Cookie Control

To make this site work properly, we sometimes place small data files called cookies on your device.

ANTIQUE ORIENTAL RUGS XVI

Including the "Alfred Ruppenstein Collection"

JUNE 22ND 2019, 4PM PALAIS BREUNER, SINGERSTRASSE 16, 1010 VIENNA


Preface

by Peter Bichler and Udo Langauer

 

I have known Alfred Ruppenstein for over 35 years, and he has had an even longer friendship with my father. When we first met in Munich, I admired his extensive collection of pre-Columbian artefacts, which he proudly presented. His love and enthusiasm for these mystical textiles could literally be felt and I admit I have been fascinated by this extraordinary textile art ever since. With oriental carpets, kilims and textiles, we are enthusiastic about pieces from the 16th and 17th centuries. The oldest artefacts of these textiles are 2200 years old and were manufactured in a highly skillful perfection. The old age paired with mysterious aesthetics, splendid colors and mystical shapes enchants us and reaches out to us from a distant time and place. For the humbled connoisseur they provide a magic window into the past.

 

I can only advise every lover and collector of antique carpets, textiles or kilims to dive into this long-gone world and to let themselves be enchanted by these artefacts. Trust me, it will work, and you will be surprised!

 

Alfred Ruppenstein acquired this private collection between 1960 and 1978 with great enthusiasm throughout Europe, at auctions and galleries and formed an outstanding private collection. All the more it is an honor for me to be allowed to offer his life‘s work for him to seasoned art lovers.

 

Probably no other civilization in the world has ever produced such a wide range of textiles with unique technical sophistication as Peru, Chile and Bolivia. These artifacts, which reach us from a distant past, are only partially legible today. Their abstract religious and ritual contents serve to increase the expressiveness with the emphasis on the essential and reach beyond the everyday. They form channels of communication into another, mystical world, which tries to reach the infinite after life. Here is an overview of the different cultures of the exhibits.

 

NAZCA Culture

Between 200 B.C. and 600 A.D., the valley of Nazca with the same name in the desert-like section on the south coast of Peru formed the breeding ground for thought and symbol models that are difficult to understand for European terms. Known are the huge scarred pictures which were only recognized in their extent in 1946. Human-like, mythical mixed creatures of snake, bird, cat of prey and so-called trophy heads form striking expressions of this culture. The complex iconography of Nazca culture, its stylization and increasing abstraction, which dissolved these representations beyond recognition and made them accessible only to the initiated.

 

TIAHUANACO – HUARI Culture

The highland basin around Lake Titicaca, in present-day Bolivia, was the cradle of Tiahuanaco culture. It began to manifest around the birth of Christ and continued until 1000 AD. In the sample treasure of the famous sun gate we can recognize elements that can be found in textiles. Iconographic hybrid forms were formed early with the neighbouring Huari. The motif of an abstract human head in profile, with a „trace of tears" and an opposite wing, a condor wing, is regarded as the classic canon of patterns for the fabrics of this culture.

 

CHIMU Culture

In the power vacuum of the decaying Huari empire falls the foundation of the powerful empire of the Chimu on the north coast of Peru. From 1000 to 1460 A.D. they ruled from their monumental capital Chan-Chan as undisputed emperors. The fabrics were no longer so much dominated by the ritual-religious, they were expressions to demonstrate power and wealth. Animal representations of cats of prey, fish, birds can be found next to representations of warriors with the typical crescent-shaped headdress. The painted cotton cloths suggest a kind of artistic freedom that was more subject to the traditional canon of patterns in the woven medium.

 

 

CHANCAY Culture

In the same period, on the central coast of Peru reigned the Chancay culture. In the numerous animal representations especially birds stand out, but also human figures with stepped headdress. Especially remarkable is the fine golden wool of the South American cameloids.

 

INKA Culture

This initially small group of highland inhabitants began from 1400 AD to expand their tribal area and very quickly, until 1490 AD, to subdue all tribes and kingdoms. The tight organization and rules, exact state and administration are also reflected in the textile development. A clear, striking geometric pattern underlines this attitude. Checkerboard patterns, stars and stripes form the basic elements of the drawing. The capes and shawls were not only clothing, but also insignia of rank and an indicator of origin and social status. In addition to these main cultural groups, there were many smaller cultures in side valleys, as well as a number of mixed forms, both geographically and temporally.

  • Home