HAND-MADE CARPETS
THE characteristic feature of a carpet, as distinguished from other
floor coverings, is the combination of a surface composed almost always
of wool with a woven foundation, which may be of various materials.
The main classification of carpets is between those which are made by
hand and those which are made by machine; and of both these classes
there are many sub-divisions.
Hand-made carpets are the oldest type of the fabric, and, coming from
the East, are the historical parents of all modern carpets. This kind of
carpet is made to-day in the United Kingdom, on the Continent, and in
the East in almost exactly the same manner in which it has been made by
the Orientals for several hundred years. The principle is extremely
simple. The warp threads, or chain, are wound on two horizontal beams,
between which they are stretched vertically. The beams are carried by
upright posts on which they can revolve, the space between the posts
determining the width of the rug or carpet. The weavers sit side by side
in front, the carpet as it is woven being gradually wound on to the
lower beam, and the warp correspondingly unwound from the upper beam.
The yarn for the pile is cut up into tufts about 2 in. in length, and is
knotted round two warp threads, tuft by tuft, according to the paper
design, which is attached in front of the weaver. As each row, or part
of a row is finished, two weft threads are put in, one in the shed
formed between the front and back halves of the chain, and a second in
an alternate shed, which is formed by the weaver pulling forward the
back half of the chain temporarily in front of the front half. The
second weft is put in straight, the first one loose, zig-zag, or
vandyked, so as to fill up the back of the carpet, and to avoid the
tendency towards lateral contraction. The weft is beaten down into its
place by a heavy fork or beater. This interlocking of warp and weft with
the tuft forms the weave of the carpet, and has been imitated more or
less in all mechanically woven carpet fabrics.
[Illustration: FIG. 1 TURKISH KNOT]
There are two different kinds of knot employed, the Ghiordes or Turkish,
and the Senne or Persian. In carpets made with the former, the tuft of
yarn is knotted round a pair of warp threads in such a manner that the
two ends of yarn come between the two warp threads round which the tuft
is looped, and consequently two pile ends alternate with every two warp
threads. In Persian carpets the tuft is knotted in such a way that one
end of the tuft obtrudes between each warp thread. This method of
weaving renders possible a closer texture than the Turkish knot; while
carpets of suitable design and finer pitch are often woven with a
running thread looped round the finger of the weaver, and then cut,
instead of by individual tufts. This latter system gives more waste but
quicker weaving. With both Turkish and Persian knots the tuft ends do
not stand up at right angles to the plane of the fabric, but lie over
obliquely towards the starting end of the carpet. This natural slant of
the pile, which results in presenting to the eye and the foot of the
user of the carpet partly the ends and partly the sides of tufts, is a
very characteristic feature of hand-made carpets, and one which cannot
be completely imitated by any class of machine-made fabrics.
Another kind of hand weaving is the tapestry method, wherein the weft
colours, wound upon wooden needles, are threaded round and between the
warp ends, leaving a flat or slightly ribbed surface, not unlike that of
an ingrain carpet. The absence of a tufted pile does not make this a
luxurious carpet; but it enables a fine pitch to be employed, and the
richest and most delicate effects of design and colour to be obtained.
Carpets of this type have long been made at Les Gobelins, Paris,
Aubusson, and Beauvais, in France, and Tournai, in Belgium. The work is
slow and highly skilled, and the product is naturally very expensive.
There is no better kind of carpet than the carpet made by hand; though
this is far from implying that all hand-tufted carpets are superior to
all machine-made ones. But there is no method of combining the pile with
the foundation so good as the knot; and it cannot be completely imitated
by the cleverest power-loom invented. The hand-tufted carpet possesses
an individuality, even in its faults, which no product of a machine can
attain, and which, after all, is an attribute to a work of art. More of
the soul of the worker has passed into it than the clashing metal of a
power loom will permit to filter into its product.
Hand-made carpets have a further advantage in their adaptability to
requirements. A single carpet, for instance, can be made to any
specified shape, size, design, colour, and quality. It is possible to
produce in one piece carpets of oval, circular, or L-shaped form, or to
conform to irregular curves and angles.
