(PDF) (DOC) (JPG)November 7, 2014

(MAHWAH, NJ) – Woven Treasures: Selections from the Collection of Ira and Rebecca Spar opens in the Pascal Gallery at Ramapo College of New Jersey on Wednesday, November 12, 2014 and continues through December 12, 2014. An opening reception will be held on November 12 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. with a collector’s talk at 6 p.m.

The exhibition features a variety of art including costumes from Provence, santons (dolls) and ethnic hats and textiles from Asia and Africa.

“We have travelled all over the Near East, North Africa and Southern France in search of hand-crafted textiles and have purchased works by women and men whose creativity has so captured our imagination,” said Ira Spar. “The presence of their work has brought constant joy to our home.”

Costumes from Provence feature fully dressed manikins wearing traditional village and town costumes form the period of the French Revolution to the mid-19^th century. Also on display are 21 santons (little saints) created by the award winning French santonnier, Simone Jouglas in the 1940s. Her creations feature Provence villagers dressed in 18^th century French fabrics with painted expressive facial features.   Ethnic hats and textiles on view include a wide range of tribal headdresses from Africa and colorful hats from the oasis cities of Central Asia.

Ira Spar is a professor of ancient studies in the Salameno School of Humanities and Global Studies at Ramapo College of New Jersey and a research assyriologist in the Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Rebecca Spar is an education and disability rights attorney with Cole, Schotz, Meisel, Forman and Leonard in Hackensack, N.J.

The Pascal Gallery is located in the Berrie Center for Performing and Visual Arts. Pascal Gallery hours are Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and Wednesday from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. This program is supported in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.

For more information, contact Sydney Jenkins, director of art galleries, at (201) 684-7147 or sjenkins@ramapo.edu. Visit the galleries online at www.ramapo.edu/berriecenter/art-galleries/.

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About Ramapo College

Ramapo College of New Jersey is the state’s premier public liberal arts college and is committed to academic excellence through interdisciplinary and experiential learning, and international and intercultural understanding. The comprehensive college is situated among the beautiful Ramapo Mountains, is within commuting distance to New York City, was named one of the 50 Most Beautiful College Campuses in America by CondeNast Traveler, and boasts the best on-campus housing in New Jersey per Niche.com. Established in 1969, Ramapo College offers bachelor’s degrees in the arts, business, data science, humanities, social sciences and the sciences, as well as in professional studies, which include business, education, nursing and social work. In addition, the College offers courses leading to teacher certification at the elementary and secondary levels, and offers graduate programs leading to master’s degrees in Accounting, Applied Mathematics, Business Administration, Contemporary Instructional Design, Computer Science, Creative Music Technology, Data Science, Educational Leadership, Nursing, Social Work and Special Education, as well as a Doctor of Nursing Practice.

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