(alphabetical ordering)
Yonathan Bard
Yonathan Bard is a retired computer scientist who took up rug collecting upon retirement in 1992. After a brief flirtation with Caucasians he saw the light and switched to Turkomans (the latter tend to require less room). He is a member of the New England Rug Society whose newsletter he edits and frequently contributes to. Yon has contributed a very informative review of Skinner's December 6 auction.
R. John Howe
R. John Howe is a student and collector of oriental rugs, primarily Turkoman. He is an active member of The Washington Textile Group and of The Textile Museum. He lives in Washington, D.C. and is employed as a civil servant.
He contributed the carefully prepared Salor Attribution Guide now on the site. Its our best attribution guide yet!
George O'Bannon
George O'Bannon is one of the world's foremost authorities on weavings from Central Asia. He is an author and/or editor of numerous books. He will be the essayist for the forthcoming volume published in connection with the From Desert and Oasis: Arts of the People of Central Asia exhibition at the Georgia Museum of Fine Arts, which begins in February 1998. Most recently, he put together and edited V. G. Moshkova, Carpets of the People of Central Asia (1996). His many other books include George O'Bannon, Oriental Rugs: The Collector's Guide to Selecting, Identifying, and Enjoying New and Antique Oriental Rugs (1995), and Vanishing Jewels: Central Asian Tribal Weavings (1990).
He served for a number of years as editor of the Oriental Rug Review. Some of his contributions to the ORR can be accessed by clicking here. He also has written for HALI.
We are grateful for his contribution to the site, The Weavings of War: An Exhibition Review.
Steven Price
Steven Price is an active participant in the rug world. He teaches a class on tribal and village weavings to honors undergraduate students at Virginia Commonwealth University and to adult evening students at the Virginia Museum for Fine Arts. He also speaks from time to time at the Textile Museum in Washington, D.C.
He was a frequent contributor to the Oriental Rug Review during the latter years of its print tenure. Many of these can be accessed by clicking here. He also has contributed to HALI. See, e.g., 91 HALI 89.
In addition to his very significant editorial advice about the site's direction and content, Steve has contributed a number of items to our Journal and Reference features:
- Guide to the Auctions.
- Course Outline: The Woven World -- Village and Tribal Weaving from the Caucasus and Central Asia.
- Not-a-Book Review: THE COMPLETE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC (on CD-ROM).
- Are Oriental Rugs Good Investments?
- What Do You Mean, "Its a Prayer Rug?"
Wendel R. Swan
Wendel R. Swan has been collecting oriental rugs since 1968 and has been and is one of the rug world's leading participants. To touch on some of the highlights: He currently holds high-ranking posts in the International Conference on Oriental Carpets (ICOC) and its Members Association, serves as President of the Washington, D.C.-based International Hajji Baba Society, and is an organizer of the Textile Museum's October convention. He has served on the board of the American Conference on Oriental Rugs (ACOR) and as President of the Washington Textile Group.
His numerous written contributions have appeared in HALI and in the Oriental Rug Review. He has delivered lectures on a broad array of topics, ranging from Turkish to Caucasian to South Persian weavings, at the ICOC, ACOR, the Textile Museum, and other rug societies too numerous to list.
In addition to his much appreciated editorial advice and support, he has contributed an exhibition review entitled Ikats: As Good as Goldman to our Journal feature.