical purposes covering floors and walls, serving as mattresses, dining cloths and more. The exhibit was curated with the intention to display a diverse selection of designs with some pieces showing ikkat-like patterns and others featuring sun, star and flower motifs. With the teaching and learning of designs passing from person to person as tribes travelled and interacted with each other, Mehra notes that this exchange resulted in some fascinating designs. Carpet depicting an eight-pointed star Pointing out a piece with a large, many-pronged design at the centre, which most people today probably would not recognise as a star, Mehra says, This is an eight-pointed star, a very popular icon. Carlo Crivelli, a renaissance artist, drew these in the 15th and 16th centuries. Somehow, they reached the silk road region and weavers started to weave them. It is called a Crivelli star. He adds, Weavers would take motifs, incorporate and enrich them. The elephants foot or octagon motif, depending on the tribe, will have a particular signature. Most in the region were of Turkic origin and their beliefs were shamanic so some icons are about things like happiness and protection from evil. The Cypress tree is a symbol for a long life. The carpets, on sale for anywhere between 1 and 20 lakhs, have been collected through Mehras travels across the world and painstakingly cared for. While he restores some carpets, showing minimal wear through the help of a few Indian weavers, others with more drastic changes have been left with empty areas where pieces of other carpets had been sewn on as patches. Whenever possible, I remove all the damaged parts that can be salvaged and put them up on canvases because they are still beautiful, he concludes. (Carpet Stories will be on show at Gallery Sumukha, Wilson Garden until November 15)