R U G S T H E I R N 'AT I L AN D

BY

E L I Z A D U N N

WITH N UMERO US COLOR PLATES AND OTH ER ILLUSTRATIONS

NEW YO RK DO DD MEAD AND CO ANY , MP 1 9 1 6

I N T R O D U C T I O N

RE SIDE N CE of m any years in Turke of ti m e y, part the in the

ff o or far interior, o ered ample pp tunity to continue the study of Oriental u Am erica r gs begun in . It is my purpose in this book to tell

W I th ere hat learned about rug weaving,

d ein rug y g , and rug collecting . It is nec

essaril of y a narrative personal experience, and the indulgence of the reader is craved for the use of the personal pronoun . I have endeavored to avoid generalities, and to give the history and characteristic

of designs of each variety rug , with illus trations of specimen pieces under separate headings . The object in thus deviating from the plan of any other work on rugs is to enable vi INTRODUCTION the reader who wishes to identify any par ticular rug to find everything that pertains to that variety in one place and not scat ter ed through several chapters .

This arrangement, it is hoped, will meet

- col a long felt need, as expressed to me by l of ectors and students rugs .

E LIZ A DUN N C O N T E N T S

INTRODUCTION Chapter Tm : I . STOR Y or THE RUG AND H ow IT I s MADE

T -I E W I Ts I oox. AND PREPARATION

' DYEING DOCTOR E D Rus s DESIGN BUY ING RUGS IN TH E ORIENT CARPE T RUGs

CARPE Ts

AY PR ER, BURIAL, AND “ E SACRE D CARPET TURKISH RUGS PERSIAN RUGs CAUCASIAN Rus s TURKOMAN Ruc s

SADDLE - BAGS AND PILLows KE LIMS

FINAL WORD

CO LO UR PLATE S

A NTIQUE PERGAMOS RUG ANTIQUE KULAH RUG

AN TI QJE HERAT RUG

KARA OSMAN O GI-ILOU RUG COLOURS FROM VEGE TAB LE DYES

FE RE H AN RUG

ANTIQUE KULAH RUG KIRMAN RUG

H AMME DAN RUG

ANTIQUE GI-I IO RDE s ANTIQUE SARAB AND LADIK RUG ANTIQUE PERGAMOS KAB ISTAN RUG

BE LUCH I STAN RUG SENNA KELIM

BLACK AN D WH ITE PLATE S

Facing Page MELE z RUG 4. SHIRVAN RUG I O SARAKH RUG 20

O LD DAGI-IESTAN RUG 28 AN TI QJE KUB A RUG 38 L E S GH IAN STRIP O LD KAZAK RUG SUMAc RUG

GH I O RDE s RUG , MODERN, I ANTIQUE PERSIAN PRAYER RUG PERSIAN SILK RUG SACRE D CARPE T

H RUG N O . KULA , I

S RUG N o. PERGAMO , I

RUG N o. MOSUL , I B RUG N O KA ISTAN , I HAR RUG ROY DE S N BOK A , AL IG

H RUG T R R DE S N BOK ARA , E E IG

O LD OS L RUG N O . M U , II KURDI SII KELIM

SADDLE- BAG ALE PPO KELIM 1 4 0 MALATIA KELIM 1 4 0

TH E STORY O F TH E RUG AN D H OW IT IS MADE

Rugs in their 33 am): l am:

C H A P T E R I

TH E STORY OF TH E RUG AN D H O W IT IS MADE Y first introduction to the study of Oriental Rugs in their native land was during the journey from the coast into the far interior of

Turkey . This journey required two weeks and was made in a travelling wagon called an Araba . Being bound by no time tables eicc ept to reach by nightfall a town or set tlem ent where accommodations for travel lers and horses could be Obtained, we were at liberty to stop where and when we chose . f of Tocat Soon a ter leaving the City , dating back to the time of the Rom an oc cu ation p , the approach to which is over a 4 RUGS IN THE IR NATIVE LAND stone arched Rom an bridge as solid now h as w en it was first built, we came down the mountain side into a rich , fertile valley which was dotted over with the camps of n omad Kurds wh o at that season of the year move with their flocks and herds from place to place wherever good pasture can ’ be obtained . The black camel s hair tents brought to my mind the tents of Kedar and we decided to pay them a visit . Travelling with an Official of the Gov ern m ent to , we had in addition the usual road escort of mounted gendarmes (which the Turkish government furnishes to travel lers at a regular tariff ) the Cavasses of the so gentlemen with whom we travelled, when we approached the settlement (if a group of tents can be dignified by that name) we were ushered into the tent of the chief of the tribe . There on a raised bank of earth sat the venerable old man dressed in flowing

Oriental robes, with turbaned head and long

H e gray beard . welcomed us to a seat be side him while servants brought i n the fra

6 RUGS IN THEIR N ATIVE LAND turn to the chief ’ s tent two very pretty

ones were brought for our inspection . The man who displayed them interested us more

than the rugs, which were the coarse variety ff made by these nomads , and we o ered to buy them if he would let us take his pic

ture . We posed him to our liking , holding

a carpet in his hand, but when we adjusted the camera and were about to press the u bulb , he turned and fled and no amo nt of persuasion could induce him to return or any explanation convince him that we had not aimed this deadly instrument directly

at his heart with intent to kill . It was here that we first realized that in order to fully understand and appreciate Oriental m rugs and kelims, one must not regard the merely as articles of merchandise but must know something of the life and customs of the people among whom they originated . The inhabitants of Persia and Turkey in Asia (the countries from which most of our rugs are obtained) were originally nomads like our host . Their tents were HOW THE RUG IS MADE 7

’ m of a ade also camel and goat s h ir, stoutly woven and rudely adorned with their tribal signs and symbols . Kelims were used for curtains and they are undoubtedly the

o th e earliest pr duct of Oriental loom .

Then came what we call hearth rugs, the original purpose of which was to cover the raised bank of earth at the end of the ’ chief s tent . On this he sat in state to l receive cal ers . A guest or a person of high rank w as given a seat beside the chief on of this rude divan . Those lesser rank were assigned places on small mats on the earth floor . Prayer kelims and prayer rugs were kept carefully folded and stored in a safe place and were only brought out when required for use . When the country became more settled and towns and villages sprung up , the dwellings were (and are still in the Inte rior) but an evolution of a tent built of mud of bricks . Most them still have only the of earth floors . Across the end the chief room where guests are received, is the 8 RUGS IN THE IR N ATIVE LAND

of or s raised seat honour, made of wood pile of felt cu shions . Along the two sides of tw o the room , a foot or two lower, run a long, narrow b nks or divans where the

For family and callers Of inferior rank sit . these two long divans are made the rugs which w e know in America by the name of runners . They are always made in pairs and come to Constantinople and other dis tributing centres in sets where they are separated by the wholesale dealers, when they make up the bales for sale to foreign buyers . Weaving is one of the most ancient Of

e has th arts . It been the work Of women in all times and in all countries until the

O f introduction the modern factories . Long before Arachne s fabled challenge to Minerva some near descendant of our

first Mother, sitting in her rude cave dwell ing busily plaiting reeds and strips of

leather into dress materials, had an inspira tion : why not substitute for these crude

$ H er materials, spun fibres struggles to

HOW THE RUG IS MADE 9 evolve the spindle upon which to spin the yarn , and the loom upon which to stretch the threads for warp and weft as well as her name are lost in that dim and H distant past before istory began . In the Old Testament there are many

f So references to woven abrics . they were

n ew E not when Moses fled from gypt . Rude looms of very much the same form

- h as are used to day in Turkey , ave been m found depicted upon the To bs of Thebes . The ancient E gyptians were noted for

their manufacture of fine linen and cloth . Plato mentions one of the most important ff i n f di erences warp and we t, namely that the threads of the former are strong and firm in consequence of being more twisted in spin ning while the weft is softer and

more yielding . Among the Greeks and Romans the weaving was always done by

su women , mainly slaves, but under the p ervision of the mistress Of the household To her knowledge of the weaver’ s art Penelope owed her success in beguiling D I O RUGS IN THE IR N ATIVE LAN

for re her suitors twenty years, until the turn of h er beloved Ulysses . In the unchanging E ast weaving is still ’ with but few exceptions woman s work . In the Interior of Asiatic Turkey and in Persia the patriarchal system still exists and the sons bring their wives home to live . I have known as many as 3 5 persons

- in to live in one dwelling . The mother law is the Queen of the household and every morning assigns to each woman and

sufli girl her task for the day . Life is ciently simple in these lands to satisfy the most ardent advocate of this method of ex istence . Some work must be found to fill in the spare hours, and rug making is one of these occupations . The very primitive loom consists simply of two poles driven

to into the ground parallel each other, the space between determ ining the width of

or the rug . On the top rests a pole roller which turns in holes bored in the upright poles or rests in deep notches in the ends of the upright rods . To this roller is

“ How THE RUG IS MADE u

fastened the warp threads . The women and girls, down to little tots of five and six years of age, sit before this loom and weave . Each family or tribe has its own

so pattern , which is well known by the older members that it i s tied in from memory . The younger children at first w ork only upon the plain background of the rug , tying in one solid colour . This

conse weaving by many hands , and the quent variation in the tying of the knots is one of the reasons why Oriental rugs ff pu and lie unevenly on the floor . When a girl becomes fairly expert at weaving she is allowed to make a rug entirely alone, if and it is sold, the profit goes to her

of u dowry account . In some these r gs one can read the working Of the girl ’ s mind . At first she ties the knots loosely, making the rug larger at that end than the f other . It is evident that she ollows the ffi design with di culty , making frequent mistakes in the colour and position of the m k h figures, or iscounting the nots so t at 1 2 RUGS IN THEIR NATIVE LAND the design will not come out quite even . As time goes on she becomes more expert and copies the pattern more exactly and ties the knots tighter ; finally toward the end in some cases she ceases to follow mechanically the set pattern . She begins to take interest i n her work and to think f about what she is doing , and then it O ten happens that the idea comes to her of i m proving upon or modifying the design in E some way . very rug tells a story of its own to the rug lover wh o is once fairly initiated into the cabalistic symbols found in Oriental weaving . Rugs are divided into two general

classes, Turkish and Persian , according as they are tied with the Ghiordes or Turk

ish knot or the Senna or Persian knot . There are some exceptions as to the old rugs which are tied with the Turkish knot

and some of the Trans- Caucasian fabrics which are classed under the head of Per

sian rugs . A glance at the accompanying illustra HOW THE RUG IS MADE 1 3

or of a tion , better still , a close examination u ff T rkish carpet, will explain the di erence

tw o of in the methods knot tying . In rugs made with the Turkish knot the yarn is tied in such a manner that the two

