Chapter 2

Mrs. Isabella Bird Bishop describes a tribe of people living at Biratori, on the Island of Yezo, Japan, and bearing the name of Ainos, whose women employ their time in weaving mats. Their loom is certainly a most primitive arrangement. A comb-like frame, through which the threads pass, rests on the ankles of the weaver. There is a heavy hook fastened in the ground or floor, and to this the threads at the far end of the web are sewed. A cord fastens the near end to the waist of the weaver, who by spinal rigidity supplies the necessary tension. As the work proceeds, she drags herself along nearer and nearer the hook. This is slow work, only about a foot being accomplished in a day; as in other countries, however, the women enjoy the neighborly chats that their work allows; and often two or more will bring to the house of a neighbor their simple apparatus, and, hanging the hooks to the roof or to a tree, will weave all day.

The power looms of modern civilization are chiefly to be found in the United States and Great Britain, Philadelphia being the principal American centre, and Kidderminster, Wilton, Worcester, Rochdale, Halifax, Dewsbury, and Durham, the English centres. Brussels and Scotland contain a number of such looms. In all Western countries schools of art furnish most of the designs, and have done much to improve taste. This can also be said of good colorists in their branch of this industry.

THE WEAVERS

Rug-weaving in the Orient is an industry that, until recent years, has been carried on almost exclusively by women and girls. From childhood to womanhood, and on to old age, these weavers are at work. Girls of six years of age help their mothers, until they become experienced by long practice. Even ladies of rank and wealth weave rugs of fine quality for their own homes. In some districts, besides weaving for the market, girls weave one or two rugs for their dowry; this purpose furnishes them with enough excitement to keep them interested in their work and ambitious to excel. Now that there is a greater demand for rugs, and not enough women to supply the demand, men and boys have come into the business, but generally only in places where there are large factories, and especially in the cities. This is noticeably the case in India, where boys from nine to fifteen years of age do much of the weaving.

There are two classes of weavers, the sedentary and the nomadic. The former weave in their houses during the Winter, and in their courtyards during the Summer. The nomads spend the Winter in mud villages, and in the Summer go to the mountains with their flocks and live in tents made of goat's hair. The manner of life of the sedentary weaver works havoc with her constitution even in her youth; and consequently one is not surprised at her frail appearance. In Summer she is oppressed with heat as she sits before the frame, and in Winter she is almost frozen, for she has to work in the open air in order to have sufficient light. Hers is not an easy life. It would be pleasant to believe that in her toil, which she carries on with wondrous patience and in the humblest surroundings, the conscientious weaver finds the same inward satisfaction that comes to the true artist elsewhere.

The duties of the male portion of the family are to tend the flocks, shear the sheep, separate the various qualities of the wool into bundles, dye it, and make the framework for the rug. With the extension of the industry, a class of workers has arisen whose sole task is to manipulate and dye the wool for use. The reason why men do not usually weave is that the occupation, besides not being a paying one, requires an amount of patience not within the power of men accustomed to work out of doors. Nor is it a remunerative occupation. The reader, who is perhaps also a prospective rug-buyer, may be interested in the following calculation of the amount of labor bestowed upon a given piece of the best type, the cost of the materials, and its value when completed. A square foot of the best Persian rug is worth about ten dollars, and it takes a single weaver twenty-three days to complete this portion. This allows the weaver about forty-four cents per day for her wool and her labor; but as three-fourths of this amount goes to pay for the wool, only eleven cents per day is left for her labor. The wages of the producer of the inferior article are somewhat better. A square foot of an inferior rug is sold for about sixty cents, and the time required for weaving it is but two days, thus allowing the weaver thirty cents per day for her wool and labor. She uses inferior wool, washes but little of it, and pays only a nominal sum for a cheap dye. The framework of her loom costs comparatively little, as the rug it produces is from twenty to thirty times the size of the superior rug. Thus it appears that, in the long run, the inferior weaver is better paid than the one who fatigues her brain with her efforts to produce a rug of the best quality. On the other hand, the weaver of the superior fabric has advantages which the other has not. As a general rule, she weaves to order, and is paid for her work in advance. This prepayment is of great importance, considering the poverty of the weaver. The situation of the weaver of the inferior article differs in that she has to buy her wool, dye it, finish her rug, and then watch the market for buyers.

