John Wertime, on "Miniature Masterpieces" of NW Iran. (Durant-Kenrick House)   

Cheri Hunter, on Textiles, Costumes, and Carpets of the Eastern Grasslands of Tibet. (Durant-Kenrick House)

October NERS Field Trip: The Shein Collection of Oriental Rugs and American Modernist Art. PLEASE NOTE: ATTENDANCE IS LIMITED TO 30; RSVP REQUIRED!

Shiv Sikri, Markings in Oriental Rugs. (Durant-Kenrick House)

2018/2019 Season

Sept. 14th

Mike Tschebull, Why Warp-Faced Covers Are Collectible: Jajims of the Transcaucasus and Iran. (Durant-Kenrick House)   

Oct. 5th

Ali Istalifi, THE CENTRAL ASIAN SUZANI: Understanding the tradition and attribution of these silk dowry embroideries. (Durant-Kenrick House)

Nov. 16th

Gerard Paquin, Silk and Wool: Textile Designs in Turkish Rugs. (Durant-Kenrick House)

March 22nd

Whither the Market for Antique Rugs?: a panel discussion. (Durant-Kenrick House)

April 12th

The Members of the NERS Steering Committee present some of their own favorite weavings. (First Parish, Lincoln, MA)

May 3rd

Joel Greifinger, on Kurdish weaving from three regions. (Durant-Kenrick House)

May 19th

The annual picnic, moth market and show-and-tell session. (Gore Place, Waltham, MA.)

Jennifer Swope and Gerry Roy, on Quilts    

Tom Farnham, on the rise & fall of rug scholar F.R. Martin.

Nick Wright and Thom Mond, on Tibetan rugs.

The Feb 23rd meeting has been cancelled and will be rescheduled for a future date to be determined. Mike Tschebull, Why Warp-Faced Covers Are Collectible: Jajims of the Transcaucasus and Iran

Louise Mackie, on her book "Symbols of Power: Luxury Textiles from Islamic Lands".

Tom and Peggy Simons, on Pakistani textiles. (Durant-Kenrick House)

The annual picnic, moth market and show-and-tell session. (Gore Place, Waltham, MA.)

2016/2017 Season

Sept. 16th

Wendel Swan, Swedish Folk Weavings for Oriental Rug Lovers. Textile Museum Trustee and ICOC organizer Wendel Swan returns to NERS to introduce us to the history and visual charms of Swedish folk textiles. (First Parish)    

Oct. 14th

Michael Franses, Some of the Oldest Surviving Carpets and Tapestries. ICOC and Hali co-founder Franses will speak on the staus of recent research into the earliest known carpets.  (First Parish)

Nov. 11th

Mitch Rudnick, The Making of the Rudnick Collection. With his wife, Rosalie, longtime NERS member Mitch Rudnick assembled a superlative collection of Caucasian rugs, which is now being sold by Grogan & Company. At this NERS-only auction preview and reception, Mitch will regale us with tales from the couple's decade's long rug hunt. (Grogan & Company, Boston)

Feb. 24th

Jeff Spurr, Ends and Means: Islamic Prayer Rugs in Context. NERS member and frequent speaker Jeff Spurr will focus on the history and development of prayer rugs.  (First Parish)

March 24th

DeWitt Mallary, Jurg Rageth's New Study of Turkmen Rugs.NERS member DeWitt Mallary, translator of Rageth's ambitious new book, will discuss its theories and conclusions. (Durant-Kenrick House)

Apr. 21st

Collector Series, Honoring Yon Bard. Long-standing NERS member and Turkmen aficionado Yon Bard will talk about his collecting and show us highlights of his collection. (First Parish)

May 21st

The annual picnic, moth market and show-and-tell session. (Gore Place, Waltham, MA.)

