Exhibition in France Celebrates 75 Years of Wissa Wassef Tapestries

For the first time in over 30 years, tapestries from the Atelier Ramses Wissa Wassef have returned to France in an exhibition marking the workshop’s 75th anniversary. The showcase, curated by Egyptian art history student Baher Moufid, brings together five woven scenes that depict everyday life in Egypt and the passing of artistic traditions between generations. Highlights include works illustrating childbirth, a wedding mass, and views of Harrania, the village near the Giza pyramids where the atelier was founded in 1950. Central to the display are pieces by Garia, one of the workshop’s early weavers, and her daughter Nagla, who continued her legacy decades later. The exhibited pieces have been loaned from international institutions including the Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, the Musée des Beaux-Arts d’Angers, the British Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. The Paris exhibition coincides with a larger showcase in Berlin, where the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities is currently presenting 'Fil de la vie sur le Nil', which is also dedicated to the Harrania weavers.