Tur kish knot Sm a b l ot ends which make the pile of the rug alter of nate with every two threads the warp , thus necessitating a longer pile in order to lap over and cover the two threads of warp . Consequently when the pile is shortened by long wear the warp threads are apt to show and the pattern be indis tinct. On the other hand the long threads of wool in the Turkish rugs untwist and attain a silken sheen and softness i m possi ble in a rug tied with the Persian or Senna

knot . In Persian rugs the knot is tied in D I 4 RUGS IN THE IR N ATIVE LAN such a way that between every thread of the warp a strand of yarn obtrudes . This way of w eaving makes it possible to cut

of the ends the wool closer , it gives the rug a surface resembling velvet in texture which when worn down to the very warp threads leaves intact the colouring and de

to sign . More knots can be tied the square inch in a Persian than a Turkish

rug, and consequently a finer and more ex pensive rug can be m ade with the Senna

k of of m od not . One Of the tests value a ern rug is the number of knots to the n square inch . There is one distinguishi g sign that marks a rug at a glance as either

Turkish or Persian, and that is the general

character of the design . The Turkish and

of Persians are both followers the Prophet, but they belong to two Opposing branches

of the Mohammedan faith . Between these two sects there is as great a fundamental difference of creed and prae tice as exists between Catholics and Protes n ta ts . The Turks belong to the Sunnite or hlou Ru Kara O s m an O g g

I 6 RUGS IN THEIR N ATIVE LAND

not to creatures in a carpet, he need stop to examine the knot, or study the design locate the rug . It is Persian and nothing but Persian . It is said that genius requires no tools, and certainly it is easy to believe such a statement when one looks at a beau tiful Oriental rug and then examines the implements used by the weaver . A knife,

- a pair of curved scissors, and a comb like instrument to batten down the pile comprise their tools . These with the inherited deft ness of fingers and the Oriental genius for colour combination are all that are necessary to create these works of art The shearing of the pile is most difficult and is the work of one person in a family or neighbourhood . In the rug factories they have a sort of clip ping machine on the lawn mower principle to S which is used hear the rug evenly . TH E WO O L PRE PARATION

C H A P T E R I I

THE WOO L AN D ITS PRE PARAT ION

LL the wool used in the textile arts is supplied by artificially bred

sheep . It is always in connec tion with centres of civilization that flocks are spoken of in Ancient History . In Ezekiel mention is made of the white wool that was brought from Damascus to be sold of to in the fairs Tyre, previous its being dyed into the famous Tyrian purple . The sheep and goats in Persia and Turkey grow a much finer and more silken fleece N than in other countries . ature seems to have arranged climate, fodder, and other favouring conditions for furnishing the best wool from which to make the rugs that are the chief industry of the inhabitants . The combing from the young lambs which once a year shed a fine undergrowth l 9 ND 20 RUGS IN THEIR NATIVE LA of wool together with the wool about the

of for head, and the fleece lambs sheared the first time is in Persia called the Pashim and in both Persia and Turkey is reserved ’ for the finest rugs . Goat s hair is some

of wire times used, but on account its y na U ture it spins poorly . pon the goats raised in certain parts of Asia Minor there grows to a very silky fleece next the skin, a sort of an extra winter undergarment This falls out in the spring and if com bed out and saved it makes a very silky carpet . C ’ amel s hair is also largely used, especially

H am m edan in the borders of rugs . The first step in the preparation of the wool for use is to rid it of all foreign sub h i t stances . T en is washed, many times in

n ot to cold water, allowing it dry between w ashings . It is also frequently covered with a mixture of flour and water and pounded with great wooden mallets, before f being thoroughly washed, o ten times being placed in baskets in a stream of running water . Soft water is always sought for this

D 22 RUGS IN THEIR N ATIVE LAN loose and sends it flying off in the opposite

r e f n di ction rom the bow, where it soo ’ fl u m akes a great flu y mo nd . The wool is always spun before being dyed and the spinning is done on the prim itive

S wooden hand pindle . (See illustration . ) One sees the women spinning as they walk v along the road, and in the fields . E ery spare moment is spent in twirling the

Spindle . After the wool is spun it is wound into skeins, then hung in lime water for some hours to cleanse it from all superfluous oil . It is then thoroughly washed and hung for a few hours in alum water as a m ordant (for that which is to

be, coloured, yellow citric acid replaces the alum in the last bath). Thus the wool is made porous so that it can more easily absorb the colours in boiling .

C H A P T E R I I I

DYE IN G

YE IN G is the crux of the rug

question , for upon the combina f tion, lasting quality, so tness and brilliancy of the colours rests the final sen tence upon the merits of any rug . Vegetable dyes are a s ine qua non in a rug ; all other dyes will disappear or change into ugly colours with the test of wear and washing . N one but colours compounded from vegetable substances will under the magic touch of time soften and blend into the colour symphony that is found in antique If rugs . one prefers to purchase compara tivel n ew u y , unworn r gs and to do his own “ antiquing it is of prime importance that the colours be fast and of the kind that will 2 5 26 RUGS IN THE IR N ATIVE LAN D

f to soften with age . The un ailing test as the kind of dye used in any rug is to rub the surface with a cloth moistened with If f saliva . the colours are made rom any but vegetable dyes they will rub off on the cloth . The chemical properties of the saliva attack all but vegetable dyes and will start the colours which would not be in the least affected by washing with soap and water . Indigo is the. only exception to this rule, as that will sometimes with a w first rubbing sho a trace of colour . A careless glance at an Oriental rug with all its varied tints and shadings would lead one to think that there were many colours em ployed, but a careful scrutiny will reveal

: only eight colours red, blue, yellow, brown , green , black, white, and purple . The varying shades and tints of these fun dam en tal colours are the secret and art of the Oriental dyer . They are produced by varying the mor dant, longer or shorter cooking with the

n dyes, dyei g one colour upon another, etc .

ND 28 RUGS IN THEIR NATIVE LA

Blue is made with th e essence of the n Indigo plant raised in I dia . Into vats usually about five feet square is put some of m o soured moist indigo, several pounds lasses, and a little lime for a mordant . The vat is then filled up with warm wate r and the wool hung in it until it takes on the desired shade of blue . Yellow is made principally w ith the green “ Jahra ” tree berries and the softer h u s ades by boiling with onion skins . T rm ff eric and sa ron are also used, especially in Persia . The turmeric is not of itself a i n fast colour, but used combination with the other dyes produces a special tint of yellow . Green is obtained by dipping the wool that has been dyed yellow into the indigo

of vat . The husks green walnuts also give a green dye .

Old or ivory - tinted white is made by

om e ran boiling the wool with gall nuts, p g

or oak ate rind, bark . By this process it is literally tanned . Section of O ld Daghes tan Ru g

DYEIN G 29

the of Black is cheapest all dyes, being obtained from iron filings steeped in vine gar or pomegranate rinds . Black , whether dyed or obtained from the wool of black

to for sheep , is be avoided, whether natural or dyed it rots easily and is always the first o N colour to wear off n a rug . ever buy a

rug with a black ground , for its years of

wear are limited , and when all the other parts of the rug are in good condition the

black will have vanished . Purple dyes are still obtained from the sea mollusks used in the Old Tyrian

dyes . ’ Camel s hair is the natural colb ur of the

hair and comes in two shades, a light and

a dark tan . Wool is also dyed to imitate the camel ’ s hair and used in many rugs to

$ replace the real article . Dyeing is a much esteemed profession in the Orient and the men wh o are skilled in producing beauti ful shades are persons of great importance

in the community . They can be easily distinguished from their fellow citizens as 30 RUGS IN THE IR N ATIVE LAN D

for they walk through the town, they never remove the marks of their trade from hands r or clothing, regarding these signs of thei craft much as Frenchmen would the insig f nia of the Legion o H onour . As pure soft water is so essential to successful dyeing, of many villages, the inhabitants which are all employed in this work, are situated

- about a suitable water course . It is a curi o us sight as you approach such a village . The flat roofs of the tawny adobe houses will be covered as by an extra story with the frames, from which are suspended the

i - one skeins of br ght coloured yarn . In such village that I visited nothing but red was dyed and it can easily be imagined what a blotch of colour such a town would make i n the landscape on a fair day . Sunshine is an especially important factor in the dye in of g red, and the master dyer will watch the sun and feel of his skeins Of yarn , pac W ing back and forth on the flat roof. hen a certain state has been reached the yarn is removed as quickly as possible, for too

32 RUGS IN THE IR NATIVE LAN D

E ff very horse, camel , donkey or bu alo wears a string of blue beads around the ff o r neck if the owner can a ord them , , if

o few too poor to pr vide such a necklace, a blue beads will be tied into the mane or tail of the animal or attached to the head stall . Every person in the interior of Turkey carries what is called an evil eye

o O ff t ward calam ities . This talisman is a flat disk of blue glass pierced at the back to allow it to be strung and worn about

on the neck if desired . In the centre the front is painted an eye in black, white, and yellow, and it is the imitation of this eye which is so often seen on rugs and kelims .

S ampler qf colour : obtained from pur e

e etable d er V g y .

1 Pure coch nea ca e in Turke rm d r wo re . Ve . i l, ll d y y

ex pensiv e .

2 . och nea and m a o C i l dder ro t .

. och n a and a nu 3 C i e l g ll ts .

. G al$ nu s and cochin a cooke to e her 4 t e l d g t .

. oc hin a cook one hour 5 C e l ed .

6 . oc h nea and ind o V r x ns C i l ig . e y e pe iv e. DYEING 33

Pu e m adder roo ke coo a Ver ex ensi e. r t d 3 d ys . y p v Pure m a er roo k r dd t ( bric ed) .

nion k n o k h O s i s c o ed 2 ours . O nion ski ns cooked m any hours m ake a beautiful o den heen g l s . a nu G ll ts . I ndi o an ah a r g d J r ber y . n n I digo and gall ut s .

Ga n uts h n on on sk ns hen indi o. ll , t e i i , t g n Pom egranat e ri d .

Wa nu husks l t . Pu e n o r i dig .

n o hun in vat one ha f hour I dig g l . u I ndigo hung in vat one ho r .

hun n hou I ndigo g i vat two rs .

DO CTORED RUGS

C H A P T E R I V

DO CTORE D RUGS

8 s so there are trick in all trades, there are many in the preparation of Oriental rugs for the Western n ot who market, but it is the people make the rugs that doctor them . It is done at Constantinople and by the Armenian col lectors in the interior . The process is of called by the innocent name washing, but that does not mean as one would u t naturally s ppose, cleansing hem with U n soap and water . pon slightly i clined platforms the new rugs (often coloured with vegetable dyes but of bright tints such as o th e Orientals love) are spread ut. From vats at the top Of these platforms a solution of chlorine water is allowed to trickle over the surface Of the rugs until the bright 37 D 38 RUGS IN THE IR NATIVE LAN colours have been toned down to resemble so the hues of an antique carpet . Rugs treated have a harsh feeling and half of th eir y ears of service have been subtracted

by this process . so It is easy to detect rugs treated, for only the face of the carpet is faded and a glance at the back will reveal the colours

several shades darker . Often a deep red at the back will appear a light pink on the

surface of the rug . I was astonished when in N ew York a short time ago to be frankly told by the head of one of the largest rug houses in that city that nearly all their large and some Of the small rugs were now chemi

now cally washed . This work is done in America by trained chemists and the re sults obtained are much more satisfactory than by the primitive methods employed

in Turkey .

