Museums

National Silk Tapestries Museum

Posted at June 30, 2006 13:49

A National Treasure

By Diana Lambdin Meyer

While in college and in the Army, John Pottie of Platte County played a lot of pool. He became pretty good at it and even traveled on the professional circuit in the 1970s. He never made any real money, but he enjoyed collecting pool and billiards memorabilia.

At a flea market in Milwaukee, he found what he thought was an inexpensive print of Victorian men and women playing billiards. After closer inspection, he realized it was a woven silk tapestry.

That fifty dollar purchase in 1981 began a collection of antique silk tapestries that totals more than 150. These tapestries attract visitors from around the world at the National Silk Art Museum in Weston about forty-five minutes from Kansas City.

“It’s just amazing watching the reaction of people as they begin to examine each piece and realize how magnificent it is,” John says. “You can look at a particular piece in different light or at a different time of day and continue to see new details.”

John admits that some people are initially confused by the images because the tapestries appear to be a photo negative or another medium. Silk tapestry is the art of weaving silk threads into an image for decorative purposes. Many were commissioned by churches, royalty, or upper-class families based on the works of major artists from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Joseph Jacquard, who created the first automatic loom in 1790, was the master of the process. His student Francois Carquillat commercialized silk weaving in the mid-1800s. Prior to the advent of photography, this process was the major means of reproduction. Most of the works in John’s collection measure no more than about eight-by-ten inches and date back to the 1870s.

In 2003, John opened his restaurant, Charlemagne’s, at 616 Thomas Street in Weston. The Silk Art Museum is on the second floor of the 1842 building, in addition to several tapestries displayed throughout the dining area. “The art has been the driving force of the restaurant,” says John. “More than half of our guests tell us they’ve come to Weston and to Charlemagne’s because of the museum.”

Charlemagne’s, which serves Italian, French, and German cuisine, reflects the regions conquered by Charlemagne’s armies in the eighth and ninth centuries. While researching family history for college scholarship applications for his daughter Adrienne, John discovered that Charles the Great, who lived from 742 to 814, was his thirty-ninth grandfather.

A custom at Charlemagne’s results from a legend John uncovered about another famous ruler, Napoleon. As his army moved into battle and were within a few hundred feet of the enemy, John says a soldier’s final act before charging was to slice the top from a bottle of wine with his sword and chug it. When guests orderchampagne at Charlemagne’s, they can go outside or watch through windows while a staff member uses reproduction swords from the era to whack the champagne bottle near the cork. The force makes a clean cut and keeps glass from falling into the champagne, which is consumed in a more civilized manner than chugging.

John has flourished in the task of researching Charlemagne-era customs and details about his art collection. Only ten pieces in his collection have not been identified. With so little written on the art of silk weaving and tapestries, John is writing the first textbook on the subject, and Public Broadcasting Service producers have approached him about making a documentary.

Representatives from both the Louvre in Paris and the Smithsonian have made significant financial offers for his collection, but for now, the tapestries are not for sale. They remain in the restaurant for Missourians to enjoy.

Charlemagne’s Restaurant is located at 616 Thomas Street in Weston. Hours are 11 AM to 3 PM Wednesdays through Sundays; 5 to 8 PM Wednesdays and Thursdays; and 5 to 9 PM Fridays and Saturdays. Admission to the museum is free; non-diners are also welcome. Call 816-640-2608 or visit www.charlemagnesrestaurant.com.

June 2006

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