PERSIAN INDUSTRIES
Carpet-making--How to tell a good carpet--How
to make a carpet--The cry of the children--Shawl
manufactures--Calico-printing--Brass-work--Agricultural
industries--Water disputes--Kanats--Poppy crops--Wheat and
corn--Tobacco-growing.
Saying in Persia--"One plum gets colour by looking at another."
"Do ye hear the children weeping, O my brothers,
Ere the sorrow comes with years;
They are leaning their young heads against their mothers,
And that cannot stop their tears;
... the child's sob in the silence curses deeper
Than the strong man in his wrath."
E. B. Browning.
The subject of the industries of Persia is such an extensive one that
I cannot even attempt to discuss it here at any great length. I only
wish to describe a few of the manufactures and industries which came
under our notice while in Persia.
By far the most interesting of them all, to my mind, are the carpet
manufactories to be found in many parts. Very few Europeans live for
any length of time in Persia or other carpet-manufacturing countries
without being affected by the carpet craze. They may try to fight
against it, but they are almost sure to succumb, sooner or later!
When choosing a carpet the first thing to do is to make sure that
the colours are fast. This is done by moistening a handkerchief or
small piece of white cloth and rubbing the carpet. If the slightest
tinge of colour comes off, the carpet is not a good one. So much
depends upon the nature and durability of dyes used. In olden days,
the only dyes used were indigo, madder, and vine leaves. From these
three ingredients they were able to mix and make most delicate and
artistic shades, all of which were "fast" colours. Now, however, the
aniline dyes are so commonly used that it is difficult to find a carpet
in which all the colours are permanent. Europeans are often deceived
when buying carpets, but natives seldom! When the latter invests in
a carpet he expects it to last the whole of his lifetime, and not
only of his life, but also of that of his children, grandchildren,
and great-grandchildren, and perchance be more valuable at the end
of that period than the day he purchased it. As a rule he realises
his expectations. When a native buys a new carpet the first thing he
does with it is to put it down in the bazaars for all the traffic to
pass over it. The more muddy and filthy the shoes of the passers-by,
the greater will be the beauty of the carpet afterwards, provided the
colours are fast. This statement may perhaps refer more especially to
Syria and Turkish Arabia, but I believe it is also true of Persia. I
have, myself, often seen carpets laid down in this way in the bazaars
of Damascus, Beyrout, Baghdad, and Mosul. I could never quite make
up my mind to allow our carpets to be subjected to this treatment,
though my husband always assured me it was the only way for the
carpets to acquire that beautiful silky gloss, so dear to the heart
of the carpet-lover. As a matter of fact that gloss is maintained
by the native custom of leaving the shoes at the door. The constant
walking upon the carpet with bare or stockinged feet tends to bring
about this desirable finish: whilst, on the other hand, our barbarous
custom of wearing dirty shoes in a room is not so good for the carpet,
nor are tables and chairs great carpet-improvers. Before the time of
exporting carpets from Persia in any great number only good carpets
were made, but now the demand is so great that to keep up the supply
a good deal of shoddy work is manufactured and sent out of the country.
To be a good judge of a carpet you need to be quite an expert. Many
things have to be taken into consideration. First the dyes, as we
have already seen; then the number of stitches to the inch must be
counted, and it is said that a good carpet contains about 10,000
stitches to the square foot, while some of the better ones have
as many as 40,000. Another point to notice is to see whether both
ends are the same width. This is done by doubling the carpet: if
the ends do not coincide it is not a well-made carpet. Then, again,
it should lie perfectly flat on the floor, otherwise it will crease
in a very short time, and be worthless. My husband had a beautiful
Kerman carpet given to him once: it was valued at L20, and, but for
the fact that it does not lie flat on the floor, would be worth a
good deal more. As it is, we have to keep it hanging on the wall,
where it cannot get "rucked" or creased.