When I exclaimed in astonishment,

But that destroys half the life of a rug, and it ceases to be a work of art after such

DOCTORED RUGS 39

: treatment, the gentleman replied Our do customers not care for that . They can afford a new carpet every year if they

to so choose have it, and the carpets treated can be toned to match any colour scheme ” d in the furnishing of a room . Woul these same persons purchase and wear imi tation gems coloured to match their gowns $ To the rug lover and student it seems

equally l gar to purchase kloctored rugs . Reflecting another phase of the question is the following extract from a letter recently

received from the head of one rug - making

H e establishment in the Orient . says

no My heart is longer in this work, for the present demand is for modern

n of styles . Silly patter s, a fuzzy mixture flowers meandering around on a medallion

- field, coloured in the little cooked dyes

which can be sold quickly to the Mrs .

N ewly Riches . The exquisite silken sheen on some of the old rugs is chiefly due to the untwist ing of the wool resulting from the friction 4 0 RUGS IN THEIR NATIVE LAN D caused by contact with the woollen stock ings that summer or winter the natives wear upon their feet . The yarn from which these stockings are knit is very tightly twisted and harsh . In the Orient every one removes his shoes or sandals upon entering the house and only the h stockings come in contact wit the rugs . This friction of the rough woollen stocking

of polishes, as it were, the surface the rug and gives it a beautiful silken sheen . An artificial gloss is given by the rug doctorers in Constantinople by dampening the surface first with a solution of glycerine water and then ironing with very h ot irons . In Turkey when rugs become soiled f or rom long use accident, they place them on or the floor the stone paved court, pour over just enough tepid water to wet the surface, then with pure castile soap (which is very cheap in the East) they make a lather which they rub well into the rugs w ith the hands, then they rinse by pouring water of the same temperature as was used K L oaned b Liber t 85 C Ru . Antiq u e u lah g y y

DOCTORED RUGS 4 1

with the soap over them , beginning at the top and with their hands scraping O ff the soap and dirt until the bottom is reached . If the rug is not quite clean the operation is repeated and it is rinsed until the water Off runs clear ; then it is hung over poles,

preferably in a shady place, to dry ; a little milk is sometimes rubbed over the surface after the last rinsing to restore the natural

Oil to the wool . The rug is always washed

' h e ‘ t never a azm t . with pile, g it

The toning process used by the Rug Syndicate of Sm yrna has been developed and perfected to such an ex tent that neither warp nor woof is injured by the process and the colours are just

n m n x o u to the sun as fast as those to ed by ti e . Eve e p s re will h n h m The on n o u on nk o the not c a ge t e . t i g s l ti is spri led ver

m n of ho and h n the carpets by ea s a great se, t e carpets are washed in clear water and when slightly dried ironed by steam

heated rollers .

C H A P T E R V

DE SI GN

would be an impossible task to trace

to the origin of design back its source . It is as Old as the imagination of

man . All primitive peoples have had

their picture writing, their own tribal

and religious symbols . One can easily fancy how upon the approach of cold weather the early inhabitants of the earth sought refuge in protected caves and that some sort Of skin was used to close

the entrance to keep out the wind . It is

also easy to fancy that in the long shut- i n days before the return of warm weather these cave dwellers might have ornamented

the curtains with various rude designs, pos sibly of plant or leaf forms with which

they were familiar, or scenes from the chase . 4 5 ‘ D 4 6 RUGS IN THEIR N ATIVE LAN I n Turkey the courtyard upon which the house opens is frequently paved with small s stones laid in a pattern , using black pebble to work out a design . In the interior of the Island of Rhodes the one large room of the h ouse is paved in this way and a regular rug design is worked out with the black and white pebbles . These stone carpets last from generation to generation

of one and are very ancient origin . I saw that was over three hundred years Old . Rugs are stories written in all the dialects of of the world imagination and tradition , but there is n o Rosetta stone by which to

who decipher them, and even the weavers

make them cannot read their story . It is only by comparison and patient study that we are able to trace a few Of these signs and symbols to the lands from which they came and discover some of the traditions

and associations connected with them . One might almost say that in early times the weavers used as a main design what to

or them stood for religious tribal traditions,

DESIGN 4 7 colour and form each having its own signi fican e c . This accomplished, free rein was given to the fancy in filling in the vacant spaces . The Persians usually employed for this purpose a tracery of flower or cloud m and star forms . The no ad tribes used

a less graceful and more ngular designs .

Through wars, pilgrimages, and conquest

of ff the symbols di erent tribes, religions, and countries have become mingled and

commingled in a most curious way . The origin of some of the figures is easily dis covered as that of th e lily of the N ile w hich has travelled so far and been so

frequently copied in stone and textiles . We find many Mongolian designs in Orien to tal rugs . These are largely due the mis sionary zeal Of an early successor of the Prophet who sent out four Moslem mission aries to China to preach the true faith in

that part of the w orld . These men found that the Chinese manufactured paper and upon their return to Arabia brought back with them Chinese ar tizans to introduce RUGS IN THEIR NATIVE LAND this industry into their own country . The Chinese naturally employed the designs with which they were familiar, and these designs were carried by the Mohammedan conquest into Persia . The name of Alex ander the Great is usually associated with wars and conquest, yet in the transmission of design he was a veritable honeybee carrying the pollen of ideas and patterns

for from one land to another ; example, what inspiration and new material for the textile weavers must have been the spoils from the treasures of Darius that Alexander and his soldiers brought away with them . The art of weaving came to its culmination in Persia in the sixteenth century during the reign of Shah Abbas, and a favourite

floral design of that period bears his name . In many of the rugs woven at that time and copied extensively since is a figure which has been commonly credited as being a reproduction of the leaf of the lotus plant ; according to an E astern legend the origin of this design is an interesting story .

DESIGN 4 9

son of t The eldest Shah Abbas, impatien t o occupy the throne, plotted against his f ’ ather s life . His evil designs being dis

in covered, he took refuge the royal stable ’ beside his father s favourite horse . Fearing he would harm the valuable animal if

to attempt were made capture him, Shah

Abbas immediately granted his pardon .

of In memory this deliverance, the horse shoe was woven into all the rugs made for him . The resemblance between this horse shoe and a lily pad may not be evident to those who have not lived in the East, but it is n o mystery to those who have seen the flat metal plate used there to protect the feet of the horses . They are the size and ’ shape of the bottom Of a horse s hoof, c overing the entire surface with only a

tiny hole in the centre for ventilation . Draw the outline Of the bottom of a horse’ s hoof and you have a form closely resem

bling the leaf of the lotus lily . This story is also an example of the high regard in r w hich the Oriental holds his horses . Colou 50 RUGS IN THEIR NATIVE LAN D also had a language of its ow n and symbol i zed a definite thing to the ancients , as blue E represented immortality to the gyptians . It is related that when Athena wove into the sky the enchanting picture of flowers and gardens, mountain heights and the mighty beings who dwelt in the clouds

for with Jupiter, she took her materials and colours the golden sunbeams that gilded the mountain top , the snowy fleece of the sum

of mer clouds, the blue ether the summer sky , the bright green of the summer fields,

O f and the royal purple the autumn woods . E The early weavers in the ast, the land of

of the Arabian nights so full imagery, may have had some such poetic vision which enabled them to combine the varying shades of a few colours in so marvellous a manner as to make exquisite pictures out of the

common forms of life about them . BUYIN G RU GS ORI E N T

C H A P T E R V I

BUY IN G RUGS IN TH E ORI E N T

N Constantinople and Smyrna there are shops in the bazaars where one can purchase rugs in the same way as in America . But the tourist must be pre pared to be charged double or treble their if . w value These same dealers, they kno you and know that you are conversant with the market value of the rugs, will sell for a reasonable price the same piece for which they would demand the exorbitant

l d e price from a tourist . This is part y u to the large commissions the dealers have to pay the guides, and these guides naturally take their clients to the shops where they

So can get the largest fees . the tourist is literally between the upper and the nether m illstone . 54 RUGS IN THEIR NATIVE LAND I have seen rugs sold on the tourist steamers that come to Constantinople for prices twice and three times greater than I co uld purchase the sam e piece of the same

dealers in the bazaar . Some friends of mine went with a guest to one of the largest and finest rug stores in

Stambul and were looking at some carpets. They were very naturally discussing the relative merits of the different rugs in E ng E lish (the salesman also spoke nglish). They had not been there long when the proprietor of the store passed through the room and said in Turkish to the salesman “ e Double the prices, they are Am ricans and

ff O f can a ord to pay . One the party, who was as much at home in the Turkish as E the nglish language , immediately replied “ We may be Americans but we do not propose on that account to pay more than the proper value for the rugs that we pur ” e f chase . The astonishm nt o the dealer

can be easily imagined . Just before the tourist season in February

BUYIN G RUGS IN THE ORIENT 55 and March, nearly everything for sale in the bazaars is marked at double its former price . The buyers for the large American and European houses who visit Constanti n ople annually are quite at the mercy Of their interpreters for none of them that I

can have ever met speak Turkish . In addi tion to their Greek or Jewish interpreter they usually have some local agent who has been collecting for them during their ab sence Very few of these buyers ever go

and into the interior if they did, they would again be at the mercy of their interpreter who could openly arrange with the man from whom they were purchasing for a most liberal commission and the buyer be

O ld none the wiser . There are choice rugs still to be had in the interior of Turkey and Persia but they are mostly in Turkish houses and in the mosques and the men who do collect in the interior are Armenians and they have no access to the mosques and can seldom get into the Turkish houses .

They wait their opportunity , however, and 56 RUGS IN THEIR NATIVE LAND take advantage of any change of fortune in a Turkish family to pick up here and there most of the choice rugs that are sent wh o to C onstantinople . Any one has had commercial dealings with any member of the Armenian race will easily understand that between the prices that they pay for these rugs in the interior and the prices they demand from the whol esale dealers is ff ff a great di erence, and this di erence plus the wholesale dealers ’ profits is charged to the Western buyer . These Armenian col lectors will take rugs that they purchase for a trifle and that seem in a hopeless state of decay ; and they will deftly substitute new wool in the place of that which has f vanished, paint up the aded spots, and other wise rejuvenate the rug in such a skilful manner as to deceive the very elect . N o race on the face of the earth has the capacity and skill for trade of the E Armenian . xcept in the port cities in

Turkey there are no regular rug stores . ‘ collect from One must the houses, the baths,

BUYIN G RuGs IN THE ORIENT 57

and from travellers . Persians, particularly at the season of the year when the pilgrim m age to Mecca is made, start fro their homes with but little ready money and de pend upon the sale of the half dozen rugs they take with them for their expenses. Often word would be brought to me that there were some travellers or pilgrims in the village khan . I would go and inter view them and some of my choicest rugs a have been purch sed in this way . Again fro m families who were moving or from a stray caravan which was transporting rugs

and f m as a return cargo to the coast , ro

the mosques I obtained many choice pieces . It has been asserted that there are no fine

rugs left in the mosques, but I have seen them five deep upon the floor and have purchased all I could afford of these lovely

f$ e interior pieces . It is still the custom in for a Turk wh o has had some Special bless ing to give a rug to the mosque as a thank Offering ; or when he dies to bequeath a carpet to the mosque where he has wor 58 RUGS IN THEIR NATIVE LAND

shipped . Knowing the Turks well and speaking their language and being known

f o as a riend, I was allowed to g where I

e. chose, into mosques and everywher One day we were taking our usual outing on horseback and were passing through a dirty not of little village of mud houses, one which contained a pane of glass (Oiled paper being pasted over the apertures that w served as windows, when the inter season

bo came). Just as we were leaving a y came to ss running toward us and spoke the cava , who turned his horse about and said to me “ This boy says that in the mosque here there is a fine rug and that they wish to sell it as the building ne W WW H h m our ave no oney . We retraced steps $ and dismounted before the gate that lead into the mosque inclosure . There seated cross- legged by the door was the white turbaned Imam (pri est) with his school on children , little boys and girls, either side . H e arose and salaamed and conducted us h into t e mosque . It was a bare room with

BUYIN G RUGS IN THE ORIENT 59

on a few ragged kelims the floor, but before

of the altar was a splendid bit colour, and when he took it up and brought it into the light it proved to be a most exquisite sara

. to our band Striving hard conceal delight, w e called attention to two small holes in one end and asked the price . When he said $ 1 2 we had not the courage to follow the

'

usual custom and bargain for a lower figure . The Armenian w ho repaired it offered m e

0 for 5 it, saying he would send it to his brother in N ew York who would get $ 1 2 5

for it without any trouble .

