XII. GENERAL CLASSIFICATION 161
How they receive their names; trade names; geographical
classification of all rugs.
XIII. PERSIAN CLASSIFICATION 169
Persian characteristics; the knot; the weavers; factories
in Persia; Persian rug provinces; description
of each Persian rug, as follows: Herez, Bakhshis,
Gorevan, Serapi, Kara Dagh, Kashan, Souj Bulak,
Tabriz, Bijar (Sarakhs, Lule), Kermanshah, Senna,
Feraghan (Iran), Hamadan, Ispahan (Iran), Joshaghan,
Saraband (Sarawan, Selvile), Saruk, Sultanabad
(Muskabad, Mahal, Savalan), Niris (Laristan),
Shiraz (Mecca), Herat, Khorasan, Meshed, Kirman,
Kurdistan.
XIV. TURKISH CLASSIFICATION 217
The rug-making districts of Turkey in Asia; annual
importation of Turkish rugs; Turkish weavers; the
knot; Turkish characteristics; the Kurds; description
of each Turkish rug, as follows: Kir Shehr, Oushak,
Karaman, Mujur, Konieh, Ladik, Yuruk, Ak Hissar
(Aksar), Anatolian, Bergama, Ghiordes, Kulah,
Makri, Meles (Carian), Smyrna (Aidin, Brousa),
Mosul.
XV. CAUCASIAN CLASSIFICATION 253
The country; the people; Caucasian characteristics;
description of each Caucasian rug, as follows: Daghestan,
Derbend, Kabistan (Kuban), Tchetchen
(Tzitzi, Chichi), Baku, Shemakha (Soumak, Kashmir),
Shirvan, Genghis (Turkman), Karabagh, Kazak.
XVI. TURKOMAN CLASSIFICATION 277
Turkoman territory; Turkoman characteristics; description
of each Turkoman rug, as follows: Khiva
Bokhara (Afghan), Beshir Bokhara, Tekke Bokhara,
Yomud (Yamut), Kasghar, Yarkand, Samarkand
(Malgaran).
XVII. BELUCHISTAN RUGS 295
The country; the people; Beluchistan characteristics;
description and cost of Beluchistan rugs.
XVIII. CHINESE RUGS 301
Slow to grow in public favor; exorbitant prices;
geographical classification; classification according to
designs; Chinese designs and their symbolism; the
materials; the colors.
XIX. GHILEEMS, SILKS, AND FELTS 311
How made; classification, characteristics, uses,
description of each kind.
_Silks_ 316
Classification, colors, cost, wearing qualities.
_Felts_ 318
How made; their use; cost.
XX. CLASSIFICATION ACCORDING TO THEIR INTENDED USE 321
_Prayer Rugs._ How used; the niche; designs; how classified;
prayer niche designs with key.
_Hearth Rugs, Grave Rugs, Dowry or Wedding Rugs,
Mosque Rugs, Bath Rugs, Pillow Cases, Sample Corners,
Saddle Bags, Floor Coverings, Runners, Hangings._
XXI. FAMOUS RUGS 331
Museum collections; private collections; the recent
Metropolitan Museum exhibit; age and how determined;
description and pictures of certain famous
rugs.
GLOSSARY 341
Giving all rug names and terms alphabetically arranged,
with the proper pronunciation and explanation.
BIBLIOGRAPHY 359
Giving an alphabetically arranged list of all rug literature
in the English language.