Prices vary, of course, according to the size and make of the
carpets. Very fair ones, the size of an ordinary hearthrug, can be
had from L2, 10s. to L8 or L10. Silk ones cost a great deal more,
but are worth the money. A small silk rug can be bought for L50,
but they can be obtained any price up to L500 or L1000. A mixture
of wool and silk is now made to suit the European market, but is not
so durable as the pure silk ones. It is generally acknowledged that
the Kurdistan carpets are the best: they are the most expensive,
being about L3 the square yard. The chief attraction of these lies
in the fact that they are alike on both sides, and are very smooth
and fine. Next to these come those made at Kerman, the design being
quite different to those of Kurdistan. In the Kerman carpets it is
not at all uncommon to find figures of men and animals, sometimes
almost life size. Whilst in Kerman we visited one or two of the carpet
manufactories, and were very much interested in watching the process.
All carpets are, of course, made without machinery of any kind. The
warp is stretched on a loom, which is merely a frame. The woof
consists of short threads woven and knotted by hand without the
aid of a shuttle. When a row is finished it is pressed tightly to
the rest of the web by means of a comb inserted into the warp. The
"pile" is regulated by the amount clipped off. For a velvet pile the
woof is clipped very close, till a perfectly smooth, even surface is
obtained. The weaver does not see the pattern as he works, as he sits
with the reverse side of the web towards him. The looms are generally
kept in an underground vaulted room, often with water running through
the centre. At each loom three or four workers sit, according to the
size of the carpet. Sometimes the workers consist of one man and two
children, and occasionally the owner uses boys and girls only for
the weaving, one man acting as overseer to the children.
I sat on the high stool by the side of a tiny girl whose fingers
were working away so fast I could hardly follow her movements. The
overseer was walking up and down the room, calling out instructions
to the workers. To me it sounded a horrible, incoherent jumble,
but the children seemed to understand it perfectly. The overseer
held in his hand a paper, from which he was apparently reading out
instructions. Not having a very thorough knowledge of the Persian
language, it was impossible to follow, but as far as I could make
out it was something as follows: To No. 1. Three blue threads, one
white, two green; No. 2. Four yellow, one white; and so on, each child
repeating after the "master" the instructions given. As it was all said
in a high-pitched monotone, the result was confusing and deafening,
but there the little weavers sit, day in, day out, week after week, in
this damp, gloomy cellar, kept hard at it by the unrelenting overseer.
The children are taken on as "weavers" when very young, some even
starting when five or six years old. Their hours of work are from
sunrise to sunset in the summer, and until two or three hours after
sunset in the winter, and they are paid at the enormous rate of about
2d. a day, sometimes starting with even less, whilst learning the work.
The consequence of this abominable sweating system is that to-day there
are hundreds of little children in Kerman, from eight to nine years
of age, confirmed cripples from rheumatism and other diseases. From
sitting so long in one position, while still of tender years, amid
such damp surroundings, their little feet and hands become knotted and
deformed. They can no longer earn their daily bread, so perforce must
help to swell the great multitude of beggars who throng the streets
and bazaars of Kerman.
I once saw a little girl about seven years old sitting by the roadside
just outside our house. On asking her why she was sitting there all
alone, her reply was, "Mother sent me to my work (carpet-weaving),
but my feet hurt me so, I can't walk." She was waiting there whilst
a companion in work and sorrow ran to try and find some one who would
carry her friend to the workroom.
When we think of the sufferings of these hundreds of poor innocent
children, do not our hearts ache with sadness for them? Surely the "Cry
of the Children" of Kerman will go up to God, and He will have mercy.
In the meantime, because people want cheap Persian carpets, these
little martyrs must be willing to sacrifice childhood's happy days,
health, aye, and often life itself, on the altar of cheapness.
Major (now Colonel) Phillott, then acting British Consul in Kerman,
was so horrified at what he saw of the state of these little sufferers,
that he determined to start a loom of his own, employing men only to
do the weaving. This he accordingly did, finding, of course, that
the expense was enormous, as men's wages were so much higher than
the children's, and also that they would not consent to such long
hours. So long as children are to be had for a mere nominal wage,
so long will the weavers use them, caring nothing for their sorrows,
only bent on making money--the god of the Persian.
A soft kind of felt carpet is also made in Persia, specially in
Isphahan and Yezd. These are called Namads. The materials used are
wools of all kinds, chiefly camel's hair. The colour is a light ochre
shade of brown, and there is generally a pattern woven in the centre of
different colours, red predominating. Some of these Namads are an inch
or more in thickness, and are delightfully soft for walking on. They
make a splendid foundation in a room for laying carpets on. There
is yet another kind of rug much used, called the Galeem. These are
much cheaper than carpets, and are suitable for rough use, such as
travelling. They wash well, but do not improve with use as carpets do,
having no pile.