2015/2016 Season

Sept. 11th

Heather Ecker, Spanish Carpets. Independent scholar and writer Heather Ecker will talk about the history, designs, and survival of carpets made in Spain. (Durant-Kenrick House)

Oct. 23rd

Collector Spotlight: Ann Nicholas and Rich Blumenthal. Moderated by Lloyd Kannenberg, the meeting will feature the collections and recollections of Ann and Rich.  (First Parish)

Nov. 21st  (Saturday afternoon)

Kendra Weisbin, Rugs and Other Islamic Arts in the George Walter Vincent Smith Museum. The curator in charge of the recent reinstallation of GWVS will lead us on a gallery tour at the museum. (GWVS Museum, Springfield)

Feb. 26th

Susan Lind-Sinanian, Handwork and Rugs Made by Armenian Orphans. NERS member and ALMA textile curator Susan Lind-Sinanian will introduce us to these fascinating and poignant objects. (ALMA)

March 11th

An Evening at Skinner. Skinner hosts a reception and special tour, led by NERS member Lawrence Kearney, of the spring Oriental Rugs and Carpets auction. (Skinner, Boston)

Apr. 1st

Good, Better, Best. NERS members present several examples of a given type of rug or textile and explain what accounts for differences in quality and appeal. (First Parish)

May 22nd (Sunday)

The annual picnic, moth market and show-and-tell session. At the Gore Place, Waltham, MA.

2014/2015 Season

Sept. 19th

Jeff Spurr, The Allure of Luxury: The Impact of the Kashmir Shawl on Dress and Design in Persia. NERS member and textile scholar Jeff Spurr will show the influence of high-status, imported Kashmir shawls on Persian arts, including rug design. (Durant-Kenrick House)    

Oct. 24th

Meredith Montague and Buzz Dohanian, Caring For and Cleaning Your Treasures. From different perspectives, Meredith Montague, head of Textile Conservation at the MFA, and NERS member Buzz Dohanian, of Bon Ton Rug Cleansers in Watertown, will give useful advice on rug care.  (ALMA)

Nov. 21st

John Collins, Shahsevan Flatweaves. NERS member and owner of Collins Gallery in Newburyport, John will focus on non-pile (especially sumak) articles made by Shahsevan weavers in Northwest Iran and the Transcaucasus. (First Parish)

Feb. 21st

Ali Riza Tuna (ACOR-sponsored speaker), Back to the Future: Reconstructing Extinct Anatolian Carpets from Renaissance Paintings. An independent researcher in various aspects of early Anatolian carpets, Ali Riza Tuna will show how the paintings of Ghirlandaio, Piero della Francesca, and Lorenzo Lotto enable us to visualize, and even recreate, vanished rugs.  (Durant-Kenrick House)

March 5th (Thursday)

A Night at the MFA. Combining the annual MFA event with the Collector Series, this evening will feature outstanding kilims from NERS member Raoul "Mike" Tschebull's collection, plus a reception. (MFA, Boston)

April 17th

Beau Ryan, Bits and Pieces. NERS member Beau Ryan, owner of Rare Elements, a Concord gallery featuring carpets and other antiques, will illustrate the attraction and collectibilty of rug fragments with examples from his own collection.  (First Parish)

May 24th (Sunday)

The annual picnic, moth market and show-and-tell session. At the Gore Place, Waltham, MA.

2013/2014  Season

Sept. 6th

Walter Denny, Carpets and New Museums of Islamic Art: What's Happening? The well-known professor and carpet scholar will discuss the role of carpets in the new Islamic galleries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he has worked as a Senior Consultant for the past six years, as well as in other newly opened museum galleries.      

Oct. 4th

Lawrence Kearney, Art Deco and Modernist Hooked Rugs. NERS member, rug-and-textile dealer, eclectic collector, and poet, Lawrence will introduce us to a wonderful but little-known type of American art for the floor.  (ALMA)

Sept. 6th

Koos de Jong, Saddle Rugs from China and Beyond. The Dutch collector, author, and historian of Chinese art will provide an illuminating survey of saddle rugs from China and Tibet.  An ACOR-sponsored presentation. (The Durant-Kenrick House, 286 Waverly Avenue, Newton Centre, MA) 

Feb. 28th

Lee Talbot, Unraveling Identity: Our Textiles, Our Stories.  Curator at the Textile Museum (Washington, DC), Lee will update us on construction of the new, much-expanded museum and on his plans for the opening exhibition, which will showcase the TM's greatest treasures. (The Durant-Kenrick House, 286 Waverly Avenue, Newton Centre, MA)

March 28th

Michael Grogan, Thirty-Five Years in Oriental Rugs. Noted auctioneer and NERS member, Michael Grogan will discuss adventures in the carpet-auction business over the last quarter century. (Grogan & Co.)