C H A P T E R VII

CARPE T RUGS H E word “ carpet comes from the “ ” car ere Latin word p , to pluck, from the plucking or shearing Of the wool from the sheep . The earliest use of carpets in E urope was for table and bed n V covers, the first bei g made in enice ; and it was not until early in 1 7 0 0 that they were manufactured in E ngland and then only for the rich . They were considered articles of great luxury , hence the term Carpet Knight for one who enjoyed ease and luxury and had not known the hardships of battle . In the Orient, with the exception O f some large rugs made for

of the palaces Shahs, Sultans, rich Pashas, or u mosq es, there were originally no rugs of the size to be used as a carpet in the West 63 64 RUGS IN THEIR N ATIVE LAN D

d ern meaning of the wor . The antique rugs come in sizes three by six and four by

seven, etc . , what we call hearth rug sizes,

w . or the long, narro strips known as runners Prayer rugs were of various dimensions but generally small for private use or for use in

the mosques . To meet the demand of West

f es ern buyers, actories have recently been tablished in Persia and Turkey where carpets

S s of all izes are made . In Persian carpet

Muskabads Ghorevans Khorrasans the , , and are the cheaper grades tho'ugh excellent in quality and very durable, especially the

Muskabads Gh orevan s . and The Tabriz, Kirman and Kirm anshas are the finest

et . Persian“ made in car sizes rugs -” Turkish rugSi n carpet sizes generally go

under the name of Smyrna rugs , although

the typical red, blue, and green Smyrna

rug with its long, heavy pile, which is prin cipally used in America in hotel lobbies

of infi and reading rooms, is only one an nite variety of rugs that are shipped from

u va Smyrna, Sparta, O shaks, and a great

CARPET RUGS 65 riety of rugs under as great a variety of names are made in the outlying towns and

of N O districts Smyrna . rugs are made in the city itself, but the firms who own and control the output of these rug factories have their warehouses and Ofl‘lCCS in

Smyrna . The best wool and vegetable dyes are used in the manufacture of these car m pets, and one can have the made to order in any size . Most exquisite reproductions of old Persian patterns can be ordered with the certainty in the majority of cases of W most satisfactory results . ith one ex ception the manufacturers of these Turkish rugs in and around Smyrna have lately

combined to form a Syndicate . This Company (The Oriental Manufacturer ’ s Limited) was formed in 1 90 7 and began

operations in 1 9 0 8 . It is the amalgama tion of six firms engaged in the carpet

five of trade, which were established in the

Smyrna region and the sixth in London .

It was capitalized at two million dollars . Through this combination of interests and 66 RUGS IN THEI R N ATIVE LAN D capital the carpet industry has been rein troduced in th e districts of Asia Minor where it was formerly carried on b ut had

ceased to exist, if not entirely , at least as a f regular industry . By a more care ul selec tion of the wool used in the manufacture and by the employment of none but the most solid dyes they are able to reproduce in artistic colouring and weaving the finest

designs of Persia, India, and Anatolia . The spinning and dyeing of the yarns by the company in its own factories ensures the best quality of yarn and the most perma

and nent and pure dyes . They own con trol at present four to five thousand looms in about thirty villages and towns in Asia

Minor . They employ twenty to twenty five thousand women and children who weave the rugs and a large number of men who attend to the washing of the wool

and the spinning and dyeing of the yarn . In some of these factories carpets and rugs are woven equal to the Persian makes in fineness of texture and even surpassing them

68 RUGS IN THEIR N ATIVE LAN D of f its manu acture is not known, but it was

Khoaru wh o made for I , was a contemporary of the Greek Emperor Justinian and whose E reign lasted from 5 3 1 to 57 9 . In the ast the gardens are divided into square and

Oblong plots surrounded by a wide border .

These plots are intersected by paths, some of which serve to carry the water by which th e garden is irrigated . Frequently these shallow irrigating ditches are paved with h tiles . T is earliest of carpets was intended t o bring into the winter home of the King th e illusion of a Persian garden in the full f b eauty o springtime . The materials were cos s tly ; silk, gold, silver and precious stone

e of W re employed . It was colossal size . The flowers in the border and plots w ere in $ many colours red, blue, yellow, white, and green $ and were made of precious

S of stones . The talks and stems were gold

of and silver . The yellow colour the soil

- was imitated in gold , and crystal clear stones represented the flowing water . The gravel paths were made of precious stones and

70 RUGS IN THEIR NATIVE LAN D

H e of Prophet . is styled the King Shahs and during his reign tranquillity and peace were restored to the country and the arts

H is were revived . ancestors were regarded

an d as holy men, some as saints, the mosque of Ardebil was built near their tombs, that of his father being specially venerated as he was slain at Shirvan in an attempt to avenge the capture and death of his father ; hence he was regarded as a martyr as well

as a saint . The Mohammedans have in the Koran almost an exact translation of

the tenth verse of the sixteenth Psalm , “ N either wilt Thou suffer Thine holy

One to see corruption, and they believe that the bodies of those who have lived the life of a H oly devotee will be m iracu l lous y preserved from decay . The tombs

therefore of such men are much venerated, and frequently mosques are built over or in the same inclosure with them . Pil grimages are made to them and miracles of healing are believed to be wrought by bringing the sick to pray at these holy CARPET RUGS 7 :

places . I have frequently seen the sick carried on litters to these shrines ; at the head of the tomb (usually a walled - in mound) stands one or more cypress trees, the lower branches of these trees will be covered with narrow strips of cloth tied into them by the pilgrims in the full faith that whatever they wish for when they tie on this bit of rag will be granted in f the near or distant uture, according as there are few or many knots made in

fastening it to the tree, yet there must be

ffi to su cient hold, for it would be fatal to their desires if this bit of rag should blow

away . The graves at Ardebil were such as

these, sacred places, and to honour them

the mosque was built by Ismail . It was, n his however, in the reig of son and succes sor Tam asp that the famous carpet w as

made . At the time of its manufacture it was deemed the most remarkable product ’ that had ever come from the weavers loom , and those who have looked upon it after

of u the lapse fo r centuries will , I am sure, 72 RUGS IN THEIR N ATIVE LAN D r eadily accord it this high meed of praise . It was this carpet which during the reign of Queen E lizabeth nearly caused a diplo i matic rupture between E ngland and Pers a . The Queen sent an envoy to the Persian ff Government, and he was so o ended by what he considered the insulting treatment he received that he was about to go away n m u without deliveri g his essage . The ca se of all the trouble was a pair of slippers that were sent to him with the request that h e put them on over his shoes when he entered the mosque before stepping upon the sacred carpet . This he interpreted to mean that his Christian feet must not touch the holy carpet , and did not realize that it w as (and is to this day) the custom in the Orient to either remove the shoes or cover them with slippers upon entering a mosque, n ot of n because the feet are those a Christia , but to prevent the sacred place from being polluted by the dirt and dust that might adhere to the shoes worn in the street, and that Mohammedans as well as Christians

CARPET RUGS 73 are required to remove their shoes upon entering a mosque . The Ardebil carpet is thirty - six feet long by seventeen feet six inches wide . The ground is a rich blue, covered with a floral tracery of exquisite delicacy . In the centre there is a large medallion of pale yellow, its outer edge ter m i natin - g in sixteen minaret shaped points, connected with which by a leaf- like design are sixteen small medallion - shaped figures which represent the seed pod of the wild f Persian rose cut in half ; our are red, four green , and eight cream . From two ofthese figures on either side are suspended two mosque lamps which hang in each end of the carpet ( two s uch lamps of almost identi cal design belonging to J . Pierpont Morgan are to be seen in an adjacent room) . The crowning point of interest is the pale cream cartouche just within the border ; on one end it contains the following inscription in i n bold characters . I have no refuge the world other than Thy threshold . My head

orch a has no protection other than this p w y . 74 RUGS IN THEIR N ATIVE LAN D

of of H The work the slave this oly place,

Maksuod of of Kashan, in the year the

0 A D . H egira 94 6 ( 1 54 . ) In the corner are quarter sections of the centre medallion ; a narrow band of crimson covered with floral designs forms the first of the border series, then comes a band of cream about 7 inches wide containing a variation of the f cloud pattern in beauti ul shading . The broad or main border is of rich brown in which are set alternating elongated and rounded cartouches filled with floral and

f red geometrical tracery, the ormer on a ground , the latter on a green . The outer f border is in tan shading rom dark to light, l n relieved by a bo d design in blue . Whe the carpet was brought to E ngland it was in such a tattered condition as to be un m d arketable, the bor ers being so badly

e du damag d . The owner hearing that a plicate of the same in size and colouring was in Ardebil , had it sent on and, taking from it the border, restored the mosque carpet to its present perfect condition . It

76 RUGS IN THEIR NATIVE LAN D

e borders, are to be s en the lower portion of figures in long garments reaching to the

- E . feet, such as are worn to day in the ast The shoes worn by these men have soles

shaped like the Chinese shoes . In the

corners under the figures are three balls, s which how the carpet to be very old, for

of of they are the coat arms , so to speak ,

Clari o Timur the conqueror . Gonzales de j , S i who , as Ambassador of the hah , v sited

1 0 Timur in 4 4 , noted that his tents, horses,

shields, and flags all bore these balls, and these insignia were not used by his suc

cess ors I later than about 5 3 5 .

PRAY E R RUGS

of It is said that Mahomet, in the form prayer which he devised for his followers, had in View the necessity of physical ex er cises for the health of the body as well as

of If devotions for the good the soul . this be true, he certainly succeeded admirably , for the genuflecti ons and prostrations and the rising from these postures without any

78 RUGS IN THEIR NATIVE LAN D basin and a mosque lamp are introduced .

This rug is an old Persian carpet, and has for a ground colour a shade of blue such as is often encountered in the old Persian tiles . The figures in field and border are of soft shades of reds, tans, and pinks with h some w ite, and all harmonize in the won derful manner that is the secret and art of the Persian weaver . One sometimes sees prayer rugs with a double niche ; these are used for two per

of sons, and in some the mosques there are long carpets divided horizontally by these designs into small sections just large enough u for one person to kneel upon , th s furnish ing a row of prayer rugs in one carpet .

