Women weavers, particularly nomadic or cottage weavers, feature prominently in accounts of carpet weaving. They are frequently represented, however, as either slaves of tradition, unrecognized artist-geniuses, or worker drones—their voices and the stories they might offer about carpet weaving largely absent or muted. While field work is needed to document carpet traditions and women’s roles (planned for early 2007), the artifacts themselves suggest subtle clues that challenge these representations and offer alternative storylines. They suggest negotiations with external market forces, with changing traditions, economic and political conditions. They also speak to bodies, ways of working, of surviving, and occasionally resisting. In this illustrated paper I juxtapose these stories, drawn from the popular and scholarly carpet accounts as well as carpets themselves, discussing the voices represented, the authority they command, and what they suggest for the field of carpet studies.
This paper offers preliminary findings of my study of the Jean and Marie Erikson Collection of Oriental Carpets held at The Nickle Arts Museum, University of Calgary. My present research involves working with the Collection’s donor to document stories about the carpets and other textiles that comprise the collection and review the relevant literature. My research also involves examining the artifacts; recording details about their condition, structure, distinguishing features, and evidence of the people who produced and or used them.