Museum of Fine Arts Unveils Exotic Luxury With Silk Road Exhibit

by David P. Johnson

For centuries caravans crossed the dusty deserts and lonely mountains of Central Asia with loads of spices, porcelain and manufactured goods from India, China and Persia destined for Damascus, Constantinople and eventually the luxury-hungry markets of Europe. And of all the products carried on the backs of those countless camels, nothing was more valued than silk, which was often woven into splendid robes, curtains or wall hangings. So great was the demand for silk that the caravan routes themselves became known as the Silk Road.

A new exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston displays 40 outstanding examples of Central Asian silk, including resplendent robes, intricately-patterned wall hangings and colorful lengths of fabric. "Textiles were the essential trade element of Central Asia," according to author Kate Fitz Gibbon, who spoke recently at the MFA in conjunction with the opening of the exhibit, "IKAT: Splendid Silks of Central Asia from the Guido Goldman Collection."

Easily portable, unbreakable and durable, silk cloth virtually became a currency across the steppes and oasis towns. Artistically, she said, the elaborate workmanship makes the ikat comparable to the great paintings of the Western tradition.

"The economy and much of the art of Central Asia was textile-based," Fitz Gibbon said. "A beautiful garment was negotiable anywhere in the Islamic world."

Clothing instantly proclaimed the social status and place of origin of its wearer. In cities, where social structures were more complicated and rigid, there was considerable difference in clothing, while on the egalitarian steppes, nomadic robes often indicated regional and tribal affiliation.

Using slides of fabrics and a number of rare 19th century photographs from the Navoi Library in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Fitz Gibbon explained that ikat is a complicated weaving process which developed in Central Asia, reaching great intricacy in the cities of Bukhara and Samarkand, Uzbekistan and in the Fergana Valley which runs into Tajikistan. For a time ikat was banned under the Soviets, who wanted to create a market for goods manufactured in their own factories.

Each pattern in the cloth has a meaning, Fitz Gibbon explained, pointing out jewelry, scorpions, water jugs and flowers intricately woven in a rainbow of bright colors. Flowers and birds, representing gardens, were particularly popular in arid regions which were brown and dry much of the year.

She said the time-consuming, exhausting process of dyeing the cloth with insect and vegetable colors represents "the tour de force of dyeing." Whether subtle or vivid, the colors don't fade even after years of use. Women raised the silk moth larvae which provided the threads, while men dyed and wove the threads, finally polishing the finished cloth for luster. Various ethnic groups specialized in different types of the work. For example, Tajiks excelled in red and yellow dyes, while Jews controlled the trade and use of indigo blue. Uzbeks wove adras, the cotton and silk ikat fabrics commonly used in wall hangings.

Fitz Gibbon said that silk originated in China, which banned its export. But, according to legend, a bride bound for Central Asia hid some silk cocoons in her elaborate hairdo, "where not even the most zealous customs officers would look."

She also told the story of a Hungarian traveler in the Middle Ages, who reported seeing streams of nomads, each lugging bulging sacks to the court of Genghis Khan. The sacks turned out to be full of human heads, proof of a warrior's valor in battle. Fitz Gibbon said that after the heads were counted, the soldiers received silk coats, with those killing the most people getting the most elaborate garment.

The exhibit runs through Aug. 24 in Boston. It will then travel to the M.H. DeYoung Memorial Museum, San Francisco, Nov. 18, 1997-Feb. 23, 1998; Smithsonian, Washington, DC, May-August, 1998; Jewish Museum, New York City, Feb.-April, 1999; Art Museum of Chicago, Sept. 1999-Jan., 2000; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston early in the year 2000.

For more information, call the MFA, (617) 267-9300.

"Switzerland of Central Asia" Targets Tourism

Although much of the landscape is arid and bare, the Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan is beginning to target tourism with one asset which could turn out to be gold: seemingly endless mountains covered with glacial snow and surrounded by pristine lakes and hot thermal springs. Massachusetts architect William V. Gillen recently returned from Kyrgyzstan, where he volunteered to design a hotel and chose a location for it through a USAID-sponsored program, based in the city of Karakol, near the Chinese border.

In a slide lecture given recently for the Boston Society of Architects, Gillen explained that since there are almost no tourist facilities in the area, the proposed hotel will have to accommodate a wide variety of travelers: backpackers trekking, jet set skiers and businessmen seeking deals. He said that business travel to the region is expected to increase in coming years because of rich mineral deposits, including gold, located in many of the mountains. Comparing the nation to Switzerland, Gillen explained that the government and foreign companies are now testing for minerals in many spots.

Gillen designed the hotel to be made of stucco and brick, with steel reinforcements against earthquake damage. Plans call for the hotel to be built around several courtyards, in what he referred to as a traditional village style. However, he was sternly told that the population was nomadic until 100 years ago. Villages were rare until the Soviets forced people into settlements with straight streets. Machine-gun-toting soldiers were stationed at the end of each street to keep the population under control.