Qualities are numerous, but may be said to vary mainly between about 9
and 400 tufts to the square inch. The average European hand-made carpet
will not run to more than from 16 to 30.
As regards materials, the tuft yarn will vary from a heavy woollen for
coarse pitches to a fine worsted for the closer, while silk is
occasionally employed, producing a carpet of greater lustre, but less
resiliency.
The Eastern weavers are fond of using woollen of suitable counts for
both warp and weft, though a cotton warp is quite common. Flax or linen,
however, is more commonly employed by the European maker; and the
combination of strength and softness in this material seem to make it
almost ideal for the purpose.
European hand-tufted carpets may be considered as upon a different
footing from Asiatic. Indeed, the carpet dealer would hardly regard the
two—at any rate in pre-war days, would hardly _have_ regarded them—as
mutually competitive. The main localities for this branch of the
industry are Maffersdorf, in Austria, Holland, Donegal, Carlisle, and
Wilton. But, although in each of these places carpets of characteristic
Eastern design and colouring are produced, their staple trade has always
lain rather along the lines of specialities. They have catered rather
for architects, decorators, individuals, or public bodies, who were
inspired by some particular idea, and who could afford to pay for it,
than for the ordinary consumer. To make standard carpets for stock,
unless it were some crimson Yapraks, would be quite exceptional. The
reason for this, and the relation of European and Asiatic hand-made
carpets will be alluded to later.
At any rate the fact remains, that the European hand-tufted carpet
trade, though it has been responsible for some superb productions in a
variety of styles—and in this connection due credit must be given to
the enemy maker alluded to—yet it never attained a position of
importance adequate to its undoubted merits.
It is quite impossible to deal effectively in a limited space with so
large a subject as that of Oriental carpets and rugs. Books have been
written on the historical and artistic aspects alone. Some brief notes
must suffice. It is interesting to recall that the inhabitants of Persia
and Asia Minor, who were the earliest makers of carpets, were nomads.
They wove their tents, decorated with tribal signs and symbols, and they
wove the curtains or kelims for greater comfort and ornament. Rugs and
carpets followed in natural sequence. The primary object of these was to
cover the raised bank of earth at the end of the tent on which the chief
sat. Other rugs and mats were placed round the tent for the use of the
family or of visitors. Besides these, there were the prayer rugs for
their special purpose, which were carefully stored when not required for
use.
When the dwelling-place developed from a tent to a house, a raised seat
of honour covered by a rug took the place of the bank of earth; and
divans on each side of the room, for which long rugs or runners were
required, accommodated the family and callers.
Weaving was, and still is, largely a family affair, in the East. The
women and girls sit in front of the loom and work under the supervision
of the matriarch. Obviously the degrees of skill employed will vary; and
this leads to some of the irregularities in Eastern carpets, which,
however, are regarded rather as beauties than as blemishes by the
Western buyer.
It is not to be implied, however, that all Oriental carpets are still
the product of family or tribal industry. Western methods have
penetrated even into the “unchanging East”: organisation of the industry
has been set up; and carpet dealers and importers’ syndicates in New
York, London, and Paris have their agents in the East, and even control
their own factories, to which they send their orders. This may be
thought to detract from the romance of the Oriental carpet, but it does
not appear to have affected adversely the progress of the industry or
the merit of its products; and there is no reason why it should, so long
as the Western buyers are men of taste and experience, and do not seek
to impose uncongenial ideas upon the Eastern worker, which might tend to
the destruction of individuality and local feeling.
It is a common fallacy, that the yarns of Oriental carpets are dyed
solely with vegetable dyes, and that those dyes are intrinsically
superior to aniline and alizarine dyes, such as are employed for yarns
for machine-made fabrics. The latter have been used for many years now
by European carpet manufacturers, not because they are cheaper than
vegetable dyes, but because they are easier to use, more accurate for
matching purposes, and faster to light. There are, of course, good and
bad synthetic dyes, but the best are immeasurably superior to dyes made
from plants, barks, and berries. This fact has long been recognised by
those who control the production of Oriental carpets, for the yarns for
which aniline and alizarine dyes are now extensively employed.