There are still shawl-manufactories to be seen in Kerman, though
they are rapidly on the decrease. The best kind of shawl sells for
fifty tumans (about L10) each, but there are others less expensive,
which resemble the famous Cashmere shawls of India. These "shawls"
are given as coats of honour by the governor or other high official,
and are sought after and valued by all. They are woven in much the
same manner as the carpets, and are made from the under hair of a
special kind of white goat called "koork," which is only found in
the neighbourhood of Kerman.
The silks of Persia are very pretty and durable. They are woven
principally at Yezd, Kashan, and Resht. The latter place is noted, too,
for its patchwork and embroidery. This work consists of tiny pieces
of cloth pieced together into some floral or other design. I had two
or three pieces of this work given me by a Persian gentleman of high
rank. One is a study in red, and the other consists chiefly of black
and green, enlivened here and there by bright patches of other colours.
Another rather interesting industry to be seen in Isphahan is the
calico-printing; this is done by means of blocks, and, as a rule,
one design covers the whole piece. These prints are used very much
as curtains, table-cloths, &c., and have the advantage of being
inexpensive. The natives often use them as shrouds for the dead,
for which purpose special ones are manufactured, bearing suitable
quotations from the Koran.
During the summer in Isphahan the bed of the river may be seen
covered with these prints, laid out to dry in the sun after having
gone through the process of dyeing and "blocking."
Space forbids my mentioning all the many other articles manufactured
in Persia--the brass-work of Isphahan, copper-work of Kashan, silver
of both Isphahan and Shiraz, mosaic also from Shiraz. But enough has
been said to show that the Persians are a very clever and artistic
race of people, and considering the primitiveness of their methods and
implements, the results are astonishingly beautiful and charming. The
agricultural industries of Persia, too, are considerable--the water
supply necessary for these being a fruitful source of quarrelling and
fighting, which sometimes leads even to murder. The labourers whose
duty it is to look after the watering of the crops are armed with long
spades, for the purpose of digging trenches and clearing a way for the
water, &c. In a dispute these spades become very formidable weapons,
and many a broken head have they caused.
Often when riding in the desert we have met a company of these men
returning from their labours, each carrying his murderous-looking
implement on his shoulder, and in the gloaming they resembled an army
of soldiers marching. The water supply is very often conducted into
a town or village from the mountains by means of kanats, or long
underground passages. Pits are dug at a distance of about 25 feet
apart, each one being connected with the other by a subterranean
passage, and so on till the place is reached where the water is
needed. Sometimes these tunnels extend for many miles, and as the
mouth of each pit is surrounded by mounds of earth thrown up, it gives
the appearance of a succession of huge mole-hills running across the
country. Great loss of life is associated with the sinking of these
shafts from the constant falling in of the sides; on this account
very high wages are given to compensate for probable loss of life.
One of the principal crops around Isphahan is that of the poppy. It
is a beautiful sight to see field after field of these lovely white
flowers, stretching away for miles, maybe. How sad to think that such
beauty should lead to misery, wretchedness, and degradation! When the
poppy is ripe, the "head" is scratched at sunset with a kind of comb
in three places; from these gashes the opium oozes out. It is then
collected in the morning before sunrise, dried, and rolled into cakes
ready either for use in the country or for export. It is calculated
that about 8000 cases of opium, each case containing some 200 cakes,
are exported from Persia every year.
Although the growth of opium enriches those directly concerned,
yet it tends to impoverish the country; for the ground which before
was cultivated with wheat and corn is now required for the poppy,
thus making grain much dearer.
There is also a large quantity of tobacco grown in Persia, which is
used for the "kalian" (or water-pipe) and cigarette smoking. The best
kind is grown in the neighbourhood of Shiraz.
Wheat and barley are largely grown, and are always reaped with the
sickle. The land is very fertile, and with very little trouble a good
crop is obtained, provided the water supply is good.
It has been said of Persia that "it is only necessary to tickle the
land and it will laugh into blossom."