The weavers live on the simplest fare; bread, cheese, and a raw onion make an average meal. In some districts the weavers have to work in underground huts, for the air at the surface is so dry that the threads would lose all their elasticity out of doors. In these underground places the weavers produce enough moisture by keeping at hand utensils full of water.

Although the business is conducted with the manufacturer on a strictly commercial basis, it is very difficult to induce the weavers to keep their appointments and finish a rug at the time it is promised. In India, for example, the weavers are very superstitious; and if a boy weaver be taken ill, the entire force on that loom will stop until he recover. If he die, the entire force of native weavers may be changed. This of course causes vexatious delay, not only of days, but often of weeks and months.

THE MATERIALS

The materials used in the manufacture of rugs cover a wide range, and are indigenous to the place where the weavers are located. Sheep's wool, camel's hair, mohair from the Angora goat, hair from the yak and from the Thibetan goat, silk, cotton, linen, hemp, flax, and jute are all used. In the Spring the raw wool is generally taken to the nearest market, where it is cleaned, washed, and spun. The cleansing process is very necessary, as it affects in an important degree the quality of the material. The wool is usually washed in running water by the men, and then sorted and cleansed a second time.

Persia, Turkey, and India all produce wool, the two former countries in larger quantities than India, but some of the very finest wool comes from that part of India known as Kashmir. The celebrated Turfani wool comes from Chinese Thibet. It is very choice, and beautiful fabrics are woven from it.

The pashim is the soft downy wool growing next the body of the goat. In color it is white, dark gray, or drab; and of this many of the finest India rugs are woven. Large-tailed sheep are common in Kabul, Peshawar, and other districts; these furnish wool from which many a rug is woven. It is possible that the very sheep watched over by the shepherds of Judea the night of our Saviour's birth were reared partly for their wool, with a view to rug-weaving.

The camel is useful not only as a beast of burden; its hair is woven into fabrics both fine and durable, chief of which are rugs, beautiful, much desired, and costly; the younger the animal the more is its hair esteemed. The natural colors harmonize readily with the furnishings in most rooms, and the soft texture of the best ones is attractive.

The process of carding is accomplished by means of a block with vertical pins in even rows close together. The wool is drawn through these many times, and then spun into yarn.

THE QUALITY

The fineness of a rug depends largely upon the quality of the wool and the number of knots to the square foot. In one yard of the best made Persian rugs there are between twenty thousand and thirty thousand stitches made by hand. The wool must be of fine quality, but not too soft. It should be closely woven, and evenly cropped. A great deal depends upon the manipulation of the wool in the rough, and careful attention should be given to this particular.

The quality of the wool is affected by whatever circumstances affect the well-being of the sheep, and in a marked degree by climate. Hence there is a decided difference in the wools of various districts and sections of a country. It is a well-known fact that the wool produced in cold countries is soft and fine, while that of the warmer climates is, on the other hand, harder, firmer, and more lasting. Hard wool is easier for the weaver to handle, and the tufts can be cropped with more facility. It is partly owing to these facts that the rugs of the cold districts are most in demand.

The fact that some rugs are so much better than others is a natural result of the superior skill of the makers. Weavers are like other workers, some doing perfect work, some indifferent, and others very poor. But the quality of the rugs offered for sale in this country depends also upon the knowledge and the conscience of the wholesale buyer at the place of manufacture. When the buyer for an importing establishment brings over quantities of rugs not all of which are artistic, the question may be asked: "Why do you not always select rugs that are beautiful?" He may reply that it is his business to get those that will sell, and that as there is a great variety of taste among his customers he must try to please every one; or he may say that he buys a thousand rugs at a time, and does not see them individually. It is in the retail shop that the final purchaser may pick and choose.

The most famous rugs of the Orient have been selected with great care by men who have special knowledge of the subject, and they are owned by museums and connoisseurs. Some have been brought to this country by distinguished soldiers and statesmen, to whom they have been presented by potentates as tokens of respect. Others have been obtained through the fortunes of war.

THE KNOTTING

Except in the Soumak and the Khilim, which have the flat stitch, there are only two kinds of knotting used in Oriental rugs. These knots are called the Persian or Sinna, and the Turkish or Ghiordes.

