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Hanging

2004 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Hanging. Woven cotton, linen, silk, wool & metallic threads.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
woven cotton, linen, silk, wool, metallic threads
Brief description
Woven cotton, linen, silk, wool & metallic thread hanging
Physical description
Hanging. Woven cotton, linen, silk, wool & metallic threads.
Dimensions
  • Height: 140cm
  • Width: 110cm
  • Weight: 1.0kg (weight of tapestry on roller)
Width includes fringe
Production typeUnique
Credit line
Given by the Worshipful Company of Weavers
Object history
The Worshipful Company of Weavers bi-annually commissions a wall hanging or example of textile art for its offices in the City of London. The company invites current students and recent graduates of the School of Textiles at the Royal College of Art to submit their portfolios and proposals and the designs are then considered by representatives of the Company, the RCA and the V&A. Although initially the commissioned piece hangs in the Company's offices, or lent on exhibition, it is then given on to the V&A, building a representative collection of the work of newly graduated students in the field of contemporary textiles. In 2004, Ismini Samanidou was awarded the commission.

Ismini Samanidou was born in Athens and studied at Central Saint Martins and the Royal College of Art in London. Her art practice focuses on weaving, drawing and photography and her work is led by an intuitive and experimental approach to materials and techniques. Samanidou is particularly interested in exploring the way in which textiles can extend historical, political and geographical boundaries whilst remaining a common autonomous language of making and means of expression across the world.

Since graduating from the Royal College of Art Samanidou has exhibited internationally including solo shows in the UK and US and work included in the Tapestries Exhibition at the Benaki Museum, Greece 2019-2020, the Hangzhou Triennial of Fiber Art, China 2016 and Le Fil de Possibles at L’Espace De L’Art Concret, France 2014. Samanidou has been awarded several prestigious residencies including a British Council residency in Bangladesh and an artist residency at the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation in the USA where she personally restored the looms of Anni Albers. A film of her weaving featured in the major Anni Albers retrospective at Tate Modern (UK) and K20 (Germany) 2018-2019 and was included in the Taking a Thread for a Walk exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in new York, 2019-2020.

Historical significance: The charter for the Worshipful Company of Weavers was granted by Henry II in 1155 making it the earliest Livery Company in the City of London. It was the first textile guild. Since then the Mercers, Drapers, Merchant Taylors, Haberdashers and Clothworkers have been set up.


On long term loan to the V&A from 2008 to 2015 [RF 2001/256]; given to the Museum in 2015 [RF 2015/416].
Association
Collection
Accession number
T.42-2015

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Record createdJune 4, 2008
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