What Are Carpets and Rugs Made Of?
The choicest wool of the world is used in the manufacture of carpet.
In order to give satisfactory service carpet must be made of wool that
is of a tough quality and has a long fiber. Such wool is not produced
in America, and the markets of the distant lands that supply it are
practically exhausted to supply the American manufacturers. Most of the
wool used comes from Northern Russia, Siberia and China. It is shipped
in bales. When it arrives at the mill there is much to be done before
the wool is ready for any process of manufacturing.
How Long Have People Used Carpets?
The art of weaving stands foremost among the ancient industries. It
came into being in the sunrise lands of the East where color has
endless charm and variety and where figure is made to serve the purpose
of fact and fancy. The art of weaving rugs is older than Egyptian
civilization. Stone carvings made when Egypt was yet unborn were
reproduced in rugs.
At what period the loom was first used is impossible to tell. An
ancient Jewish legend claims that Naamah, daughter of Tubal-Cain, was
the inventor of the process of weaving threads into cloth. There are
other indications that the ancient Hebrews were the first weavers.
Mythology also tells of beautiful maidens weaving exquisite patterns
for the gods. Most of us are familiar with the story of Jason who set
sail on the Argo in search of the Golden Fleece, arrived at the kingdom
of Aeetes, won the hand of Medea, the daughter of Aeetes, who eloped
with him after he had secured the coveted fleece.
The first hands busy at the weaving craft undoubtedly were those of
women. Chaldean gossip, repeated in history relates that Sardanphulees,
an ancient Greek king, was often seen in woman’s garb carding purple
wool from which his wives wrought rugs for floor coverings for the
palace. Homer shows Helen of Troy setting the tale of her people’s
war in the woof of her web, and also tells with Virgil of rugs that
were laid under the thrones of kings or upon chariot horses. Ancient
Hindu hymns show that these people made their textile fabrics studies
of great beauty. The woman in the Proverbs of Solomon says: “I have
woven my bed with cords; I have covered it with painted tapestry from
Egypt.” One learns from the writings of Pliny of the large money value
of rugs in ancient times. He wrote at length of a vast rug displayed at
a banquet of Ptolemy Philadelphius, the value of which was placed at a
fabulous sum.
A later writer tells of the love of Cleopatra for rich rugs and
tapestries that were woven in her palace or in the countries to the
East. On the occasions of her meeting with Cæsar and Antony, the
Egyptian queen enveloped herself in a superb rug which she had woven
especially for the purpose of showing her renowned beauty to the best
advantage. Akhar, emperor of Hindostan, spread a knowledge of the art
of weaving throughout India.
The earlier phases of the art of weaving may be traced through the
land of the Pharaohs to Northern Africa, Southwestern Asia, and
finally into the dawn of the Aryan civilization. The loom has not been
materially changed, and it may be seen to-day as it was in the time
when the priests of Heliopolis decorated the shrines of their gods with
magnificent carpets and when Delilah wove the hair of Samson with her
web and fastened it with a wooden pin. The ancient weavers attained
high artistic standards in their fabrics. Pliny tells of Babylonian
couch covers that had all the beauty of paintings and sold for great
fortunes to the ancient Asiatic kings.
In all ages fine rugs have been used for religious purposes. Early
writings describe the use of rugs on the holy cars of pilgrimage to
Mecca, at the tomb of the prophet at Medinah and throughout the mosques
of the Orient. The abbot Egelric gave to the church at Croyland, before
the year 892, two large rugs to be laid before the high altar on great
festivals. At later periods rugs were used for similar purposes in the
cathedrals of Southern Europe.
The Oriental people ever have been devoted to symbols and naturally
wove them into their fabrics. Their textiles were made to reproduce
mythological stories in which the fauna and flora of a country figured
prominently. There was the symbolism of form, color and animal life,
of trees and flowers, of faith, and earthly and heavenly existence.
The symbols were made to illustrate the conflict between light and
darkness, the evolution of life, the decay of death and the immortality
that awaits the blessed in paradise.
What Do the Designs in Rugs Mean?
Since many of the figures of ancient rug-weaving are retained in modern
rug designs, the following list of meanings of ancient Oriental symbols
used in rug-weaving may be interesting as a key to the stories that are
said to appear in many rugs of Oriental design:
Asp--intelligence
Bat--duration
Bee--immortality
Beetle--earthly life
Blossom--life
Boat--serene spirit
Butterfly--soil
Crescent--celestial virgin
Crocodile--deity
Dove--love
Eagle--creation
Egg--life
Feather--truth
Goose--child
Lizard--wisdom
Palm tree--immortality
Sail of vessel--breath
Wheel--deity
Lion--power
Ass--humility
Butterfly--beneficence of summer
Jug--knowledge
Ox--patience
Hawk--power
Lotus--the sun
Pine-cone--fire
Zigzag--water
Leopard--fame
Sword--force
Serpent--desire
Bird--spirit
Owl--wisdom
Pig--kindness
Such are the traditions that the makers of modern rugs must live up to.
The art of the centuries has been revealed in the rugs of many nations,
and the rug-maker of to-day must uphold the standards of an art that
undoubtedly takes rank with the great arts. Where a valuable painting
goes into the home of one millionaire, thousands of rugs made from
an original design of unquestioned art and beauty go into homes the
country over to give warmth, comfort and beauty, delighting housewives
and imparting a sense of coziness and elegance.
According to students of the art of weaving, the perfection of this
art was attained about the sixteenth century, after many centuries of
slow growth. Since then weaving as an art has been broadened and given
a wider scope by means of processes invented for a cheaper production
of rugs in all the beauty of their original designs. But there also has
developed a modern school of rug and carpet designing that in itself
represents no mean standard of art. Many of the less expensive grades
of American rugs and carpets, for example, are of designs created by
artists of this modern school of weaving designs whose work is of a
high degree of artistic excellence.
[Illustration: HOW OUR GRANDMOTHERS MADE RAG CARPETS