In the Persian manner of knotting there are more knots to the square inch than in the Turkish, and the result is a finer surface. Often the Persian knotting is so fine that the surface of the fabric is like velvet. The Persian knot is tied in such a manner that one end of the pile yarn extends from every spacing that separates the warp threads. It is made in such a way that a noose is formed, which tightens as the yarn is pulled. Occasionally it is turned in the opposite direction, and executed from left to right. In this case two threads of yarn are employed, this of course making the pile twice as thick as in the other.

The Turkish or Ghiordes knot has the yarn twisted about the warp threads in such a manner that the two raised ends of the pile alternate with every two threads of the warp.

Experts have spent much time and invested much capital in the endeavor to make the rug industry as perfect as possible. Judging from the examples of India rugs I have seen,--some with a seven-by-six knot, others with a sixteen-by-sixteen knot,--I am convinced that the beauty, durability, and artistic effects produced by the efforts of the manufacturers will be appreciated more and more. From the fact that the best-known firms in the rug business in New York, Chicago, and other cities in the United States, and several leading firms in England, are sponsors for the present rug industry in India, it may naturally be inferred that it is prosecuted with skill and care.

The different stitches made are as follows: seven by eight, or fifty-six hand-tied knots to the square inch; eight by eight, or sixty-four knots to the square inch; ten by ten, or one hundred knots to the square inch; twelve by twelve, or one hundred and forty-four knots to the square inch; and sixteen by sixteen, or two hundred and fifty-six knots to the square inch. These finer stitches are made in the very best examples produced by the finest Persian weavers. A specimen recently shown me was an exact reproduction of the rug owned by Prince Alexis Lobanow-Rostowsky, in which the stitch was the sixteen by sixteen. It was made in one of the factories in Kashmir.

The famous rug of Ardebil in the South Kensington Museum has three hundred and eighty hand-tied knots to the square inch, or thirty-three million in the whole fabric.

DESIGNS

The designs of Eastern rugs are often the spontaneous outcome of the fancy of the weaver. Sometimes they are handed down from one generation to another; in some cases young girls are taught the design by an adult, who marks it in the sand; at other times a drawing of the rug is made on paper, the instructor showing her pupils the arrangement of every thread and the color to be used. When all this has been done, the pupil must make the rug without looking at the drawing.

Persian rugs excel those of other countries in artistic design as well as in harmonious coloring. The Persians seem to have a natural intuition in the use and blending of different shades, and in the designs that contain these colors they achieve the happiest results. It is really wonderful what exquisite fabrics these people, born and reared in ignorance and poverty, produce.

The designs in Persian rugs are generally floral; and in some districts, especially Fars, the women weavers invent the designs, varying them every two or three years. The Mohammedan religion does not allow any direct representation of animal forms; consequently rugs woven under its influence take floral, geometric, and vegetable forms. The Shiah sect of Moslems, however, numbering about fifteen millions,--of which eight millions are Persians,--do not regard representations of animals as unlawful. By the industry of this sect, and that of all who disregard the law of the Koran, animal forms are seen on some Persian rugs.

Among the good antique Persian rugs there are about thirty designs, all having different borders. Each design is the peculiar work of a family or tribe, and is produced continuously, from generation to generation without noticeable change, except in compliance with the demand of a buyer, or by a weaver who carries out some special fancy. Many buyers select the color, design, and size, leaving their orders with an importer or a manufacturer.

In the modern Oriental rug the designs are not to be entirely depended upon. They are apt to vary at the will of the weaver; and moreover, Occidental designs are now sent to the Orient to be woven into rugs by the native weavers of the Eastern country. The designs sent to India, to be reproduced by the different European and American firms having factories there, are almost universally strictly Oriental in character, being copies from fine old Persian pieces, or rearrangements of Oriental forms. When the design reaches India, it has to be re-drawn to the exact size of the rug that is to be made. From this is copied what is called a _talim_, which is the only direction the weavers have. This talim, or guide, shows the weavers exactly how many knots of a color are to be tied; and when these different colors are put together, the design is formed. These talims are carefully kept, and as they are records of the designs, can be reproduced at any time.

Large rugs show best in large and bold designs, for small and crowded designs would not be artistic. Small designs are, however, preferable on small rugs; a bold design on a small rug is inappropriate. The finer the border of a rug of whatever size, the more beautiful and costly the rug.

An average size for a large rug is six yards by four, and for this a bold vigorous design would be suitable.

Some designs found in rugs are here reproduced.

I. Five Forms of the Palmette.

_a._ With sharply marked outlines this palmette is a characteristic of the Djushaghan rugs.