April 25th

A Night at the MFA. Combining the annual MFA event with the Collector Series, this evening will feature rugs from NERS-member Gerard Paquin's outstanding collection, plus a reception hosted by the museum. (MFA, Boston)

May 25th

The annual picnic, moth market and show-and-tell session. At the Gore Place, Waltham, MA.

2012/2013 Season

Sept. 28th

David and Sue Richardson, Qara U'y: The Qaraqalpak Yurt and Its Decoration. Two experts on the Qaraqalpak of Central Asia will introduce their semi-nomadic lifestyle and focus on the structural and decorative textiles integral to their dwellings.  (First Parish)  

Oct. 5th

Jon Thompson, Late Mamluk Carpets. What brought about the sudden flowering of Mamluk carpets? This highly regarded carpet scholar will propose that a Mamluk cultural renaissance necessitated new carpet production and the recruitment to Egypt of weavers from Turkmen-ruled Iran and Asia Minor. (ALMA)

Nov. 11th

Sunday, 2:00pm to 4:30pm.  Three Collections: A Dozen Pieces. NERS members Ed Berkhoff, Lloyd Kannenberg, and Richard Larkin will exhibit pieces from their collections and join in a panel devoted to their thoughts on collecting.   (John Collins Gallery, 40R Merrimac St. [Brown's Wharf], Newburyport, MA)

Mar. 1st

DeWitt Mallary, Baluch Rugs. This well-known collector will talk about the Baluch and their weavings, bringing pieces from his personal collection to show and discuss.

March 22nd

Sarah B. Sherrill, Twilight of a Tradition: Bakhtiari and Qashqa'i Weavings.

April 12th

A Night at the MFA. Combining the annual MFA event with the Collector Series, this evening will feature rugs from the Rosalie and Mitch Rudnick collection, some on public exhibition and others specially displayed for the occasion, plus a reception hosted by the MFA.

May 19th 

Sunday, noon to 5:00pm. The annual picnic, moth market and show-and-tell session. At the Gore Place, Waltham, MA.

2011/2012 Season

 Sept. 23rd  

Judith Dowling, Japanese Folk Textiles. How these wonderful textiles were made and used, with a selection of pieces from this Boston scholar/dealer's collection.  (ALMA)

Oct. 21st

Nurhan Atasoy, Ottoman Imperial Tents. An eminent Istanbul professor and curator will explain how these splendid royal tents take their inspiration from Ottoman palace architecture and decoration.  (First Parish)

Nov. 18th

Tom Hannaher, Early Kuna Molas. Our fellow NERS member will introduce us to the endlessly imaginative blouse panels made by Kuna women of the San Blas Islands, off Panama. (First Parish)

Feb. 10th

A Night at the MFA.  NERS member Lauren Whitley will again welcome us to the MFA, where we'll walk through Beauty as Duty (a show of 1940s textiles and costumes) and view four important Chinese carpets on exhibition as well as rugs pulled from storage just for us.

March 23rd

Peter Poullada, Lebab Turkmen and Their Interactions with the Local Uzbeks. This San Francisco rug scholar will present his ethnographic findings, with historical photos, about Oxus-region Turkmen weavers. (ALMA)

April 20th

Collector Series: Alan Varteresian. Julia Bailey will present highlights from the stellar rug collection of this beloved longtime NERS member, and Alan himself will comment and reminisce. (Grogan and Co.)

May 20th

The annual picnic, moth market and show-and-tell session. At the Gore Place, Waltham, MA.

2010/2011 Season

Sept. 10

Austin Doyle, "Eastern Caucasian Rugs." A collector and Washington Hajji Baba member, Austin will focus on the widely admired rug types he prefers. (First Parish)

Oct. 8

Mae Festa, "My First Forty Years of Collecting." Wendell Swan will present highlights from the textile collection of this beloved NERS member and longtime textile art consultant, and Mae herself will comment and reminisce. 

