Horse Blanket

 

This piece of textile is actually a Syrian Horse Blanket.It is not antique but it it unusual as woven Syrian textiles are difficult to find. I was delighted to be able to buy this piece from Achmad my textile restorer friend near the Jeron Gate in Damascus.It came in whilst we were chatting and having tea with him and I immediately fell in love with it.He said that when they do come in- which is not often they often no longer have the tassesls, which is a charming part of the whole.Some years ago I purchased a book entitled "au Fil du Desert- Tentes et tissages des pasteurs nomades de Mediterranee" published by Edisud ISBN 2-85744-806-6, because I am a bit besotted by bedouin tents and well this book contains many bedouin tents as well as other woven objects made by desert nomads. There was a page from the book and I remember falling in love with the woven textiles on that page,it contained just such horseblanket in very similar colours to the piece I bought. So regardless of the fact that I was on an extreme budget when visiting Syria I could not leave this piece behind. It is quite heavy and the colour is deep and rich.

And France is moving one step closer. I may have found a small cottage not far from Vezelay ( I also have the choice of a much larger house near Perigord, but for 3-4 months of the year it is used by other people whereas the cottage can be a year round thing). I will go and look at both of them in September. The one near Vezelay is more central to places I teach and need to go and it is only about 2.5 hours from Paris. So whilst Perigord is beautiful - the small house is probably the better option for the time being.