Draft:Sun Bow Trading

• Comment: Where are the sources -- reliable and independent of this company -- that describe or comment on this company in depth? Hoary (talk) 01:02, 11 March 2026 (UTC)

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Sun Bow Trading

Type	Private gallery
Industry	Ethnographic textiles
Founded	1977
Founders	Saul Barodofsky, Majid Barodofsky, Susan Ida Smith, and Gary Muse
Headquarters	Charlottesville, Virginia
Products	Tribal rugs, Nazarlik, Koran bags, Kilims, Carpets

Sun Bow Trading

Sun Bow Trading was a commercial art gallery and research entity founded in 1977 by Saul and Majid Barodofsky, Susan Ida Smith, and Gary Muse in Charlottesville, Virginia. While founded as a partnership, Saul Barodofsky became the sole owner, director, buyer, and curator in the early 1980s and remained in that role until the gallery's closure in 2018. While Barodofsky published and lectured extensively on Nazarlik (protective amulets), Koran bags, and Central Asian nomadic textiles, Sun Bow Trading operated primarily as a retail gallery specializing in kilims and tribal carpets. The organization also served as a significant research hub for the documentation of rare material culture and nomadic animal regalia.

History and Research Focus

Saul Barodofsky with Ismet Odabashi, a Turkish rug dealer, sourcing material for Sun Bow Trading in Urfa, Turkey (2017).

Sun Bow Trading specialized in the material culture of Anatolia, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. For over four decades, the organization served as a research hub for specialized textile studies, including nomadic animal regalia and the iconography of protective symbols. Between 1978 and 2018, Barodofsky conducted over 120 source-acquisition trips to textile-producing regions to document these traditions..

The gallery collaborated on several significant museum exhibitions reviewed in the international textile journal ''HALI'':

"'1983:''' ''Oriental Textiles and Tribal Rugs from Virginia Homes'', University of Virginia Art Museum (Oct 18 – Nov 28). Reviewed in ''HALI'', Vol. 5, No. 3.

'''1984:''' ''Tribal Textiles'', DuPont Gallery, Washington and Lee University (Sept 10–28). Reviewed in ''HALI'', Issue 25.

'''1985:''' ''Yurt: The Nomadic Architecture of Central Asia'', Bayly Museum of Art (May 26 – June 23). Reviewed in ''HALI'', Issue 27

Community Impact and Philosophy

The gallery's longevity and its role as a destination for collectors were documented in national media, including The Washington Post, which highlighted Sun Bow Trading's presence on the Charlottesville Downtown Mall and its specialized focus on nomadic textiles. Barodofsky’s approach emphasized the gallery as a place for cultural exchange and education, often described as an 'art project' that introduced the public to Central Asian and Anatolian material culture.

Curatorial Projects and Institutional Collaborations

In 1987, the gallery collaborated with George O'Bannon on the exhibition Tulu: Traditional 20th Century Pelt-like Rugs from Central Anatolia. This project was among the first to focus specifically on the long-piled, shag-like weaving traditions of Central Anatolia.

Annual kilim and rug event at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Mezzanine Gallery Shop c. 1980s.

Beyond public exhibitions, the gallery served as a technical resource for museum professionals and textile conservators, providing specialized insight into the construction and iconography of tribal Anatolian and Central Asian material culture.

Metropolitan Museum of Art Collaboration

For over 30 years, Sun Bow Trading served as a specialized resource for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Mezzanine Gallery Shop. The Mezzanine Gallery was established by Daniel Berger, whose deep knowledge of the cultural landscape, retail, and printmaking shaped the shop’s focus on high-quality multiples and limited-edition works. While the Gallery primarily featured modern art, Sun Bow Trading provided a curated selection of authentic ethnographic textiles and tribal rugs that complemented the shop's fine art offerings. This collaboration, originally facilitated by Berger, allowed nomadic material culture to reach a wider audience of art collectors through the museum's retail channel.

• 2001: Caucasian soumac rugs for Vermeer and the Delft School. These weft-wrapped pieces were sourced to reflect the 17th-century Dutch practice of displaying such rugs as table coverings in domestic interiors, as frequently depicted in the works of Vermeer and his contemporaries.
• 2005: Ikat chapans for Matisse: The Fabric of Dreams.
• 2007: Reproduction of a "Lotto" carpet for Venice and the Islamic World.
• 2009: Afghan textiles for Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures.
• 2012: Knotted rug based on a 6th-century textile for Byzantium and Islam: Age of Transition.
• This collaboration included an annual kilim and rug sales event and the supply of a curated selection of ethnographic rugs and textiles for public acquisition. Official museum documentation, including social media archives, has highlighted these events and Barodofsky's fieldwork in regional weaving centers such as Urfa, Turkey.

Contributions to Scholarship

Saul Barodofsky served as an assistant editor and frequent contributor to specialized textile periodicals, most notably Oriental Rug Review (ORR), where he published research on Turkish and Central Asian weavings, including his "Letter from Anatolia" series. His ethnographic fieldwork and exhibitions have also been reviewed and featured in HALI Magazine, the premier international publication for carpets and textiles.

Barodofsky has been a frequent lecturer at the George Washington University Museum and Textile Museum, presenting on specialized topics such as "Nazarlik: Small pieces as a window into the consciousness of tribal peoples from the Silk Road" (2010) and "Camel Flowers" (2013).

Barodofsky was a co-founder and frequent contributor to Turktek, an online non-commercial site dedicated to the study of weaving and ethnographic textiles. While the site transitioned to an archival status in later years, it served as a major platform for peer-reviewed discussion and the virtual exhibition of tribal rugs, featuring Barodofsky's research on Anatolian and Central Asian material culture.

Publications

• Barodofsky, Saul; Hladky, Michael (2025). Nazarlik: Textile, Color, Pattern, Language, Ornamentation and Other Distractions To Ward Off the Evil Eye and Bring Prosperity and Good Fortune: An Introduction. KDP. ISBN 979-8334208780. An introductory study of the iconography and cultural significance of 'evil eye' amulets and protective symbols in Central Asian and Anatolian textiles. The research focuses on the intersection of color, pattern, and ornamentation as a protective language in nomadic traditions.
• Barodofsky, Saul; Hladky, Michael (2025). Koran Bags Protection and Concealment: The Saul Barodofsky Collection. KDP. ISBN 979-8314609569.
• A specialized catalog of the Saul Barodofsky collection, documenting the construction and ritual use of textile bags designed for the protection and concealment of the Koran. The work examines the variety of weaving techniques and tribal motifs specific to these ethnographic objects.
• Barodofsky, Saul; Hladky, Michael (2023). Sun Bow Trading Company: Outfitting Caravans from Downtown Charlottesville 1978-2018. KDP. ISBN 979-8393795252. This volume documents the 41-year history of Sun Bow Trading as both a commercial gallery and a research entity. It chronicles Saul Barodofsky’s transition from the gallery’s 1977 founding partnership to becoming the sole director in the early 1980s. The text details the gallery’s 120+ acquisition trips to Anatolia and Central Asia, the resulting documentation of rare material culture, and the development of the 30-year partnership with the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Mezzanine Gallery.