Tue, 24.3.2026
7 PM
7 PM
Opening
MAK – Museum of Applied Arts
© MAK/Christian Mendez
Previous Image
The MAK Textiles and Carpets Collection is one of the most valuable and extensive of its kind worldwide. It brings together objects from late antiquity to the present, from European to East Asian textiles.
25.3.2026—31.12.2030
MAK – Museum of Applied Arts
The exquisite carpet collection, with a focus on unique Persian and Mamluk carpets from the 16th and 17th centuries, is one of the most splendid areas of this section of the collection.
The internationally renowned design studio Formafantasma was commissioned to design the new presentation of these gems of the MAK Collection. In contrast to the previous presentation that focused on the prestigious carpet collection, the carpets are contextualized with other textile highlights from the collection. With this broader curatorial concept, the MAK, for the first time, is also taking the diversity and richness of this part of the collection into account in the Permanent Collection.
The internationally renowned design studio Formafantasma was commissioned to design the new presentation of these gems of the MAK Collection. In contrast to the previous presentation that focused on the prestigious carpet collection, the carpets are contextualized with other textile highlights from the collection. With this broader curatorial concept, the MAK, for the first time, is also taking the diversity and richness of this part of the collection into account in the Permanent Collection.
© Gerald Zugmann/MAK
© MAK
© MAK/Branislav Djordjevic
© Gerald Zugmann/MAK
© MAK/Christian Mendez
© MAK/Georg Mayer
© MAK/Branislav Djordjevic
© MAK/Branislav Djordjevic
© MAK/Georg Mayer
© MAK/Katrin Wißkirchen
© MAK/Katrin Wißkirchen
© MAK/Georg Mayer
© MAK
© MAK/Kristina Wissik
© Gregorio Gonella
Previous Image
The reinstallation offers a crosssection of the textile collection, revealing cultural connections between the objects that often testify to international exchange and trade, for example, along the so-called Silk Road. Large showcases and a drawer system take the fragility of the objects into account and ensure the conservationally required, regular alternation of the exhibits. Visitors can therefore not only experience the beauty of the collection but also the fragility and preciousness of the exhibits with their senses.
Following the grouping of the objects, the audience can also explore textile techniques and dive into the museum’s collection history through individual object biographies.
CURATOR:
Lara Steinhäußer, Curator, MAK Textiles and Carpets Collection
DESIGN:
Formafantasma
Opening: Tue, 24 March 2026, 7 pm
Kindly supported by Rubelli
Following the grouping of the objects, the audience can also explore textile techniques and dive into the museum’s collection history through individual object biographies.
CURATOR:
Lara Steinhäußer, Curator, MAK Textiles and Carpets Collection
DESIGN:
Formafantasma
Opening: Tue, 24 March 2026, 7 pm
Kindly supported by Rubelli
Calendar
Wed, 25.3.2026
2.30 PM
2.30 PM
Adults
MAKplus
MAKplus
MAK – Museum of Applied Arts
Sat, 28.3.2026
12 AM
12 AM
Adults
Exhibition Tours
Exhibition Tours
MAK – Museum of Applied Arts
Media
So-called “silk Mamluk carpet,” Cairo, 1st quarter 16th c. Warp and asymmetrical knots in silk, weft in wool © Gerald Zugmann/MAK
Hanging, polychrome silk textile with prayer niches, hanging lamps, and geometric motifs, prob. Tunis, 17th c., Silk and metal threads, woven © MAK/Christian Mendez
“Tintoretto carpet,” Ushak, ca. 1600, Warp, weft, and symmetrical knots in wool © MAK
Çaprak (shabrack), Istanbul, 2nd half 16th c., Tapestry fabric with warp and weft in silk, metal threads, lined with woven cotton, wool braid trim, and leather-covered lead weights sewn onto the corners © MAK/Branislav Djordjevic
Millefleur niche carpet, North India, 18th c., Warp and weft in silk, asymmetrical knots in pashmina wool; © Gerald Zugmann/MAK
Amédée Couder, “cashmere shawl” depicting the Nauruz festival, 1839 Execution: Jean Gaussen, Paris, Woven wool © MAK/Christian Mendez
Noh theater robe (prob. Atsuita), Japan, 18th/19th c. Woven silk with metal threads; sewn © MAK/Georg Mayer
Knitted jacket, prob. Italy, 1st half 17th c. Knitted silk and metal threads; sewn © MAK/Branislav Djordjevic
Manufacture de la Savonnerie, Savonnerie carpet with floral still life, Paris, 3rd quarter 18th c. Wool warp, linen weft, symmetrical wool knots, woven edging © MAK/Branislav Djordjevic
Headboard from the state bed from Schloss Hof for Prince Eugene of Savoy, Coromandel Coast, India, ca. 1730 Painted and printed woven cotton fabric pieces embroidered and sewn with silk (appliqué embroidery), sewn-on passementeries, base fabric made of woven cotton with woven linen lining © MAK/Georg Mayer
Antependium of the “Göss chasuble,” Göss, ca. 1260 Linen embroidered with silk © MAK/Katrin Wißkirchen
Tapestry fragment depicting a banquet of “wild men” and the siege of a Castle of Love, Strasbourg, c. 1420, Woven tapestry fabric, linen warp, wool weft, partly embroidered with silk and linen © MAK/Georg Mayer
Square decorative element (tabula) on tapestry-woven linen; face framed in vine leaves and grapes, Akhmim, Egypt, 4th–5th c., Wool warp, linen and wool weft; tapestry-woven, sewn © MAK
Tapestry fragment with the Nailing to the Cross, Middle Rhine, ca. 1490 Wool weft, linen warp, tapestry-woven; faces embroidered. © MAK/Kristina Wissik
Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin, Founders of Studio Formafantasma © Gregorio Gonella