BURIAL RUGS When a Mohammedan dies the burial

- takes place within twenty four hours, and frequently after the lapse of only a few hours . The body is generally placed in a “ ff rude co in , but in the regions where wood

and is scarce consequently expensive, the CARPET RUGS 79 c ofli n f n is reque tly dispensed with . The body or the coffi n is carried to the grave on of a wooden stretcher, at the head which is fastened a rod on which is placed the fez of the deceased . Over the body or cofli n is thrown a burial rug if the

ow n or family can borrow one . This is a ’ Andr m ach e e very old custom . o s chief r

of H ec gret, in her lament over the death

tor to was, that his body laid exposed the air far from his parents and his consort ’ s ” for care . Our use of the pall covering th e ffi of co n is a survival this custom . Rugs used for this purpose always have the tree design , sometimes one large tree

cov in the centre, sometimes the ground w ered ith small trees, but always a tree in some shape . The cypress is most com m u o ly used, and is the tree always thickly planted in Turkish cemeteries . It seems to have been a symbol of immortality f from very ancient times, and long be ore the time of Mahomet sprigs of it were bu ried with the dead and branches of it 80 RUGS IN THE IR N ATIVE LAN D

used in the homes as a symbol of mourn C ing . ypress trees were also planted above E the graves . ver green , this tree suggests

unending life, and the wood is also almost f o . indestructible . The original doors St Peter ’ s in Rome were made of cypress wood, and when, after standing for a thou sand years they were replaced by the Splen did bronze ones that now close the sacred edifice, no trace of decay was to be found

re re in them . In India the cypress also p n se ts this idea of immortality , and the beautiful cypress trees that surround the Taj Mahal are a part of the glory of this w onderful tomb .

SILK RUGS

There is a vast difference between the S ilk rugs made in Turkey and those of

ae Persian origin . C sarea (sometimes spelled with a K) is the centre of the silk carpet industry in Turkey, and at one time the Governor of the Province took such an interest in the work that he personally i n

CARPET RUGS 8 1 spected the output of the factory and con dem ned or any inferior imperfect piece . The rugs made at Cmsarea are mostly prayer rugs with plain centres . These are the rugs generally peddled by Armenians . They are n ot specially fine and can not compare with the silk rugs woven by

several rug firms at Constantinople . At the Imperial rug factory at H ereke silk

rugs of great beauty are also made , and even before the new regime their output was controlled by a local rug firm and a shop for their sale opened on the Grand Rue in

Pera . The silk rugs of Persian make are

Th e quite well worth study . fineness of of design and detail , the blending colours, and the texture make them works of art

ranking with paintings as wall adornments . The silk rug in the illustration is of Persian U f make . pon the so test tan or in some

of lights more of an ashes roses tint, are mingled and commingled colours inde

H one scribable . eld way the colour tone is wood brown, viewed from another point 6 82 RUGS IN THEIR N ATIVE LAN D

grays and blues predominate . It is a veri

table chameleon .

THE SACRE D CARPET

There are three carpets sacred to the Mo h am m edans which were gifts from the first Shah of Persia who embraced the Mo ham m edan faith . These rugs are in the

mosques at Konia, Jerusalem , and Mecca . in It was my good fortune, through the

fluence of a Turkish friend , to be received

of by the grand Chelebi, or head the Whirl ing Dervish sect at Konia (the man wh o girds on the sword of Othman when a n ew Sultan is crowned). When in the course of conversation he learned that I was interested in rugs he gave permission for me to go into the inclosure in the mosque where the sacred rug is kept in a beauti ful chest inlaid with mother of pearl and

silver . Removing my shoes, I followed the

of priest who had charge this treasure . H e unlocked the chest with great cere mony and brought out for inspection th e

CARPET RUGS 83 Holy Carpet upon which no Christian eyes are supposed to look . It is a prayer rug about three by five and made of the n fi est silk . A soft shade of tan is the ground ; this is exactly the colour of the high fezzes worn by the whirling dervishes which remind one of great, inverted flower pots . Upon this tawny background is wrought the design of flowers and leaves in most exquisite colouring . Silver and gold are extensively used to outline the pattern and for the high lights, particularly in the border which has a design of pome granates as a sort of secondary pattern . This use of the pomegranate in Moham medan ' art is very interesting as it is of H undoubted ebrew origin . Pomegranates were carved upon the pillars of Solomon ’ s Temple and were woven into the border

’ of Aaron s garments and the curtains of f the temple, and it is now more o ten employed than any other floral design in

Turkey . The pomegranate is very highly regarded and is eaten religiously every day 8 IN E N N D 4. RUGS TH IR ATIVE LA

for one month after the fruit ripens and is

gathered . The juice squeezed from the seedy pulp with sugar and water added

makes a most delicious drink, often called the Wine of the Turks as it replaces for them the alcoholic drinks of Western na

tions . The true Turk is strictly temperate as the Koran forbids the use of fermented

beverages . The candle sticks and the niche mark the rug as one to be used for

prayer . In the prayer niche is a reproduction of the black stone of Mecca which according to Mohammedan tradition was delivered

To to Abraham by the angel Gabriel . shelter this stone the old H ebrew temple was built It is said to have been originally white but has been turned black by the C ontact with sinful men . E very Mohammedan is supposed to make the pilgrimage to Mecca once during his

of of h life, and the last act worship t is pilgrimage is to pass around the Kaaba or tabernacle containing the stone which by

CARPET RUGS 85

of its magic power removes all taint sin . The coverings of the tabernacle and stone are renewed every year and are the gift of the Sultan of Turkey who as Caliph is the successor of Mahomet as the spiritual head of all Islam . It is a great occasion when the caravan bearing this gift of the Sultan

out starts on its j ourney to Mecca . It leaves from Scutari on the Asiatic side of the Bosporus and the camels bearing these sacred coverings are most magnificently

caparisoned .

TURKIS H RUGS Rugs are generally classified as Persian

or . Turkish, Caucasian and Turkomans Turkey is the most accessible to the foreigner and Constantinople the nearest

rug market , so we will first consider the h rugs generally classed as Turkis . Form erly Smyrna was considered synonymous

with Turkish for a rug, but that mistake has been discovered by intelligent rug

collectors . 86 RUGS IN THEIR NATIVE LAND A great variety of rugs are made in the district near Smyrna ; but these are, as has

d . already been explaine , largely carpet rugs

The old- time Smyrna rug with large

figures and red, blue, and green colouring is largely superseded by the finer makes for which the best Persian designs are often S employed . ome bear the names of the f towns where the actories are located , as

O ush ack , Sparta, etc . Turkish rugs proper rank i n the follow

: ing order Ghiordes, Kulah , Ladiks, Per gamos, Melez, Konias, and Anatolians . Mosul and Kurdish rugs are also made in

Turkey .

GHIO RDE S RUGS Most of the Ghiordes rugs that come into the market now are worn and tattered fragments of what was and still is probably

of the most beautiful all rugs . Though

not so closely woven as the Persian makes, their chief glory is in their colour and the

exquisite mosaic - like combinations in the

88 RUGS IN THE IR NATIVE LAN D separate the borders proper carry a central S wavy line . ometimes the main border

contains only leaf forms, and again for the al main borders is substituted the narrow, ternating dark and light stripes co ntaining the small fleck design characteristic of the

Kula h rugs . Indeed, the Kulah and f Ghiordes borders are o ten interchanged, as it were, in both makes . In the corner between the high arch (the angles of which are generally broken) and the border there is arranged in rows a repe tition of the palm or pear pattern , or some

of the variation the leaf design of border . Above this is a panel in which the princi

of pal colour the border is accentuated . The patterns in this panel and in a si m ilar panel (always put underneath the field) may carry a floral design or some geom et rical l figures ike the swastika . A silk fringe, generally green , is often sewed around the upper end of the rug and

extends down the sides about a foot . f At Magnesia, not far rom Smyrna, lived

99 RUGS IN THE IR N ATIVE LAN D ing tone is green . The space above the prayer niche is light blue and the lamp has warm red and brown shading . The border is a colour symphony as difficult to describe as an old Persian stained glass window .

KULAH RUGS The old cities of Kulah and Ghiordes in were near neighbours, and there is an terch ange of design and ideas ; so that it is exceedingly difli c ult to locate some rare

pieces . The niche in the Kulah prayer rug is not so high and sharply defined as in

the Ghiordes, nor has it the zigzag outline f f o the Ghiordes niche . In place o the wide central border stripe a number of narrow ones usually make up the Kulah i border, though somet mes a broad stripe l occurs ; when it does, it is more frequent y filled with small figures repeated horizon tally in rows than the floral design em

ployed in the Ghiordes border . Alternating n arrow border stripes , one dark and one

light, carrying a succession of small designs, CARPET RUGS 9 1

n a sort of fleck patter , are reckoned a dis ti nctive Kulah mark . It is also copied in the Ghiordes rug, so one can not safely f classi y a rug by this mark alone . Blue is a favourite colour for the ground

of these rugs, but a soft shade of golden brown is so much employed that it might

almost be called a Kulah brown . 1 Rug N o . has the centre of the peculiar

of h as Kulah brown golden sheen . It in addition to the three other borders the seven

a narrow, lternating dark and light stripes

bearing the fleck design . Soft shades of green appear in the outline of some of these stripes and in th e ground of two of

the three wide border stripes . The two

flow er - like columns, so often seen in the

Ghiordes rugs, must be set down as essen

o f tiall . y of Kulah origin Light blues, s t k yellowish tans , greens, blac , and faint pinks are the colours found in combination in the

floral columns in this rug . The field above the niche on either end has a ground of

light blue which is continued down , form 92 RUGS IN THE IR N ATIVE LAN D ing another narrow border on the sides of the field . The white serrated pattern also becom es a zigzag border on a tan ground .

LADI K RUGS In olden times in the city of Laodicea (one of the seven cities of the seven churches of Asia) beautiful rugs were made .