INDEX 363
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
RUGS
COLORED PLATES
PAGE
Tekke Bokhara rug _Frontispiece_
Meshed prayer rug 22
Khorasan carpet 32
Saruk rug 40
Shiraz rug 52
Anatolian mat 60
Ghiordes prayer rug 66
Ladik prayer rug 74
Daghestan rug 84
Kazak rug 94
Kazak rug 144
Shirvan rug 158
Saruk rug 166
Kulah hearth rug 216
Shirvan rug 250
Beshir Bokhara prayer rug 274
Daghestan prayer rug 292
Chinese rug 300
Chinese rug 306
Chinese cushion rug 318
DOUBLETONES
The Metropolitan animal rug 26
Bergama prayer rug 46
Symbolic Persian silk (Tabriz) rug 48
Symbolic Persian silk rug 98
Semi-Persian rug (European designs) 100
Shiraz prayer rug 104
Hamadan rug 110
Feraghan rug 114
Kermanshah rug (modern) 118
Khiva prayer rug 120
Kir Shehr prayer rug 130
Konieh prayer rug 138
Tekke Bokhara strip 150
Tekke Bokhara saddle half 162
Herez carpet 172
Gorevan carpet 176
Serapi carpet 178
Kashan silk rug 180
Tabriz rug 182
Bijar rug 186
Senna rug 188
Feraghan rug 190
Hamadan rug 192
Ispahan rug 194
Saraband rug 198
Mahal carpet 202
Niris rug 204
Shiraz rug 206
Shiraz rug 208
Kirman prayer rug 210
Kirman rug 212
Kurdistan rug (Mina Khani design) 214
Kir Shehr prayer rug 220
Kir Shehr hearth rug 222
Konieh prayer rug 224
Maden (Mujur) prayer rug 226
Ladik prayer rug 228
Yuruk rug 230
Ak Hissar prayer rug 232
Bergama rug 236
Ghiordes prayer rug 238
Kulah prayer rug 240
Meles rug 242
Meles rug 244
Makri rug 246
Mosul rug 248
Daghestan rug 254
Daghestan prayer rug 256
Kabistan rug 258
Tchetchen or Chichi rug 260
Baku rug 262
Shemakha, Sumak or Cashmere rug 264
Shirvan rug 266
Genghis rug 268
Karabagh rug 270
Kazak rug (Palace design) 272
Khiva Bokhara rug 278
Beshir Bokhara rug 280
Tekke Bokhara rug 282
Tekke Bokhara (Princess Bokhara, Khatchlie) prayer rug 284
Yomud rug 286
Samarkand rug 290
Beluchistan rug 296
Senna Ghileem rug 312
Kurdish Ghileem rug 314
Merve Ghileem rug 316
Kurdish Ghileem rug 316
Saddle cloth, saddle bags and powder bag 324
Kirman saddle bags 326
Bijar sample corner 328
Ardebil Mosque carpet 330
Berlin Dragon and Phœnix rug 332
East Indian hunting rug 334
The Altman prayer rug 336
The Baker hunting rug 338
RUG MAKING, ETC.
A Persian rug merchant 38
Expert weaver and inspector 38
Spinning the wool 72
Persian dye pots 80
A Persian village 80
A Turkish loom 88
The Senna and Ghiordes knots 90
Youthful weavers 90
A Persian loom 92
A wooden comb 92
A Kurdish guard 124
The Emir of Bokhara and his ministers 134
Turkomans at home 134
Characteristic backs of rugs 152
Inspecting rugs at Ispahan 170
Persian villages near Hamadan 170
Turkomans 276
Having a pot of tea at Bokhara 288
A street in Samarkand 288
The rug caravan 376
DESIGNS
Angular hook 101
Barber-pole stripe 102
Bat 103
Beetle 103
Butterfly border design 104
Caucasian border design 105
Chichi border design 105
Chinese fret 106
Chinese cloud band 106
Comb 108
Crab border design 108
Greek cross 109
Fish bone border design 112
Galley border design 112
Georgian border design 112
Ghiordes border design 113
Herati border design 114
Herati field design 114
Knot of destiny 116
Kulah border design 116
Lamp 117
Lattice field 117
Link 118
Lotus 118
Lotus border design 119
Greek meander 119
Pole medallion 120
Mir or Saraband border design 120
Octagon 122
Palace or sunburst 122
Pear 123
Pear border design 124
Reciprocal saw-teeth 126
Reciprocal trefoil 126
Lily or Rhodian field design 126
Lily or Rhodian border design 126
Ribbon border design 127
Rooster 127
Rosette 128
S forms 129
Scorpion border design 129
Shirvan border design 130
Shou 131
Solomon's seal 131
Star 133
Swastika 134
T forms 134
Tae-kieh 135
Tarantula 135
Tekke border designs 135
Tekke field designs 135
Tomoye 136
Tortoise border designs 136
Tree designs 137
Wine-glass border designs 138
Winged disc 139
Y forms 139
Various forms of prayer-niche in rugs 322
NAMELESS DESIGNS
Persian border designs 140
Turkish border designs 141
Caucasian border designs 142
Turkoman border designs 143
Chinese border designs 143
Chinese field design 143
Kurdish field designs 143
Caucasian field design 143
Turkish field designs 143
Persian field designs 143
CHART
Showing the distinguishing features of the different rugs 156
MAP
The Orient At end of volume
INTRODUCTION
Just when the art of weaving originated is an uncertainty, but there
seems to be a consensus of opinion among archæologists in general that
it was in existence earlier than the 24th century before Christ. The
first people which we have been able with certainty to associate with
this art were the ancient Egyptians. Monuments of ancient Egypt and of
Mesopotamia bear witness that the products of the hand loom date a
considerable time prior to 2400 B.C., and on the tombs of Beni-Hassan
are depicted women weaving rugs on looms very much like those of the
Orient at the present time. From ancient literature we learn that the
palaces of the Pharaohs were ornamented with rugs; that the tomb of
Cyrus, founder of the ancient Persian monarchy, was covered with a
Babylonian carpet and that Cleopatra was carried into the presence of
Cæsar wrapped in a rug of the finest texture. Ovid vividly described the
weaver's loom. In Homer's Iliad we find these words: "Thus as he spoke
he led them in and placed on couches spread with purple carpets o'er."
