Coffee Works Transformed to Central Asian Souk

Since June 2006 the Works has been transformed into an exotic Central Asian souk (marketplace) with a fantastic new textile show “Tribal Visions” by Arthur Prisco. Wonderful nomadic bag faces, camel trappings, and tent bands encircle the upper rim of our cafe walls, while prayer rugs, tent door decorations, and flatwoven tapestries hang below. All this naturally-dyed, semi-antique wool lends a warm glow and visual feast to the Coffee Works.

The textiles are from the collection of Arthur Prisco an expert in tribal arts from Afghanistan, Central Asia and Persia. Art is a Sacramento antique dealer, collector, art consultant, cataloger, and appraiser. He also donates his services to the Crocker Art Museum for its community appraisal events. (Click here to read Art’s bio.)

The Tribal Visions show highlights semi-antique handmade textiles woven by tribeswomen of Southern and Central Asia, each doing her best to to express her skill and creativity and to enrich the daily lives of the tribe. Using skills passed down over millenia they produce yarn from the coats of their livestock, color them with natural vegetative dyes, and tie thousands of individual threads to create a magnificent overall design.

The show’s run has been extended. All of the pieces on display are available for purchase at collector-friendly prices. If you can’t come to Coffee Works to see these beautiful artifacts in person, you can click on one of the catalogs listed on the menu bar on the left and view photos and descriptions of all of the pieces. Thanks for looking.