During the production of my book The Cloth of Egypt: All About Assiut, Alisha, my photographer and co-author, and I had the opportunity to seek out private collections throughout the greater Bay Area to photograph some of the finest assiut in area.
The largest private collector we had the pleasure to work with was the esteemed antique textile and jewelry dealer Nancy Hernandez of Ojala. Images of some of her most impressive pieces appear in various places throughout Cloth of Egypt and were also featured in the print edition of Costumer’s Notes. Image at right is a screen grab from the special print edition of Costumer’s Notes Read for free on the web here: http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/628802Since our last photoshoot, the Ojala assiut collection has continued to grow.Currently the collection includes more than 30 shawls and scarves dating 1890-1930 and several dresses ranging from vintage to modern. Nancy began her collection in 1983 with an exquisite wedding shawl. Over the past few years, she has focussed on strategically adding pieces to her collection with distinctive imagery.
Alisha and I went over for an informal show-and-tell, and had the opportunity to view a few of her latest finds. Some of her latest acquisitions hail from as far away as England, Scotland, and Russia. We are planning a formal photo shoot in October to capture the beauty of her collection with fine lighting. I snapped some quick photos with my phone to share with you this quick sneak peek. Enjoy!