Nov. 5

Stefano lonescu, "Tuduc Fakes in European and American Collections." The noted Romanian scholar, author, and tour guide will introduce us to the infamous forger Theodor Tuduc, whose "reproductions" have fooled many a prestigious museum.

Feb. 4

Museum of Fine Arts textile curator Lauren Whitley will lead a tour of the textiles in twenty galleries of the newly opened American Wing of the museum. 7PM at the MFA.

11-Mar

Richard Laursen, "Analysis of Dyes in Historical Textiles: A Consideration of Some Nineteenth-Century Uzbek Suzanis." The former Boston University chemistry professor will offer an audience-friendly analysis of the spectacular colors in these embroidered textiles. At the UNA Senior Living Community, Somerville, MA.

15-Apr

Susan Lind-Sinanian on "Caspar Pilobosian's Collection of Caucasian Rugs." Generous NERS member and textile curator of the Armenian Library and Museum of America, Susan will introduce the current exhibition at ALMA and lead us on a gallery tour. (ALMA)

21-May

The annual picnic, moth market and show-and-tell session. At the Gore Place, Waltham, MA.

2009/2010 Season

Sept. 25th

Wendel Swan presented "Color, Color, Color -- the Appeal of Oriental Rugs"  (First Parish)

Oct. 9th

Bertram Frauenknecht presented "Shahsavan Weavings" (First Parish)

Nov. 6th

Robert Mann presented "Cleaning Oriental Rugs: Making Sense of the Options" (Collins Gallery)

Feb. 5th

Alberto Levi presented “Primitivism and Abstraction in Persian Tribal Flatweaves"  (Collins Gallery)

Mar. 19th

Jeff Spurr presented “Style and Identity, People or Place: The Case for Lakai Suzanis" (First Parish)

April 16th

Thomas Farnham on "The History of Great

Classical Persian Carpets" (ALMA)

May 15th

The annual picnic, moth market and show-and-tell session. At the Gore Place, Waltham, MA.

2008/2009 Season

Sept. 5th

Harald Boehmer -- Anatolian Nomads   (First Parish)

Oct. 24th

John Kreifeldt -- Textiles of Borneo (First Parish)

Nov. 14th

Daniel Walker -- Mughal Carpets (First Parish)

Feb. 20th

John Collins -- Persian Bags (Collins Gallery)

March 27th

Jean Burks -- American Quilts (First Parish)

April 17th

Mike Tschebull -- Caucasian Rugs  (ALMA)

May 16th

The annual picnic, moth market and show-and-tell session. At the Gore Place, Waltham, MA.

2007/2008 Season

Sept. 21st

Jerry Becker discussed Navajo weavings  (First Parish)

Oct. 19th

Ann Nicholas & Rich Blumenthal discussed South Persian Tribes and Tribal Weaving (Collins Gallery)

Nov. 16th

Mary Jo Otsea presented "State of the Market" (First Parish)

Jan. 25th

Dr. Mehemmet Deviren presented "Modern Oriental Antique Rugs — Forgeries and Fraud" (First Parish)

March 14th

Jurg Rageth presented "Design Transitions of Central Asia, 600-1900 AD". (First Parish)

April 11th

Gary and Susan Lind-Sinanian discussed Armenian textiles  (ALMA)

May 17th

The annual picnic, moth market and show-and-tell session. At the Gore Place, Waltham, MA.

2006/2007 Season

Sept. 22nd

Wendel Swan presented "The Oriental Carpet - Islamic Art with Ancient Roots (First Parish)

Oct. 13th

Jim Blackmon presented “The Gateway Tunic of Tiwanaku: The World's Most Important Ancient Textile?" (First Parish)

Dec. 1st

Fred Mushkat discussed Nomadic Bands (First Parish)

Feb. 16th

John Collins discussed Persian Rugs (Collins Gallery)

Mar. 23rd

Fred Ingham facilitated "Good Rug/Great Rug"  (First Parish)

April 13th

Tom Hannaher discussed collecting on a budget  (ALMA)

