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Preview a Shipment of Antiques Arriving in 6 Weeks! (early July arrival) Including many Indian and British Colonial 19th/early 20th cabinets and sideboards, all in ready to use condition. Please let us know if you have any questions, contact info@materialculture.com

With more than 1,000 guests attending Jonathan Demme's Pre-Auction Exhibition Party and the successful weekend-long Auction that followed, we would like to thank those who participated in making all of the events a great success!

Isabella de la Houssaye, Curator of the "Decoding The Veil" exhibition at Material Culture Area women talk about the garment's meaning; Philly exhibit explores the history of why and how women wear them From The News Journal, Wilmington, DE By Margie Fishman Dec 1, 2013 Wajeeha Choudhary began covering her hair at age 15. Adolescence was a tumultuous time, she remembers. Her hijab, or headscarf, protected her from the male gaze to some degree, while allowing her intellect and personality to shine through. "I saw it as a point of stability in my life," says Choudhary, a Muslim. "I started donning it and I had a better sense of myself and my identity." Now a doctoral student at Drexel University who lives in Media, Pa, she studies how veiled Muslim women negotiate the workplace. While critics argue that the tradition of hiding a woman's physical beauty is draconian or oppressive, Choudhary believes society's obsession with appearance is the real injustice. "Think about how much pressure there is in our society for women to be portrayed as beautiful," she says. "It just gets tiring – to constantly be on the watch of how you look every minute of the [...]

November 1 to December 29 The Veil Code: A Cross Cultural Survey of Veils and Traditional Dress From Asia, Africa and the Middle East Featuring items from the collection of Isabella de la Houssaye, Princeton, NJ Reception: Friday Nov 1, 7 pm - 11 pm

November 1 to 17 Material Culture Presents: The Afghan Peace Rug Project Reception: Friday Nov. 1 from 7 p.m. - 11 p.m. For the past 30 years, Afghan war rugs have been highly valued and internationally collected as pieces of modern folk art. These rugs, woven by Afghan village artisans since 1979 following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, depict images of the wars and conflict that have been a trademark of this country for the past three decades. In an effort to both revitalize the Afghan economy and reshape its image from one of war to one of peace, Material Culture has partnered with a group of village rug producers in Afghanistan to launch the Peace Rug Project. Working with the same village artisans who have been weaving images of tanks, guns and hand grenades for years, the Peace Rug Project has challenged these artisans to leave behind this imagery and weave instead images of peace. Small, folk-art sized wool carpets using natural dyes and depicting images of flowers, birds, animals, village life, and all manner of personal expression, have begun to emerge from Afghan villages and Material Culture is proud to bring them to the international market. This series of [...]

Saturday November 2, 2 p.m. Mexican Folk Devotional Retablos Presented by Joseph F. Chorpenning, Editorial Director at Saint Joseph’s University Press. This illustrated lecture will focus particularly on the Mexican retablos being offered for sale at the November 3rd auction. Free, Open to the Public