STUDY DAY 2010 | Oriental Carpets | THE PAZARYK CARPET: Frozen in Time with Leigh Mackay

Russian archaeologists excavating the frozen tombs of ancient nomads in 1949 were astonished to discover a fine, strikingly patterned pile carpet more than 2,000 years old. The carpet, still the oldest yet discovered, was one of many textiles and finely-wrought artefacts in 'animal style' unearthed in the Pazyryk Valley high in the Altai Mountains of southern Siberia. They were part of the Eurasian nomadic culture of the Scythian era. But the Pazyryk carpet was a mystery: did it originate amongst the nomads, or in the refined urban culture of Persia? Leigh Mackay examines this controversial discovery in the context of the art of the steppes and the cultures of the Near East.

LEIGH MACKAY is President of the Oriental Rug Society of NSW. A former journalist, he has lived in Iran and travelled in Central Asia and has a strong interest in the history and culture of that region. He has a degree in Philosophy and Linguistics and in Islamic Studies.

This STUDY DAY, presented by well-known art, social and cultural historians, explores the artistic, social and cultural worlds where objects, interiors and design meet, is organised to coincide with FLUID BORDERS: Ways of Seeing Oriental Rugs (5 July 2010 - 20 October 2010) a TJC Gallery Experience.