_b._ This is a geometrical form of the palmette, frequently met with in modern Caucasian rugs.

_c._ This form of the palmette has an oblong central nucleus, surrounded by wreaths of leaves. To the right and left lancet-shaped leaves nearly encircle the whole. This design is most frequently seen in old Persian rugs.

_d._ In some old Persian rugs this form of the palmette with its diagonal projections is seen. It tends toward the geometrical, although its centre contains a small floral spray.

_e._ This palmette, with its two flanking lancet-shaped leaves, is frequently seen in modern Feraghan and Kurdistan rugs.

II. The Herati Border, or some form of it, may often be seen in Herat, Feraghan, Khorassan, Kurdistan, and Sinna rugs.

III. The central design is formed by eight valvular or four heart-shaped leaves. This form is often seen in Kirmanshah and Shiraz, and sometimes in Caucasian rugs.

IV. The Running Hook design found in the Daghestan, Shirvan, and Soumak rugs.

V. Pomegranate. The fruit is often depicted on ancient Assyrian and Egyptian sculptures. It had a religious significance in connection with several Oriental cults and was early introduced into rug designs.

VI. A palm leaf with regular contour, its centre containing a small floral design. This form of design is found in more or less detail in the rugs of Persia and India.

VII. A palm leaf formed by a floral branch and without distinct outline.

VIII. Cloud bands, seen in Chinese and old Ghiordes rugs.

IX. A lozenge surrounded by the Hook design. This is found in rugs made by nomadic tribes of Asia.

X. A continued wave-like design with rosettes attached. At intervals a delicate tendril effect is interposed on either side of the wave-line.

XI. A continued wave-like design interrupted by a two-cleft figure.

XII. A rosette, the tips of its leaves bending backward. The rosette is often met with in old Khorassan, Herat, Feraghan, and other Persian rugs.

XIII. Reciprocal trefoil, or spade design. Found as a border design in many of the Caucasian and some Persian rugs, especially the Saraband.

XIV. The central design holds a rosette, to which are joined four blossoms resting in valvular calyxes, the complete design forming a cross.

XV. Four designs characteristic of the Caucasian rug.

XVI. The Fylfot is in the form of a Greek cross with each arm continuing at right angles. It is also known as the Swastika, and is the symbol of good fortune. It has been a favorite design in the rugs of Greece, and of the Orient, while it predominates in the Navajo rugs of the United States.

XVII. The Guli Hinnai is a decorative floral design found at its best in the old rugs of Feraghan. It is copied from the flowers which grow in small clusters on the henna-plant, from which it derives its name.

XVIII. The Lotus is the water lily of Egypt. In various forms it is found in antique rugs of Persia.

XIX. The Medallion, in both floral and geometrical designs, is seen in many rugs of all rug-weaving countries.

There are many more designs which by careful investigation can be found. Among others the Arabesque, Chinese fret, Circle, Comb, various forms of the Cross, Mina Khani, Octagon, the S form, Scroll, Serrated leaves, Shah Abbas, the Star,--six or eight pointed,--the Tarantula, Triangle, the Y form, and the Zigzag.

THE DYES

When doing their best work, Oriental weavers use the softest of permanent dyes. The result obtained is in every case a thing of beauty and utility. The aniline dyes are, of course, not to be compared to the vegetable, although the best of them are not to be utterly condemned. The poorest aniline dye eats into the rug, and the color fades.

Madder ranks high among those plants which yield a permanent dye. It belongs to the genus _Rubia_; the root employed is that of the _Rubia tinctorum_. This is largely cultivated in certain districts of India, but the best comes from near Smyrna, and from other parts of Asiatic Turkey. The plant grows wild throughout a large section of Central Asia and Russia. With both the European and the Indian madders the roots of the plants are the only parts that yield the dye. In the roots three coloring matters are obtained: alizarin and purpurin, which are both red, and xanthin, which is yellow. Cochineal was introduced for dyeing purposes in 1856. It is the product of an insect called _Coccus cacti_, which lives on a species of cactus. Yellow is often produced from Persian berries, turmeric, saffron, and sumac.

Tyrian purple dye was greatly prized by the Phoenicians. As stated above, it was obtained from a shellfish; but the secret was known only to the maritime Canaanites. The art of producing this dye has been lost, although some aver that in recent years it has been re-discovered.