PART II

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.