- f Rugs are made there to day , but of in erior quality and design, bearing no resemblance to the artistic weavings of the past . Good specimens of the old rugs are still obtain able, but every year they command a higher price and one must search longer f for them . The colouring is one o the

C of hief charms these rugs . They remind one of a walk in the autumn woods ; soft reds, yellows , and browns are the prevailing tones, and when blue is employed it is the blue of an autumn sky at sunset with a suggestion of green in it . The pattern is so characteristic of these

rugs as to be unmistakable, a plain centre

or upon which is usually a mosque lantern,

CARPET RUGS 93 groups of tw o triangles filled with smaller ones, and outlined by the latch hook . A pointed prayer niche generally outlined in

th e yellow, lower part of the rug balancing the prayer niche, always containing five tree - like branches alternately capped with

Sig net of David Seal of Sole$2m :

m a floral and a geo etrical design . The border consists of a main border stripe with two or three narrow stripes repeated on

each side . The edge is worked over with

the kelim stitch , making a very stout sel

vedge . The narrow borders are usually alternating bands of black and white (the so - called Kulah border), each narrow band n of containing a successio unconnected, f separate small designs . There is requently S IN N N D 94. RUG THEIR ATIVE LA a narrow stripe of white next to the centre carrying the undulating or meander pattern . The main border S tripe in many of the old est Specimens has the Rhodian lily design alternating with the rosette . The use of this old Rhodian pattern is very interesting , showing the migration of ideas . The

Rhodian lily is not, as some writers would

of have us believe, obscure origin . During a visit to Rhodes a few years ago I had the privilege of meeting and becoming ac

uainte Billi oti ho d . w q with Mr , , with his f brother Sir Al red, made the excavations for the British Museum of the old tombs and cities on the Island . They are author ity upon all things Rhodian , and they told me that the origin of the lily design goes back to the earliest tradition of the Island . When Apollo was away on his charitable mission of driving the Sun Chariot and bringing light to the earth , the world was partitioned out among the Gods, and Apollo, not being present, was quite forgotten in the distribution . Upon his return he made

96 RUGS IN THEIR NATIVE LAN D

border and also the Konia floral design branching out from the border into the

field . It has the mosque lantern, and both

N os 1 2 rugs . and have above the prayer niche in either corner the lamp design .

of N o 2 The blue in the field . is a most

exquisite shade, with a greenish cast .

PE RGAMOS RUGS

Pergamos, or Bergamo, rugs, as they are

sometimes called , are a type by themselves .

Pergamos, when St . John wrote of it in

of of Revelation , was one the oldest cities n Asia Minor , having a history suppleme ted

Tele hos by tradition reaching back to p , of H the son ercules, whose interesting history carved in marble adorned the frieze of the great temple and is now to be seen

in the Museum at Berlin . Its rulers were at least amenable to the influences of

Grecian art, as is witnessed by its ruined Acropolis and even by the designs found in the rugs woven there Most of the

Pergani os rugs made to - day are coarse and

98 RUGS IN THE IR N ATIVE LAN D submitted it hesitate to classify, and it

ifli cult . is indeed d (See coloured plate . ) In weave, texture, closeness of nap , design ,

colour, everything that usually determines

the family to which a rug belongs, it is a

Ghiordes . The only Pergamos feature is

the half- inch selvedge on each side worked i n the kelim stitch and the coloured web at

each end . This selvedge and woven band of warp and weft are distinctive m arks of

the Pergamos rug . Query, shall we locate the rug by its colour, design, weave, etc . , or

by the sole earmark, as it were, of selvedge and web extension P To whichever family

it belongs it honours its parentage .

MELEZ RUGS Good Melez or Melhaz rugs are now f di ficult to obtain, and they increase in

o price every year . This name is given t the rugs made in the vicinity of the City of Melhaz , a town of Asia Minor on the coast nearly opposite the Island of Rhodes . In the old rugs like the one in the illustra CARPET RUGS 99

tion a perfect harmony of colouring exists, a rich brownish red in the centre and A greenish shades in the border designs . n occasional touch of lavender is also present . In the field above the prayer niche on an ivory white ground is a lattice - like device in the softest tones of red, canary yellow, n gree s, and lavender . One should not neglect to purchase good speci mens when encountered ; for they are disappearing, and it will soon be impossible m to obtain the .

KO N IAH AN D AN ATOLIAN RUGS

Koniah u , the ancient Iconi m from which Paul and Barnabas fled to escape being

for w eav stoned, has always been a centre ing . The older rugs never attained the fame of the Ghiordes and Kulahs or even that of the Pergamos or Ladiks, but they were fine rugs of warm , rich hues . They

- were made generally in hearth rug size, with the corners in both ends of the field

off cut , forming almost two prayer niches ; D I oo RUGS IN THEIR NATIVE LAN single flower forms on long stems ex tended into the field . The borders were sometimes floral and sometimes made up of narrow stripes, and red was always the predominatin g colour . Very few of these rugs are now in the n market . The modern Ko ia weaving is confined almost entirely to the large carpet rugs, and Smyrna firms have factories there and in the adjacent villages . The general name Anatolia covers a wide range of rugs made in Central and Western Turkey, and represents every grade and design .

MOSUL CARPE TS Mosul carpets m ay be of the texture of

S - a Persian hiraz or the heavy, long piled m Kurdish rug, according as they are ade in the region adjacent to and controlled by Persian influences or on the side con trolled by the wild tribesmen . The city of Mosul (the ancient N ineveh) is situ th e f ated on Tigris River, not far rom the Persian border There are more rugs

CARPET RUGS 1 0 1 made and shipped from the Mosul district than perhaps any other unless it be Smyrna, and some of them are very good but m any

. o 1 very bad The specimen N . in the accompanying illustration is an old Mosul rug showing Daghestan influences . Most lovely and soft is the colouring, pale blues, and tans, pinks predominating with plenty i N o . 2 of ivory wh te . is one in which the

of maker gave free hand to his love colour .

The design is a mosaic , two rows of octa gons, each one bordered by the latch - hook design and containing in the centre n the knot of desti y . E ach on e of these octa gons is a colour study . One in exquisite green with

’ latch - hook pattern in Old Tbe Kaot q ertzrzy

of old n rose, a darker shade rose occurri g in the centre on which the knot of destiny is wrought out in blue and Old gold, and tiny white triangles in which there is a dot f o pink . The next octagon blue with old D 1 02 RUGS IN THEIR N ATIVE LAN

rose latch hook, the centre green , in which the knot of destiny is in light blue and deep

rose, etc . , etc . It reminds one of a stained glass window . The border of three stripes, the centre in a sort of crushed strawberry shade, and the side borders carrying a floral

design in blue, rose, and green .

KURDIS H RUGS In the Dersim mountains near the E u

h rates H p River live the Kurds, the igh

landers of Turkey . They are mostly no

mads, or when settled in villages living in

f con true eudal style . The chief owns and trols everything and the others are p racti

cally serfs . They are bold and warlike . Their women wear a peculiar white head dress and go unveiled in their native vil

lages . Theyhave the reputation of being always ready for a fight or a plundering f expedition, but they make per ect servants, for having once entered your employ and eaten your bread they are faithful unto death It is to be expected that the rugs

1 04 RUGS IN THEIR N ATIVE LAND

R N KIRMAN SHA AN D T R Z O R KI MA , AB I KE RMAN S HAH RUGS When Marco Polo travelled in Persia in 1 2 7 0 he said in describing the industries “ of the Southern Province of Kirman : The ladies of this country produce exquisite needlework ; they work and weave hang i ngs and rugs for the noblemen so deftly ” o that they are marvels t see . The population of this province is more purely Persian than that of any other part of the Empire . It is claimed also that a very superior breed of sheep and goats are

of raised there, and that the wool is better and softer quality in the Kirman than in any other make of carpets . A part of the

Kirm ansha so province bears the name of , that the carpets bearing either name come from the same district and must not be confounded with the Kerm anshahs from N the orth . Both large and small rugs are of made there . The design the Kirman is of the floral order, although in some of Kabis tan Ru Modern N I g , , o .

1 06 RUGS IN THE IR N ATIVE LAN D are of loose coarse weave and are not of the same class . The Tabriz rugs copy very closely the old Kirman designs and usually have a large medallion in the centre and

e elaborat corner ornamentation . The bor ders are many and varied in design and the field of the rug is generally well covered

with a fine pattern . Some of them have

E n ot f Italian or uropean patterns, but o ten .

of In quality, workmanship , and fineness textu re they rank with those from Kirman

of in the first class Persian rugs . They are coloured with vegetable dyes but nearly al ways chemically washed to soften and tone

down the colouring . There are old Kirm anshas to be found

occasionally , but they are rare, and nearly always one must reckon upon these carpets being doctored if th ey are of very soft or

Y ou n of delicate colouring . can o ly be sure if a Kirman or a Tabriz the colours are reds,

of blues, and yellows not too delicate shading . CARPET RUGS 1 07

SE N N A RUGS

Although the city and district of Senna

u lies near the Turkish border, the r gs made there are distinctly Persian and rank with the Tabriz and Kirman as to quality . Some of the modern rugs show a tendency to degeneracy , but as a class they have kept f wonder ully true to traditional patterns .

The background is usually white, although

of sometimes an ivory tint . The pear pat tern, generally small (but sometimes on a

en large scale, three or four covering the

e or tir field), is used, the fish part of the H erati design covers the centre with occa

i al s on ly a medallion in the middle . The warp is always cotton and the pile closely

e trimmed, the borders usually thr e in num ber, the centre stripe broader and flanked by the narrow ones, the latter generally containing some form of the meander . Good old Sen na pillow rugs are not in frequently met with now, in the interior . 1 08 RUGS IN THEIR NATIVE LAN D

S ARAKHS These rugs are colour signals flaunted in a host of brilliant shades by the tribesmen who were ruled by Genghis and Tartar f chie s . One would think such brilliant colours could not be combined in an artis tic way , but such is not the case . The design of these carpets is simple and somewhat crude a scragly pear pattern usually covers the field ; sometim es there is f a medallion in the centre, but not o ten . Two borders complete the pattern ; these contain floral forms with a broad stripe be tween bearing geometrical figures . Colour i is everywhere rampant and glor ous. It appeals to more than the sight, and some

The how suggests the word delicious . red in the background of the one S hown is the colour of rich blood as it flows fresh from a wound . Blue, yellow, and pink , and

of even touches green , are employed in working out the pattern, but there is no jarring note in the whole carpet .

