The Textile Museum, Timbuktu to Tibet: Rugs and Textiles of the Hajji Babas

This fall The Textile Museum will take visitors on a journey through North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and beyond in Timbuktu to Tibet: Rugs and Textiles of the Hajji Babas, an exhibition examining the central role that rugs and textiles play in diverse cultures around the world. Through the display of 90 Oriental carpets and other woven objects, the exhibition showcases the dazzling beauty of the pieces and explores the context in which they were created and used within cultures on several continents. Timbuktu to Tibet is on view October 18, 2008 through March 8, 2009.

With textiles, people around the world express their diverse traditions, lifestyles, fashions and technologies, all while addressing fundamental physical, aesthetic and spiritual needs. Textiles serve as clothing, provide shelter and accompany rituals. Through material, color, pattern, design and other facets, textiles reveal an individual’s wealth, social status, occupation, and religious and ethnic associations, as well as a culture’s values, codes and social order.

Timbuktu to Tibet illuminates these encoded messages and explores the varying functions of carpets and textiles. By examining the practical uses and complex iconography of the rugs and textiles on view, the exhibition offers visitors a deeper look into the lives, beliefs and events that shape cultures around the world.

Location and more information: The Textile Museum, 2320 ‘S’ Street, NW in Washington, D.C.

Source: TM press release