Double Rya c. 18th century

Curator: Oh, that’s cozy! Makes me think of grandma’s attic and maybe some pagan ritual. It’s like a really bold secret code, almost a wink. Editor: Indeed. Before us is a striking textile. Dating back to the 18th century, this piece—called "Double Rya"—originates from an anonymous creator. Note how this vibrant example of weaving employs cotton to generate dynamic geometric patterns. It resides here at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Curator: Right, the "geometric pattern," yeah, that's what I call it when my dog rolls on a rug. Seriously, though, that bright red frame is singing to me! I love how that inner black rectangle almost feels like a shadow. Gives it depth, makes you wanna know what’s lurking in the dark. Editor: The spatial arrangement here is quite remarkable, with its deliberate mirroring, or repetition. You will notice an interior section delineated with a triangular patterned band and those charming dispersed motifs inside the borders, all bound within these rectilinear parameters, almost dialoguing. Do you concur? Curator: “Charming” is one word, I’d also say potent! And yeah, there is a strange echo in it. It is kind of… well, haunted and comforting all at once. Editor: Perhaps, though for me the construction is of key importance. Take a close look at the edges—notice that the colors are purposefully contained within their respective shapes? No hues bleed out, but adhere to their given field of tone, reinforcing a structure that’s both stable and rather playful at the same time. Curator: Huh. "Stable." I think this thing wants to fly you on a wild adventure. The raw edges of the work add to the mysticism! Maybe its incomplete state adds to its feeling that is still telling its own story? Editor: Maybe indeed. Though I stand fast that its meticulous execution contributes more to its narrative strength that that incomplete part. Anyway, I've appreciated the discourse, especially when considering such divergent interpretive starting-points. Curator: Absolutely. It’s these textiles that spark an old conversation that keep those histories, their textures, and those voices living with us, breathing life to any space.