CARPET RUGS 1 09

SARABAN D RUGS The Saraband rugs always have the cen tre covered with the so - called pear pat tern on a field usually of a beautiful shade of wine red . The border is always in “ threes, the main stripe a little wider

one with a narrow on each side . These “ sets of threes are often repeated so that there will be six and nine and even twelve border stripes always in the arrangement described . There is a regular Saraband border pattern which is quite as character istic of the rug as the pear pattern in the

b ut in field (as shown in the illustration), some of the older rugs the centre band of

e the border contains another d sign . The

- f pear, river loop , cone, or palm lea design was first made known to us in the Cash mere and India shawls , and is employed in

C f many rugs, but it is a haracteristic eature

of of the Saraband . The origin this de sign is credited by various authors to vari ous sources . In its simplest or cone form 1 1 0 RUGS IN THEIR N ATIVE LAND it was thought to represent the fruit of the

e sacred tree, which was us d as the symbol

of im mortality by the ancients . By some it is judged to represent the loop made by

u River Ganges or Ind s, sacred to the pil f l grims . In this orm it is more e ongated and graceful than in the other representa

tions . It has also been claimed that it was intended to reproduce the chief ornament

of the old Persian crown , which is a com

osite - p pear shaped jewel . I should be more inclined to believe that it was either the symbol used by the fire worshippers to re produce in their rugs and shawls the cone of flame, which they worshipped (and which they still worship in parts of Turkey

da or to and Persia to this y), reproduce the palm l eaf or stamp as was explained to me S once by an old heik . The cu stom still su rvives from the olden time of affixing to covenants and documents of m i portance as a seal, the sign made by

dipping the side of the half- closed hand in blood and pressing it upon the paper or

1 1 2 RUGS IN THE IR N ATIVE LAN D

one ally of three stripes, the middle of alternating rosettes and palmettes upon a waving vine wrought upon a pale green

u backgro nd . The Senna knot is always

employed in these rug s, while the Ghiordes kn ot is always used in the H erat rugs and is one of the distinguishing features of this

H of make of carpet . The erati design is

very ancient origin . By some authorities

it is claimed to be of Chinese origin , and

E - by others of gyptian . The lancet like leaves representing the sacred fish of Isis

and the lotus- like rosette certainly suggest

Egyptian derivation as very possible . In this design the four petals of the blossom are sometimes pegged down to the ground to serve as a pattern to the weaver and are so represented in the carpet . The leaves are also frequently prolonged so they meet those of the next series until they form a sort of trellis . The H erat rug shown in the illustration is one of a pair that I bought in a house in the interior of Turkey . They had covered the long low divans of the guest Bokhara Ru Ro a Desi n g, y l g

1 1 4 RUGS IN THEIR N ATIVE LAND

it from the gallows he had erected for Mordecai and carried it to its last resting place . Most of the H am m edans follow this off pattern , and one always finds this cutting of of the corners, making as it were a sort prayer niche at both ends of the rug . In the old tribal days rugs so marked were the

hearth rugs, not in the sense we use the fi word to mean the space before a replace, for then as now the fires with which these people heat their houses were contained in braziers which were almost always placed in the centre of the room, but hearth in the

to sense of home . They corresponded the cities of refuge set apart by Moses to which offenders against the law might flee for f refuge . Once such a fugitive , fleeing rom ’ m to his ene ies, gained entrance the sheik s tent and set foot on this rug, then the sheik and the whole tribe were bound to defend him . CARPET RUGS 1 1 5

SHIRAZ RUGS

old of The Shiraz rugs were works art, but since the province is no longer the seat of Government the weaving and de signs have deteriorated . These rugs come in warm tones, some with the pear pattern, but more frequently three elongated dia mond medallions ; the space between filled in with small designs and always showing s figure of men and animals . Diagonal stripes sometimes fill the field of these carpets and some have these stripes converging and meeting a centre stripe . The borders are wide and richly orna m ented , the edge is worked over and over

‘ and tufts of wool left protruding at in tervals along the sides like small tassels . The ends often have between the pile and the frin ge a coarse check pattern in the

Sumac stitch . N D 1 1 6 RUGS IN THEIR N ATIVE LA

H REVAN SE R FI OR S N AN D O , A , KH A A , M E SH E D O R MUSKABAD RUGS

Ghorevan , or Gorevan , is a city in the

H not district of erez far from Tabriz . The rugs marketed under this name are in

of carpet sizes and excellent quality . The

eom et figures are large and bold, always g ri cal , and they usually have a large centre medallion . The corners are frequently cut o ff and the border has one broad main

tw o stripe usually set between narrow ones .

The e background is frequ ntly blue, bright

et old y of a soft, pleasing quality ; rose, tans, ff browns, and bu grays are employed in combination in the carpets and sometimes take the place of the blue as the main body

S era i colour . p rugs are made in or near the v illage of Sirab in the Gorevan district . The patterns are mostly of the Tabriz variety and as a rule lighter colours are employed than in the Gorevan . They come almost exclusively i n carpet sizes and stand about midway between the Gorevan

CARPET RUGS 1 1 7

u to and Tabriz r gs as quality and price . Khorasan rugs come in all sizes and the pear pattern in great variety is the charac teristic n u desig , altho gh some have a medal i n lion the centre . The border has one m ain stripe in which a waving vine is usu

or H erati ally found, the or the pear pattern . The distinguishing characteristic of the

fleece- rugs is their silky, like appearance suggesting the long nap of canton flannel . It is produced by the long pile ; four or five

to rows are tied with no weft separate them , then three or four threads are thrown across ; this leaves long stran ds of wool to untwist and become very silky with wear . A sys tem of un e ven clipping is also employed

ff . e which heightens this e ect The M sheds, or Muskabads , as they are often called in

Turkey, come from the capitol of the Khorasan district and are warm and lus trous in tone and follow more the convem tional medallion and cut - off corner design than the Khorasan proper . 1 1 8 RUGS IN THE IR N ATIVE LAND

CAUCA SIAN RUGS The Caucasus is the gateway from E urope into Persia, and although at the present time Russia shares with Persia the possession of this territory, still rugs of fine make and usually classed as Persian come into th e market from this region in great quantities . They are known to trade as t Daghes an, Shirvan , Kabistan, Kazak, Les

Tzitzi ghian , , Sumac , etc .

DAGH E STAN AN D S HIRVAN RUGS Old Daghestan and Shirvan rugs are sel f dom to be ound in the market now, but occasionally a fine specimen can be obtained as like that in the accompanying illustra

tion . It has three medallions in the centre edged with the latch hook characteristic of the Daghestan rug . This design is a “ corruption of the old Chinese fret and shows how Mongolian influence and thought have traversed the high mountain

ranges that divide these countries . The

1 20 RUGS IN THEIR NATIVE LAN D The Shirvan and Daghestan rugs have

of many borders, one which is pretty sure to

of be made up the conventionalized swastika, that curious symbol of good luck common to all races from the N orth American In dians to the Mohammedans, Chinese, and

Bh uddis s t . The Roman key is thought to be but a corruption of this symbol . That this rug was made by a Shiite Moham m e dan is evident at a glance from the figures of m en , birds, and animals scattered upon the field .

Shirvan rugs are made in quantities now , but they have degenerated from the fine old examples, although occasionally a good piece comes into the market such as the one shown in the illustration . The warp is a mixture of white and brown wool f twisted . The ground is a most beauti ul blue with no suggestion of green in the tint . The geometrical figures are laid upon f this so t, intense blue in shades of lighter blue, tans, yellows, and reddish browns . The same colour scheme prevails in the

D 1 22 RUGS IN THE IR NATIVE LAN or Kuba rugs, as they are called in Turkey,

' are one of the bes t fabrics made in the

Caucasus . They are closely woven and closely sheared and lie well upon the floor .

The pattern shows Daghestan influences, large diamond medallions often being found in the field . The elongated S , the symbol of the fire worshippers, set horizontally

occurs frequently in these rugs . The or Kabistan carpets have either weft warp,

of s and sometimes both , cotton ; and the side firm are almost always overcast, making a

N o. I selvedge . shows a comparatively modern Kabistan probably not more than

N o 2 n h the fifty years old ; . , an a tique wit sheen and soft colour tones imparted alone

by age. It was called a Kuba by the old Turk of h en whom I purc ased it, and in every parti

lar resembles an old Kuba . It also has the

overhand selvedge common to these rugs . In design it partakes somewhat of the characteristics of an antique Shirvan ; the diagonal arrangement of the convention CARPET RUGS 1 23 alized Persian rose, and the distribution of the border stripes are sometimes found i n the Shirvan as well as the antique Kubas .

KAZ AK RUGS

The coarse, heavy texture and strong, rather crude geometrical designs of the Kazak carpets are a natural expression of the character of the people who weave them, wild nomad tribes, living in tents among the mountains . The old Kazak shown in the illustra tion is beautiful in its colour harmony made of up reds, blues, whites, and yellows, softened by age .

In weaving these rugs, four threads of the weft are thrown across after every row of knots . This causes the pile threads to overlap each other and gives the wool ample opportunity to untwist and become

lustrous . The crap or turtle border is a

distinctive feature of these carpets . I N N D 1 24. RUGS N THEIR ATIVE LA

LESGHIAN STRIP Fine carpets usually long and narrow are made by the L esghian tribes wh o inhabit the foot hills of the mountain ranges back

f Tiflis o . The field is very narrow and the carpet

n s u f co ists mainly of border . Bl e and so t tans are the predominating shades, and all the designs of th e Caucasus region and some strictly Persian are employed: N otice the water motive in the field of the rug in the illustration .

TZITZI RUGS N o survey of the rugs of Persian make would be complete without a mention of Tzitzi the , of which even the modern specimens are very good .

of The ground these rugs, usually blue in

u colo r , is filled with small pattern rosettes and scroll . The field is narrow in com parison with the border, which is composed of many stripes with small geometrical and

CARPET RUGS 1 25

Y floral designs . ellows are the usual pre vailing colour tone of the borders . The whole rug gives one an impression of a rich mosaic .

SUMAC RUGS

Sumac or, as they are sometimes called,

Kashmere rugs belong, strictly speaking, to the kelim family . They are woven like a kelim and the designs embroidered on as the rug is woven . They are heavy and f very durable as a loor covering, the long , loose ends of the wool used in working in the designs pad, as it were , the under side f o the rug . These carpets come in large sizes and are particularly suitable for

- library and dining room use . They are Transcaucas made by the tribes in the . These people resent the advent of civiliza tion and hate the Russians and their rail

w as in r road . When I living the interio of Turkey a whole tribe emigrated there, travelling all that distance to get away from the progress of the times . They 1 26 RUGS IN THE IR N ATIVE LAN D were a very picturesque company in their

Circassian costumes . The carpet, a portion of which is shown in the accom panying illustration , I purchased from the loom

where their women were weaving it . M They were very devout ohammedans, and yet around the central figures or me dallions (as is the case in nearly all rugs of this make) there is the symbol of the cross w had hich , they realized what it meant, nothing could have induced them to weave . The tribes who originally made these rugs were what is called in Turkey kisil bach , a term of great opprobrium and abhorrence to a Mohammedan . The kisil bachs have never accepted Moham m e danism , and are still at heart Christians . They never attend the mosque services but have a worship of their own and once a ’ year at least celebrate in secret the Lord s

Supper . When travelling in the interior of Turkey as we approach e d a small village I inquired of the ar abiji (the driver of our

1 28 RUGS IN THEIR N ATIVE LAN D

or Afghan Khiva, Bokhara , Samarkand,

Beluchistan , and Kashgar all come from

this region .

