CLASSIFICATION OF MODERN RUGS
RUGS contribute to the comfort of the nomad more than
any other fabric. With them he closes the entrance to his tent or covers
the floor and couches on which he sits and sleeps. Thrown over other
objects they form the table, made into saddle bags they take the place
of trunks. The followers of Islam when at prayer kneel on a rug, and in
token of affection spread one over the grave of a friend. To dwellers in
cities, also, rugs contribute largely to the comfort and luxury of the
home. Indeed, without them the splendour of Oriental life would seem
incomplete, since they are the principal furnishings of every house,
where stout woven pieces with long pile are spread as floor coverings,
and lighter ones are hung as portières and tapestries. Yet it is in the
assembly or dining hall that the finest rugs are used, though here the
most valued are exposed only on great occasions.
In the East a rug receives a particular name according to which of these
special purposes it is adapted. The large, almost square piece that is
used to cover the centre of the assembly hall is known as the “Khali;”
and the narrow strips or “runners” that are placed at its sides and ends
are known as the “Kenares.” It is on the Kenares that the servants are
required to walk and the less honoured guests to stand, for they are
rarely of such fine quality as the former. Before the divan, that
generally surrounds three walls and is covered with fine cloth and
velvet, are seats on which are placed carpets called “Sedjadeh.” They
are nearly twice as long as broad, and since they are of moderate size
and excellent quality they are frequently used for many other purposes.
The hearth rug, termed “Odjalik,” can generally be distinguished from
others, as each end of the field is of triangular shape with the apex at
the extremity. However much any of these may be valued, the one that to
every worshipper of Allah has the most sacred association is the
“Namazlik,” or prayer rug, at one end of which is an arch in token of
the mosque. At call for prayer the faithful Moslem spreads his rug with
arch directed towards Mecca, and kneeling with the palms of his hands at
each side of the centre he bows his head till it touches the rug. As the
Mohammedans of Persia are unwilling that a Namazlik be trampled by the
foot of an infidel, few from there can be bought; but the Mohammedans of
other countries are less scrupulous, so that many of the prayer rugs
sold in America have been made solely for trade and have never been used
in worship. They may be beautiful, but special interest attaches to old
pieces of which the well-worn nap shows where the knees of both father
and son for over half a century have often pressed. In addition to these
are other rugs with technical names, but a classification of much
greater importance is that which depends on the country or district
where they are woven.
When the Oriental rugs first appeared in the market of the United
States, they were spoken of as “Turkish,” for the reason that importers
purchased them from Turkish merchants of Constantinople. But when it
became known that they had been taken there by caravans from countries
farther to the east, and that large numbers of them came from Persia,
the name “Persian,” that to the mind of many conveys ideas of splendour,
was at once applied; even to-day all classes of Oriental rugs are often
spoken of as Persian. As objects of ornament or utility, their value is
independent of their place of origin; yet it is known that the wool of
the nap and the dyes used in some districts are superior to those in
others, and that in consequence the beauty of some rugs will improve
with age far more than that of others. It is also known that because in
certain districts the material of warp and weft, as well as the
workmanship, is of a superior quality, the rugs made there will wear
better than others. The knowledge, then, of where a rug is made is
important in determining the quality and value, which otherwise only a
critical examination, that few people are able to make, would show.
[Illustration: PLATE 23. SEHNA RUG]
Furthermore, the knowledge of where a rug is made, suggesting the class
of people who wove it, adds immeasurably to our interest. When, for
instance, we look at an old piece of Kurdish weave with its nomadic
designs and shaggy nap, on which a Moslem savage as an Apache often
rested fully half a century ago, there is called up a picture of the
dark-visaged tribesman, fearless and untamed as were his ancestors
who contested the march of Xenophon over two thousand years ago. We see
him wandering with his flocks over the hills while he watches for a
chance to fall upon an unsuspecting stranger. We picture to ourselves
the hut of brush upon the mountain side where a slender barbaric girl
bends to tie, with wonderful patience, the knots one by one. So if we
would enjoy our Oriental rugs, we should know what people made them, and
whence and how they journeyed, before they reached our fireside.
At the request of a purchaser the vendor is ever ready to classify a
rug, but his statements are not always reliable. This is partly due to
the fact that even the great importing houses are often deceived.
Throughout Asia Minor, Persia, Turkestan, even farther east, great fairs
are regularly held. Here gather the representatives of tribes from far
distant quarters to enjoy for a few days or weeks the gay life and
abandon of the East while bartering the products of their different
crafts. Here come the purchasing agents looking for rugs; and the pieces
that may be brought from afar are bought and shipped by camel and rail
to such great marts as Tabriz, Tiflis, and Constantinople, where the
bales are unpacked and the rugs assorted, classified and labelled,
before they are resold to the importing houses of Europe and America.
