A quarter of a century ago many homes had rugs woven by the housewives
with their spinning-wheels, or no floor coverings, except crude
cloths made of rags. These homes, of course, were those of families
in moderate circumstances, which to-day can have their attractive and
comfort-giving rugs of the less expensive grades of tapestry carpet,
Axminster or of the various other grades of carpet manufactured at a
range of prices within the financial reach of people of modest means.
It is only a step from the ancient weaving of rugs, with all the color,
glamor and romance that attached to rug-weaving in the ancient days, to
the manufacture of rugs in America to-day. There is no romance attached
to the making of rugs and carpets in America, except the romance of
industrial achievement; but the American rug-maker is as careful of the
quality and beauty of his product as was the ancient weaver, and the
best standards of ancient weaving have been realized in the manufacture
of rugs and carpets in America to-day.
Why Did the Ancients Make Rugs?
It is only a rug, several yards of woven threads, a design that few
can understand--a simple thing, to be sure; yet what a lot of history
and memories and traditions it carries! Merely a strip of carpet, with
strange figures, beautiful though meaningless, a product of modern
invention like many another, some may think. But the story of a rug may
go back through many centuries to ancient times of opulent splendor,
when wars were waged and kingdoms created and shattered for the beauty
of a woman; when gorgeous palaces were raised and great spectacles of
art were shown to inspire the world for thousands of years.
Only a rug, but a relic of a rich and glowing past! For in those
distant days of war and pageantry, an era more classic than our own,
history and romance were woven into the rug. The patterns and designs
told great stories of wars and loves that swept nations away and
created great new empires and related vivid accounts of intrigue and
tragedy that determined history and inspired the immortal works of
poets and dramatists. The rug in the ancient times was also used for
religious symbolism, and sacred doctrines were inscribed in the woven
figures.
Of all the arts none has been as close to the lives and history of the
peoples of the earth as the art of weaving. Songs and stories of these
peoples and their national achievements have been immortalized through
their woven fabrics. Generations have learned of the great deeds of
their forefathers through the historical accounts woven into rugs. And
in the days of the early Greeks, Hebrews and Egyptians and on through
the succeeding centuries until the middle ages the rug was used as a
symbolical part of state, religious and romantic ceremonies.
What Makes Some Rugs so Valuable?
The reason many rugs are valued at so high a price in money is largely
due to the skill of the artist or designer, just as a painting becomes
valuable because the artist who painted it has succeeded in producing a
remarkable result. The question of rarity also enters largely into the
value of rugs. The great artist weavers of the past who worked for love
of their art rather than for the money they might secure by disposing
of their masterpieces, are dead, and they have had no successors.
Then, also, the rug becomes valuable by reason of the amount of time
and labor put into it. Many valuable rugs take years to produce,
because the artist must do all his work by hand practically and tie his
different colored yarns together just so, or the pattern will not come
right. These knots may occur every inch or sometimes even less than an
inch, and there will be thousands of hand knots in one rug.
[Illustration: MAKING TURKISH RUGS.]
[Illustration: THE OLDER THEY ARE THE MORE HIGHLY PRIZED
The above is a typical Chinese rug, containing symbolical emblems.
This is an antique and is of a class that sells sometimes as high as
$5,000, its rarity of design, beauty in colors, and scarcity enhances
its value.]
[Illustration: This is an American machine-made interpretation of a
Chinese rug. The ground is a rich gold coloring, the figures being in
ecru, dark blue, terra cotta and light blue. It is a beautiful rug, and
one of the finest examples of loom-tufted goods ever produced.]
[Illustration: WHERE THE BEST PERSIAN RUGS ARE MADE
This antique Persian was made in the district of Kurdistan, in Western
Persia. The general effect is handsome, although the design is crude.
The ground is of a deep rich red, and top colors of dark blue and ecru.
The most valuable Persian rugs come from Kurdistan, Khurasan, Peraghan
and Karman. The most highly prized come from Kurdistan. The pattern
does not show a uniform ground of flowers or other objects, but
looks more like a field of wild flowers in the spring, which is very
appropriate as a design for anything that is to be walked upon. It
is astonishing what wonderful artistic ability is displayed by some
of the members of these wild nomadic Persian people. The carpets and
rugs are woven on a simple frame on which the warp is stretched. The
woof, or cross threads, consist of short threads woven into the warp
with the fingers and without the use of a shuttle. Then a sort of comb
is pressed against the loose row of cross threads to tighten it. The
weaver sits with the back of the rug towards him, so that he depends
entirely on his memory to produce a perfect pattern.]
[Illustration: This rug is an American copy of a typical Kurdistan. It
is marvellous how well the effect in colors and design are reproduced
in this domestic rug.]
[Illustration: HOW WE IMITATE POPULAR DESIGNS BY MACHINERY
This Tabriz reproduction has all the characteristics of the genuine rug
in both design and color. The ground is of a soft rose with figures
olives, ivory and deep blue.]
[Illustration: This is a copy of an old piece of a rug in the
Kensington Museum, London, which is 500 to 600 years old. The design is
very interesting on account of the symbolical figures which cover the
ground.]
[Illustration: WOOL-PICKING MACHINE.]