May 5th

The annual picnic, moth market and show-and-tell session. (South Plymouth, MA)

2005/2006 Season

Sept. 16th

Jon Thompson presented “How the Great Carpets Were Made: Some Observations" Collins Gallery)

Oct. 14th

Erik Risman presented “Trappings of the Middle Amu Darya -- an Excursion into what is commonly called Ersari/Beshir" (ALMA)

Nov. 11th

Alberto Boralevi presented "Prayer Rugs or Curtains for the Gate of Heaven: The use of niche shaped rugs in the Muslim, Jewish, and Christian houses of worship". (First Parish)

Jan. 14th

Silver and Shawls exhibition tour, led by Jeff Spurr, at the Arthur M. Sackler Museum.

Feb. 24th

Mike Tschebull Show & Tell on North-West Persian Weavings (First Parish)

March 17th

Jenny Wood discussed natural dyes (First Parish)

April

No meeting - ACOR 8, Boston, MA.

May 20th

The annual picnic, moth market and show-and-tell session. Dedham, MA.

2004/2005 Season

24-Sep

James Douglas presented "The Artistry of Baluch Weavings" (First Parish)

22-Oct

Peter Poullada presented "Nomadic Life in the Hindu Kush" (First Parish)

13-Nov

Val Arbab led a Saturday workshop  on Rug Identification and Structure (First Parish)

25-Feb

Sumru Belger Krody presented "Classical Traditions in Anatolian Carpets" (ALMA)

18-Mar

Diana Myers presented "The Splendor of  Bhutanese Textiles" (First Parish)

17-Apr

Anne Nicholas & Rich Blumenthal presented "Tribal Weavings of South Persia" (Collins Gallery, Newburyport, MA)

21-May

The annual picnic, moth market and show-and-tell session (Concord, MA)

2003/2004 Season

21-Sep

John Collins Exhibition and Lecture on South Persian Tribal Rugs (Collins Gallery, Newburyport, MA)

24-Oct

Betsy Benjamin discussed Japanese Wax Resist Textiles (First Parish)

14-Nov

Peter Stone presented "Oriental Rug Motif Origins"  (Skinner)

20-Feb

Seref Ozen discussed Central Asian rugs and textiles (First Parish). 

19-Mar

Harald Boahmer presented "Understanding Natural and Synthetic Dyes in Oriental Rugs." (First Parish)

16-Apr

Jim Adelson and Yon Bard presented an "Out of the Cedar Chest" session with a focus on Turkmen weavings. (ALMA)

22-May

The annual picnic, moth market and show-and-tell session (Concord, MA)

2002/2003 Season

20-Sep

Monisha Ahmed discussed Ladakh nomad weavings (Bemis Hall)

1-Nov

Natalia Nekrassova discussed Ersari rugs  (Bemis Hall)

12/07/02 

Special tour of the Prayer Rug exhibit at the Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge

7-Feb

Charles Lave & Bethany Mendenhall presented "Out of the Cedar Chest"  (ALMA)

14-Mar

Tom Hannaher presented "The Enigmatic Art of Ancient South American Textiles" (First Parish in Lincoln, it's the stone building across the street from Bemis Hall)

4-Apr

Bertram Frauenknecht presented "Collecting Through the Eyes of a Dealer" (Skinner, Inc., Boston)

10-May

The annual picnic, moth market and show-and-tell session (Concord, MA)

2001/2002 Season

10-Oct

Elena Tsareva spoke on the origin of Turkoman design motifs (Bemis Hall) 

30-Nov

Mark Hopkins emceed Good Rug? Great Rug?  (Bemis Hall)

19-Jan

Julia Bailey hosted a tour of Persian textiles in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

1-Mar

Raoul Tschebull  discussed Kazak rugs (ALMA)

22-Mar

Al Saulniers presented New Opportunities in Moroccan Tribal Weaving  (Bemis Hall) 

19-Apr

Jeff  Spurr presented Collecting Rugs and Textiles in Late Nineteenth Century Persia: Ronald Graham's Photo Album   (Skinner, Inc., Boston)

18-May

The annual picnic, moth market and show-and-tell session (Concord, MA)