The pile which distinguishes Oriental carpets from all others, is made by tying upon the warp, which has been previously stretched, wools of various colours, in such a way as to make a pattern. This is most dextrously done by the deft fingers of the Orientals, with great precision and skill, and the knots are […]
Antique rugs – the real history how they came
Tents, temples and tombs Among tent-dwelling people the antique rugs have its birth. Tent-dwellers from earliest times have made use of hangings and floor-coverings of great interest and beauty. Tents themselves were far more gorgeous than we are apt to suppose, until study brings to light many commonly unknown facts concerning them, the nations and […]
Shapes and usage
As our study of Oriental rugs is to be entirely from an Occidental standpoint, we shall first group them together without regard to their native uses and purposes. We have found that certain shapes and sizes are generally adhered to by Oriental weavers, and we have accommodated in our modern homes, as best we could, […]
Turgoman rugs
The Turcoman region of rug-producing country lies to the north of Persia and Afghanistan, and west of the Caspian Sea, and, for our convenience in handling the subject, may include some of the Mongolian and all of the Eastern Turkestan district. The principal places for shipping the rugs made by wandering tribes and dwellers in […]
Oriental rug chart system study
The Oriental rug in our Occidental home! How may we study it ? In offering the chart, which, as a system of mnemonics, will serve to outline for us the information we should possess about each individual specimen we examine, there is no claim made to exhaustive knowledge, but rather an intimation that by adopting […]
Sacred oriental mountain rugs
Between the Caucasus district and the region of the Great Rivers lie the three lakes Gokcha, Van, and Urumiah, with Mount Ararat as a somewhat central point : these give a permanence to the physical aspect of the country and to this tract, men have come and gone from far and near all through the […]
Color symbolism for oriental rugs
From materials to the colouring of them! A charming pursuit, and one that has always had about it a mysterious fascination, and in some cases almost a supernatural element! To steal from flower, leaf, and root that which has made it a thing of distinctive beauty ; to match the rainbow tints which of all […]
Design of antique and oriental rugs
We find ourselves face to face with the necessity of more careful, examination of patterns and designs in rugs, as some knowledge of these subjects is absolutely necessary before we are fully equipped to subdivide the five great classes and proceed with our analytical study. Our avowed method is to deal with what we see, […]
World ideas
Certain world-ideas which have given rise to many of the most significant symbolic patterns must be broadly considered before taking up each ornament in turn. The recognition of natural phenomena by each dweller on earth, wherever he may have lived and whenever he may have thought, gave rise to a widespread tendency to depict individual […]
Dyeing of antique rugs
With flowers of thought we have twined the second column of the chart, and now must practically apply our deductions to objects at hand. Rugs might have been made without colour and would have served utilitarian purposes as well, but they would hardly have found their way out of the Orient had not their flower- […]