Gillen stated that much current architecture is in the Soviet style. Pointing out a monolithic Soviet building, Gillen said, "When you're there, you sure are impressed with how brutal it was." Reminders of Soviet control remain, Gillen said, in the regulation that permeates everyday life. "There are licenses for everything," the architect said. "You need a permit to purchase a map."

He also showed examples of 19th century Russian houses with delicate carved moldings and of present-day weekend retreats made of stucco. The Soviets forbade second floors on these cottages, he said, so in the years since independence, "houses everywhere are sprouting second floors."

Remarking on the serene beauty of the countryside, Gillen said, "The stars were so close, it seemed you could touch them. You could hear the shepherds whistling at night."

King Juan Carlos Pledges Mideast Leadership

Spain will use its long-standing cultural ties to the Arab world to continue playing a leading role in the Mideast process, King Juan Carlos I said during a dinner in Boston recently. In reference to his country's centuries under Islamic rule, and its later imperial involvement in Morocco, the Spanish monarch cited Spain's historic "Arab and Sephardic traditions" as making the country a likely Middle East peace broker in the future. The goal is "peace without negating security" of any nation, he said.

In a brief summary of world events, the monarch deplored "the human tragedy" in the Balkans and in Africa, and called for greater international peace efforts.

The king also predicted the emergence of "large economic trading blocs" around the world, each having corresponding spheres of influence. In addition to its traditional relationship with the Arab world, Spain also has close ties with its former colonies in Latin America, giving the country a unique position in solving international disputes.

King Juan Carlos delivered his remarks during a dinner at Boston's John F. Kennedy Library, where he was a Distinguished Visitor, honored for his world leadership.

According to Dr. Jose Alvarez, who teaches Spanish history at Tufts University, the Spanish royals are growing in international influence in part because of the negative publicity surrounding the British royal family. "They [the Spanish Bourbons] are the most prestigious royal house today," he said in a conversation during the dinner. It is likely that prestige will be used to rekindle the flagging Mideast peace process.

Leadership Failure Prolongs Sudanese Civil War

The civil war in the Sudan is usually labeled a religious, ethnic conflict, pitting Arab-speaking Muslims in the north against Christians and animists in the south. Southerners often speak English and various tribal languages and identify with black Africa more than they do with the Middle East. The war has also been called geographic, a straight-forward battle between regions over political and economic power.

Although all of those factors play a part in the bloody conflict, none is the major reason the war has lasted so long, according to Oliver Albino, a former Sudanese government minister and currently a visiting scholar at Harvard University.

Speaking at a program held recently at the International Institute of Boston, Albino said the war is about the failure of a fledgling nation to develop political leadership and the framework around which subsequent disagreements could be peacefully solved.

"Our problem has been the problem of political leadership," Albino said. "We have not developed any, neither in the south nor in the north. There is no leadership that can mobilize the people around it on common principles."

Even before the British had completely withdrawn from the nation in 1955, a revolt of army units in southern Sudan erupted into war. Although it was defeated by government forces, the conflict simmered until it broke out in full-fledged war in 1983.

Albino said the conflict is far older. "This thing has been going on since before Christ," he said, in reference to Nubian revolts against Egyptian domination dating to the Pharaoh Snefru (2723-2563 bc).

But the conflict is not strictly geographic. He also noted that some northerners have taken up arms against the Khartoum government for economic and political reasons. During his talk, a number of those in the room identified themselves as northern Muslims who are nonetheless refugees from the incumbent regime of Omar Hassan al-Bashir.

Midway through his remarks, however, Albino, a Christian, seemed to contradict himself. He said that the cultural and religious differences between the regions of Sudan make separation of the south the most logical answer to ending the war. "The southern Sudanese will never, ever accept a culture that is alien to them. The Americans whisper in our ear, 'compromise.' How do you compromise culture?" No one in the audience spoke in disagreement.

A film presenting the conflict from the southern point of view, "The Price of Survival," by John Ryle and Babiny Tim Chol, was shown following Albino's remarks.

The evening also featured a brief discussion and art show by Abdelaziz Ishag Mohamed, a UNESCO award-winning painter who fled Sudan in 1994 and now lives in Boston. In addition to Sudanese and Ethiopian food, a demonstration of traditional Ethiopian coffee-making was presented.

Shadows of God on Earth

For more than five hundred years their wealth dazzled visitors, while their political power stretched over much of the known world. Each in their own way, the Mughals, the Safavids and Ottomans brought Islamic art and learning to new peaks. From June 21 to Aug. 31, the Arthur M. Sackler Museum at Harvard University is presenting art from these great dynasties, called "Shadows of God on Earth: Arts of the Mughal, Safavid and Ottoman Dynasties." Drawing on the museum's extensive collection, including spectacular textiles, such as a rare Safavid "hunting" carpet, the show explores "themes of kingship and courtly life," according to the university. For more information, call the museum at (617) 495-2397.

Learning About Islam

Throughout May, the Boston Islamic Center presented at no charge a display on Islam at the South End Branch of the Boston Public Library, 685 Tremont St. The exhibition included photographs, a copy of the Qur'an and information on the Prophet Mohammed.