The subject of dyeing naturally leads on to that of doctoring or
“faking,” which is commonly adopted with a large proportion of Eastern
carpets. The object is twofold: to soften the original brightness of the
colours, or to give an appearance of age; and to obtain a gloss which
the wool does not naturally possess. This is generally done by the
collectors or agents, and not by the people who weave the carpets. It is
often known by the innocent name of _washing_, and consists in treating
the surface with some chemical such as chlorine water, or glycerine,
followed by ironing with a hot iron. It can hardly be supposed that this
treatment does not detract to some extent from the life of the carpet;
but this consideration appears to be outweighed by that of the more
attractive appearance.
It has been stated that it is not an uncommon practice to expose a
carpet to use in the bazaar or street with the object of enhancing its
commercial value by giving it an artificial appearance of age. It is to
be hoped, however, that this very insanitary method of faking is rare;
but those who wilfully give preference to a carpet because it is dirty
and faded, and apparently old, do not deserve too much sympathy.
There are varieties of Asiatic carpets far too numerous to be mentioned
here. They differ widely in origin, design, colour, and quality, each
town or district having its characteristic pattern and ornament, which
is followed with more or less persistence. The finest carpets, both in
pattern and quality, are the Persian, the worst are some of the Indian,
which are coarse in texture and devoid of artistic merit. In between are
the standard Turkeys, which are in great and steady demand all over
Europe.
Reference has been made to the very different position occupied by
Asiatic and European, or at any rate British hand-tufted carpets.
Practically identical in manufacture, they are in different categories
commercially. The Eastern carpet trade is a large one, healthy, well
organised, and profitable. The British hand-tufted industry is
artificial, and maintains a precarious existence.
It may not be considered quite outside the scope of this chapter to
examine the reason for this position. The question is in reality purely
an economic one. British hand-tufted carpets cannot be manufactured on a
basis of cost that enables them to compete in price with the imported
Eastern carpet. The question of design and colour may be ignored for the
moment; quality for quality, the domestic product cannot meet its
Oriental competitor on equal terms in the market, despite the fact that
it comes straight from the manufacturer, while the other has probably
had to bear collectors’ and wholesale dealers’ profits.
The reason lies, of course, in the different standard of living. The
cost of the raw materials is not substantially different in Great
Britain and in Asia Minor. But the British carpet has got to pay for
steam-heating, gas and water, and electric light, and a more liberal
standard of diet, than suffices the frugal Armenian or Kurd. The women
and girls who weave Eastern carpets are not protected by factory
inspectors and welfare superintendents.
And the difference in cost of production due to these very different
conditions is very considerable; while in view of the increase of wages
during the war, and the steadily advancing standard of comfort among
British artisans, it seems likely to be even more in the future.
Under these circumstances, it is justifiable to ask whether it is fair
and wise to allow this competition to continue. During the war the
import of Oriental carpets has been prohibited, and it cannot be claimed
that the results have been disastrous. The stock of Oriental carpets
existing in the country when the prohibition was initiated has changed
hands at steadily increasing prices. In other words, the people who
wanted the carpets keenly enough have got them, and have had to pay
handsomely for them. Why should not this prohibition, or alternatively a
high import duty, be maintained? No one would suffer except the Turk,
about whose financial welfare we need not perturb ourselves, and
possibly the semi-European middleman and agent. The _bona fide_ dealer
in Oriental carpets, located in Great Britain, would be able to convert
his capital and his technical knowledge towards the building up of a big
British hand-tufted industry; and in a few years we should see in
private houses, hotels, and clubs, instead of the Asiatic product, for
which our money has been sent out of the country, real British hand-made
carpets, which would have been manufactured under ideal conditions, and
for good wages. And there is no reason in the world why such carpets
should not equal or surpass in quality and artistic merit the finest
productions of the East.