The woman in the Proverbs of Solomon said, "I have woven my bed with
cords, I have covered it with painted tapestry from Egypt." Job said:
"My days are swifter than the weaver's shuttle and are spent without
hope." Other places in the Bible where reference is made to the art of
weaving are, Ex. 33, 35, Sam. 17, 7, and Isa. 38, 12. Besides Biblical
writers, Plautus, Scipio, Horace, Pliny and Josephus all speak of rugs.
The Egyptian carpets were not made of the same material and weave as are
the so-called Oriental rugs of to-day. The pile surface was not made by
tying small tufts of wool upon the warp thread. The Chinese seem to have
been the first to have made rugs in this way. Persia acquired the art
from Babylon many centuries before Christ, since which time she has held
the foremost place as a rug weaving nation.
There is no more fascinating study than that of Oriental rugs and there
are few hobbies that claim so absorbing a devotion. To the connoisseur
it proves a veritable enchantment: to the busy man a mental salvation.
He reads from his rugs the life history of both a bygone and a living
people. A fine rug ranks second to no other creation as a work of art
and although many of them are made by semi-barbaric people, they possess
rare artistic beauty of design and execution to which the master hand of
Time puts the finishing touches. Each masterpiece has its
individuality, no two being alike, although each may be true in general
to the family patterns, and therein consists their enchantment. The
longer you study them the more they fascinate. Is it strange then that
this wonderful reproduction of colors appeals to connoisseurs and art
lovers of every country?
Were some of the antique or even the modern pieces endowed with the gift
of speech what wonderfully interesting stories they could tell and yet
to the connoisseur the history, so to speak, of many of these gems of
the Eastern loom is plainly legible in their weave, designs and colors.
The family or tribal legends worked out in the patterns, the religious
or ethical meaning of the blended colors, the death of a weaver before
the completion of his work, which is afterwards taken up by another, the
toil and privation of which every rug is witness, are all matters of
interest only to the student.
Americans have been far behind Europeans in recognizing the artistic
worth and the many other advantages of the Oriental rug over any other
kind. Twenty-five years ago few American homes possessed even one. Since
then a marked change in public taste has taken place. All classes have
become interested and, according to their resources, have purchased them
in a manner characteristic of the American people, so that now some of
the choicest gems in existence have found a home in the United States.
To what extent this is true may be shown by the custom house statistics,
which prove that, even under a tariff of nearly 50 per cent., the annual
importation exceeds over five million dollars and New York City with the
possible exception of London has become the largest rug market of the
world. This importation will continue on even a larger scale until the
Orient is robbed of all its fabrics and the Persian rug will have become
a thing of the past.
Already the western demand has been so great that the dyes, materials
and quality of workmanship have greatly deteriorated and the Orientals
are even importing machine made rugs from Europe for their own use. It
therefore behooves us to cherish the Oriental rugs now in our
possession.
Both Europe and the United States are manufacturing artistic carpets of
a high degree of excellence, but they never have and never will be able
to produce any that will compare with those made in the East. They may
copy the designs and match the shades, to a certain extent, but they
lack the inspiration and the knack of blending, both of which are
combined in the Oriental product.
Only in a land where time is of little value and is not considered as an
equivalent to money, can such artistic perfection be brought about.