SIDEBAR

"The Jasmine Elsewhere Does Not Smell as Sweet"

Iranian Immigrants Blend Past and Present Values to Survive in America

Adapting to fast-paced and complex America can be difficult for any immigrant, but for those from traditional Islamic societies especially women adjusting to their new home can be overwhelming. And Iranians face even greater obstacles than other Muslims because of the strained relations between the United States and Iran, according to one such immigrant. Speaking recently at the Boston Public Library at a program sponsored by the Cambridge-based Institute of Near Eastern and African Studies, Simin Bakhtiar said that adjusting to America after life in Iran caused a monumental identity crisis. "My identity was becoming blurred," she said, noting that immigrants must accept "the inevitability of the multi-cultural aspect of their lives." The loss of their old identity usually creates a "feeling of loss, like mourning the death of a loved relative." The loss was usually economic as well, since most Iranians in the U.S. today were middle class or wealthy during the regime of the Shah. Those without English-language skills often had to work at jobs of considerably lower status. Students trained in the U.S. or Europe generally had greater success finding employment and assimilating, she stated. Along with most Iranians now living in the U.S., Bakhtiar, 46, arrived in the late 1970s, in the aftermath of the fall of the Shah. With a degree in anthropology from the University of Durham in England, Bakhtiar now works in accounting. Bakhtiar divides Iranian immigrants into three categories: those who left Iran by choice; those who were forced to go, often without warning or time to plan; and students who were already studying in the U.S. and who decided to stay. Not surprisingly, Bakhtiar said that those who could speak English and had had contact with the West prior to leaving fared considerably better than those who were not as well-educated. "The degree of adjustment depends highly on the degree of educational background," she explained. Bakhtiar related several case studies of women representing different paths to the U.S. Those who had the most difficult time were those who were orced to leave Iran at the height of the revolution, without time to plan. Often women would be forced to flee upon learning of the execution of family members. She told the story of one woman who had to leave at night when her husband was shot. With two small children, the woman made her way to the Turkish frontier, only to be robbed of her few remaining possessions at the border. Rich and well-connected women also suffered, however. One such woman representing Iran at a United Nations conference in New York received a telephone call from Tehran telling her she could not return home. Stranded, with less than $1,000 in cash, the woman had to apply for a visa and begin a new life in considerably less privileged circumstances. "We Were Hostages Here" Bakhtiar said the process of assimilation was increasingly more difficult during the hostage crisis, when American Embassy personnel were held prisoner in Tehran. She said that although many Iranian immigrants were also victims of the new regime of Ayatollah Khomeini, and some strongly opposed it, all Iranians were often lumped together by the American press and public. "We were hostages here," Bakhtiar said, adding that many Iranians shopped at night and otherwise avoided people to reduce the threat of physical attack. While other immigrants talked freely about their homelands and their lives, in the supercharged atmosphere of the hostage crisis, "Iranians found it hard to identify themselves," she said. Denying their identities caused confusion and an enormous loss in self-esteem, which made adjustment to their new lives all the more difficult, Bakhtiar said. Some changes were simple expedients, such as shortening or Anglicizing a name so it wouldn't be mispronounced, and changing their style of dressing. But gradually life in the new homeland began to take shape. Obtaining residency permits, credit cards and a permanent home paved the way for a new identity. Most immigrants also made American friends over time. "After they get to know you, the view changes," she stated. "We cannot hide what we are. We can be proud of our culture. It's not that things have changed that much in Iran. I have changed. I will not be embarrassed for who I am." Bakhtiar also noted the similarities between Farsi and English, both Indo-European languages, and the possibility for economic success in the U.S. "The American myth has a certain reality," she stated. In Iran, a person's extended family provides support, but many immigrants, including Bakhtair, had lost most of their families in the revolution. Iranians, especially women, were not used to reaching out to strangers, to seeking therapy or other help to overcome problems. In the U.S., new Iranian groups were formed to fill that void. At first, many associations emphasized the political, discussing responses to the revolution, but the focus has since changed to providing help adjusting to their new life. Even though Iranian women living in the U.S. may appear very integrated, holding a job and seeking education, many women retain old traditions. "She wants to keep her home as before," Bakhtiar said. "They [women] are the keepers of the cultural norm." An Iranian woman will deny herself career opportunities for the sake of the family appearance using extra money to buy furniture, for instance, as opposed to taking a job skills course. Despite their assimilation, the immigrants do not forget the past. "We remember tastes, smells, sounds," Bakhtiar said, recalling various scenes of her homeland: the fruit hanging on trees along the road to the Caspian Sea, the sun shining and the smell of the flowers. "The jasmine elsewhere does not smell as sweet," she said. Despite the difficult journey, life for an immigrant has some advantages. Bakhtiar said that new, undreamed of possibilities can take place as old boundaries are left behind. "It is possible, once again, to ask what do I want to be." Although Bakhtiar did not have statistics on the number of Iranians living in the U.S., the Bureau of the Census lists nearly 211,000 Iranian-born residents as of 1990, making Iranian-Americans the nation's 22nd largest ethnic group. The lecture was repeated at the International Institute of Boston on May 20.