Thus both in the buying from the itinerant agent of rugs assembled from
different quarters and in the reassortment at the exporting cities there
is frequent opportunity for errors of classification.
The characteristics of the different groups and classes of rugs are
given in later chapters, but it should not be presumed that these are
infallible guides to the locality where they were made. Often a ruler,
by fostering art, has drawn to his capital artists and artisans from
other districts. Thus designs and quality of workmanship characteristic
of one district would be adopted in another. So, too, the great caravans
that pass along regular routes eastward and westward, and the annual
pilgrimages to Meshed and Mecca, have been most potent influences for
the dissemination of designs. Yet taking into consideration the general
pattern and smaller designs; the material of warp, weft, and pile; the
knot; the dyes; the finish of sides and ends, and the peculiarities of
the weave, it is possible with a reasonable amount of certainty to
determine in what districts almost all Oriental rugs are woven.
It should be borne in mind, however, that the names by which some of the
rugs are known in America are not the same as those by which they are
known in Asia. For instance, the rugs made by some of the tribes of the
Tekke Khanate are known in the Orient as “Tekkes;” but as the great
depot for Turkestan carpets was formerly the city of Bokhara, they are
generally known in this country as “Bokharas.” On the other hand, there
are local distinctions in the eastern countries not known in the
western. The accompanying classification, therefore, is slightly
arbitrary, but should be convenient for reference; since the classes
represent the cities or districts where are woven the several different
kinds, excepting the Chinese, which are divided chronologically. The
names of the groups are not in each instance entirely satisfactory, but
are probably the best that can be chosen. The fourth group, for example,
has frequently been called the “Turkoman;” but as it includes some of
the rugs of Afghanistan, and also those of Beluchistan, which is remote
from Turkestan, that name is not sufficiently comprehensive. The
district where these rugs are made is, strictly speaking, the western
and southwestern part of Central Asia; but the term here employed has
the authority of some German writers of note. So, too, the rugs of
Herat, though it is now a city of Afghanistan, are included with the
Persian group; but it should be remembered that Herat, as well as the
districts of Mosul and Kurdistan, was once part of the old Persian
Empire.
GROUP I. PERSIAN.
(_a_) Khorassan district:
Herat, Khorassan, Meshed.
(_b_) Shiraz district:
Ispahan, Kirman, Yezd, Shiraz, Niris.
(_c_) Feraghan district:
Feraghan, Hamadan, Kara-Geuz, Bibikabad, Iran, Sarouk,
Kashan, Sarabend, Burujird, Sultanabad, Muskabad, Mahal,
Joshaghan, Gulistan, Teheran.
(_d_) Sehna district, or Adelan province:
Sehna, Bijar, Kermanshah, Persian Kurdistan, Karaje.
(_e_) Tabriz district:
Tabriz, Gorevan, Bakshis, Serapi, Herez, Suj-Bulak, Karadagh,
Afshar.
(_f_) Kurdistan district:
Western Kurdistan, Mosul, Gozene.
GROUP II. ASIA MINOR OR TURKISH.
(_a_) West Asia Minor district:
Bergamo, Ghiordes, Kulah, Oushak, Ak-Hissar, Demirdji,
Kutayah, Smyrna, Melez, Isbarta, Rhodian, Broussa,
Hereke.
(_b_) Central Asia Minor district:
Konieh, Ladik, Kir-Shehr, Anatolian, Karaman, Sivas, Mudjar,
Nigde, Tuzla, Kaisariyeh, Zile, Yuruk.
GROUP III. CAUCASIAN.
(_a_) North Caucasian:
Daghestan, Kabistan, Kuba, Derbend, Lesghian, Chichi,
Tcherkess.
(_b_) Trans Caucasian:
Baku, Shirvan, Soumak, Shemakha, Tiflis, Kutais, Kazak,
Karabagh, Shusha, Gengha.
GROUP IV. CENTRAL ASIATIC.
(_a_) West Turkoman sub-group, Western influence:
Royal Bokhara, Princess Bokhara, Tekke, Yomud, Khiva, Afghan,
Beshir.
(_b_) East Turkoman sub-group, Eastern influence:
Samarkand, Kashgar, Yarkand.
(_c_) Beluchistan.
GROUP V. INDIAN.
(_a_) Northern India:
Srinagar, Amritsar, Lahore, Multan, Agra, Allahabad,
Mirzapur, Zabalpur, Patna, Jaipur.
(_b_) Southern India:
Madras, Mysore, Bangalore, Warangal, Malabar, Hyderabad,
Marsulipatam.
GROUP VI. CHINESE.[16]
(_a_) XVII Century:
Late Ming 1600-1643 and Early Kang-hi (1662-1700).
(_b_) XVIII Century:
1. Late Kang-hi (1700-1722). 2. Yung-ching (1722-1736).
3. Keen-lung (1736-1795).
(_c_) Early and Middle XIX Century.
(_d_) Late XIX Century or Modern.