BOKHARA RUGS

Bokhara rugs, so called in America and E t ngland, would not be recognized by tha name by the Turkoman tribes of the

a a ca Tr nsc u s who weave them . As they were formerly shipped from the city of Af Bokhara in company with the Khiva,

Yom ouds ghan, and , the name on the bill of lading adhered to the rugs . Fine spec i m ens of the Bokhara or Turkoman rugs are

ffi now extremely di cult to obtain . With the Russian occupation of this district has come into use the cheaper and more easily prepared aniline dyes, and, sad to relate, the people have become corrupted in their taste . One sees now for sale Bokhara rugs of f all shades rom a brown to an old rose, but a glance at the under side will usually r e

red on veal the rich aniline dyes, which the surface have been toned down (chem Ku rdis h Kelim

1 30 RUGS IN THE I R N ATIVE LAN D h s ip, and by the term Dervish one must not think them always to be of the howl

for ing or whirling kind, there are many sects of Dervishes whose form of worship

has nothing of the spectacular about it . The prayer niche of the Tekke Bok

hara is almost octagonal in shape, and one

scarcely notices it at a first glance . These prayer rugs are always divided into four

in sections, the field in each section being variably covered with a fine design repr e senting candlesticks (candles in profusion are used in the Dervish Tekkes). The bands that divide the field into four sections always contain strictly tribal or family de ff signs and vary in di erent rugs, so that even in a large collection one will seldom find two rugs with the same designs in th e n border and upon these transverse ba ds . The Armenians call these rugs Khatchli

Bokharas for , the reason that the bands that divide the field into four sections form

Khatc hli a cross, and the word in the ” Armenian language means a cross . CARPET RUGS 1 3 1

The Royal design or pattern is the 0 c ta~ gon that one always associates with a Bok hara rug . Again we must make a long journey over high mountains to trace this

to for pattern its home, the Bokhara octa gon with its light divisions (its centre light on one side and dark on the other) is of

Mongolian origin . It is a conventional izing for convenience in weaving of the

Chinese circle of the zodiac . The eight divisions of location , according to Chinese mythology, were presided over by eight

re re animal deities, just as in all zodiacal p sentati ons the signs are under the control w l of presiding forces . The po ers of ight and powers of darkness formed the two extremes, and in the weaving the colours representing these powers are given in their proper location , but the figures are omitted as would be expected in a Mohammedan representation . The Yom oud Bokhara are large rugs in colour resembling the so- called Bokhara proper, but borrowing in design from the 1 32 RUGS IN THE IR N ATIVE LAN D

Daghestan, Shirvan , and other Caucasian

w eaves . Geometrical and rectilinear de

of the signs prevail, the reds Bokhara family are used for the background but the blues and bright yellows are skilfii lly in

troduced . In the borders , and frequently

around the diamond - shaped and octagonal

- figures in the field, the latch hook design is

to be found . These rugs have a coarse, wide selvedge which sometimes is worked

in squares or checker fashion in red, blue, and brown ; this selvedge is always in the

kelim stitch . They have the striped web ’ end and the long fringe of goats hair p e culiar th e to rugs made in this region . The Afghan Bokharas are heavy carpets containing the Bokhara octagon much en lar ed red n o g , set in the field with small

designs to fill in the background . They sometimes have a touch of white and yel low i n the octagon the borders frequently n fin contai crude flower forms . They are i shed with a coarse, straggling, grayish brown fringe . The Khiva Bokharas are

CARPET RUGS 1 33 easily mistaken for the real ones ; but a

a ff close examin tion will reveal the di erence, as ar e of they much coarser weave, the octagonal design is softened and not so f closely ollowed, and sometimes animal form s are introduced into the field and

of border . A variety thes e Turkoman car s i n pets , now rarely een the market , is the Bushir or Beshir The reds are lighter in tone than in the Bokharas and show less of the brownish tinge ; dull yellows are used sparingly and very little white . The figures are larger and the border has the saw - tooth arrangement found in some Per sian rugs .

SAMARKAN D Samarkand rugs to even the most cas ual observer suggest Mongolian influence . The central field is covered with th e Chinese fret in red on a blue ground or

v vice ersa , reds and blues being the prevail one to ing tones . Round medallions from five are set on this background and con 1 R I N V AND 34. UGS N THEIR ATI E L

tain dragon , fish , pheasants, and sometimes ’

flowers . There are usually two borders . These carpets and the Kahgars are first cousins . They have three border stripes as a rule, and terra cottas and pinks are intro duced into the colour scheme , but the designs are like the Samarkand .

BE LUCH ISTAN RUGS Made by nomad tribes who inhabit the

Kirman Provinces in Persia, they are heavy, rather coarse carpets both as to texture and design . There are hosts of these rugs in m the arket , but good ones are becoming scarce . They generally have a deep mad der red background in which stars and even constellations are wrought in white .

of Beluchistans In some the old , as in the accompanying illustration, beautiful colour ing is used in the geometrical design employed . A deep web always extends in either end of this make of rug and is nearly al u ways striped in dark colo rs, and sometimes,

1 36 RUGS IN THE IR NATIVE LAN D a to one nimal, the very small in which the children carry their school books . Along the route of the railway which th e Ger mans are building to Bagdad and have fin ish ed E as far as regli , the travellers waiting at the stations present a strange appearance in their picturesque Oriental costumes .

Most incongruous of all is their baggage, consisting of saddle - bags of every size and l f colour fi led with all sorts o commodities .

The iron horse has replaced the Arab steed,

- u but the saddle bag s rvives, and I fancy it will be a long time before leather Glad stones and valises will find favour in the eyes of the Oriental . Let us hope so at

for least, travel in Turkey will have lost half its charms when the colour com bina tions in costumes and travel equipment shall give place to the sombre E uropean n clothes and commo leather bags . Among the rugs that come for saddle- bags one l still finds some very choice bits, beautifu

Sennas, etc . Along the back of the divans in East addl S e Bag

1 38 RUGS IN THE IR N ATIVE LAN D

- - it is used for saddle bags, saddle cloths,

for covering for horses and mules, and

market bags . It comes in strips about a half a yard wide and from three to five E yards long . ven in this the lowest grade of kelim the colours are combin ed in a ff charming and e ective way . A better grade about a yard wide is sometimes most beautifully embroidered and is used for

sacks for transport of grain . In travelling one looks with envy at these lovely sacks ff piled high on the creaking bu alo carts . The bags with a large compartment for bread and a smaller one on each side for cheese that the shepherds wear on their lonely marches in the mountains are made

cov from this material , embroidered and ered with tufts of wool to keep off the “ evil eye . The girdles used by the Kurds for the double purpos e of holding up their trousers and carrying their money are also of kelim weave . Most lovely pillow coverings of th e same material are to b e

had, particularly in the region of Konia . CARPET RUGS 1 39

In Oriental houses there are no rooms set apart and furnished as sleeping apart ments . The beds are simply a mattress filled with cotton or wool and placed at night in any room . A single heavy quilt faced with cotton cloth serves both in m winter and sum er for covering, for only the girdle and outside coat is removed at night . These mattress beds, together with the bedding, are stored during the day in

' on cupboards or shelves built into the wall .

W so ood being scarce and expensive, these cupboards seldom have any doors, but short f kelims are woven to hang in ront of them .

( See illustration . ) Wealthy men, sheiks, brigands, etc . , delight in fine trappings for their horses, and exquisite Senna kelims are f m made or this purpose . Keli s are also used in the place of prayer rugs and are w en d oven with this in view, the design n n n contai i g a prayer iche . The Senna kelims woven in the Persian province of

the that name are finest made . They come generally only in the cupboard size and for RUGS IN THE IR N ATIVE LAN D

- saddle blankets . They have the open work design in the weave and some of them are as fine as pocket handkerchiefs ; such is the

of quality the one shown in the colour plate . n The fi er Turkish kelims with a border, which are used in America for portieres and

to which the name Kis Kelim is given, are

not known by this name in the Orient. These kelims are mostly made in the vicin

of Malatia ity , are not embroidered, and have an - open work pattern in the weaving, so that when held up to the light there appear to be holes all through the fabric , but closer scrutiny will reveal a regular pattern . The design of these kelims form large medallions as they are originally sewed together with the borders on the outside ; this medallion design is particularly char acteristi c of the Malatia weave . Malatia is a town in Asia Minor not far distant from the E uphrates River and is situated on the main caravan and post route from the coast

Diabekir to and Mosul . The population

is mostly Armenian, and it is these people

CARPET RUGS 1 4 1 who make the kelims and very durable and beautiful embroidered table covers and

. aprons Single kelims are also woven here, large enough for divan and couCh covers and much more sanitary than upholstery Aleppo - is also a great centre for kelim weaving . The Aleppo kelim is generally finer and has more open work than the

Malatia . They seldom , if ever, have the

o medallion design , and the col urings are much softer and suggest more the old Per sian combinations . They are the most ex pensive of the Turkish make . The Bagdad portieres or strips of which the modern djijim s are an imitation were once very th e common in market, but even in Bagdad sa i they have dly deter orated , and the fine specimens are exceedingly difli cult to oh

was tain . I never able to find but one of the bride Bagdad kelims, as they are called, in which the pattern is outlined with gold

a thre d in the centre stripe, which is so effective against the beautiful rich - toned red which is always the colour of this section of 1 4 2 RUGS IN THEIR NATIVE LAND

the curtain . In olden times these curtains were the chief article in the bride’ s trous c n s a , and years were spent in making it as

To beautiful as possible . meet the de mands ofthe E uropean market small kelims suitable for table covers are woven at all the principal centres of kelim manufacture some of these reproduce Old patterns and in f come beauti ul colours .

1 4 4 RUGS IN THEIR N ATIVE LAND cessions granted for railroads from Constan tinople to Bagdad and from Caesarea to Van H Diabekir arput, , and Mosul, the days are numbered when even in factories men and women are going to work for four and a quarter cents a day and board themselves . It requires no prophetic vision to see that Oriental rugs will be a luxury in the not

f . col distant uture Moreover, the rug lector and student has no time to lose in gathering the remaining antiques and moderately Old rugs hidden away in homes, of mosques, and baths in the interior thes e countries .

1 4 8 RUGS IN THE IR N ATIVE LAND

illioti o h x on m B br t ers, e cavati s ade by, 94

o h u 1 2 8 . n 1 1 2 1 1 6 B k ara r gs, ; ills , faci g ,

u a u 8 B ri l r gs, 7 u h 1 B s ir carpets, 3 3

’ CAMEL S h in u 2 air r gs, 9 C in n m u um on of o 6 car arpet, Berli se , 7 5 ; derivati w rd, 3 ;

use of 6 of o and 6 8 h o of 6 liest , 3 ; g ld jewels , ; ist ry , 7 ; ’ m o n o for 6 O n nu tu Com der fact ries , 4 ; rie tal Ma fac rers

n L m 6 8 2 ill. n 8 2 of pa y, i ited, 5 ; sacred, ; sacred, faci g ;

on 6 st e, 4 ” C n h m n n of 6 arpet k ig t, ea i g , 3

C u 6 . o u arpet r gs, 3 See als R gs C u n u 1 1 8 a casia r gs,

C u u u i on of 1 1 8 a cas s, sit at , C ave dwellers,

C ae n u 80 sarea, carpet i d stry at,

C hon om 6 tesip , carpet fr , 7

Ch the n to 8 2 elebi , gra d, visit ,

Ch n n f om nflu n on n i a, desig s r , 4 7 ; i e ce carpet desig s, 7 5 ,

1 1 8 1 1 1 o m m on to on on of , 3 , 3 3 ; M sle issi , 4 9 ; c cepti

o i 1 1 z d ac, 3

Clari o Gon T m u 6 j , zales de, visits i r, 7

C o h n om 2 c i eal , dye fr , 7

Co ou of u 2 ill . n 2 6 ff n a of 1 l r r gs, 5 ; , faci g ; di ere t stre k , 3 ; do o of 2 m o m of ct red , 3 7 ; list , 3 ; sy b lis , 4 9 Con n no u n of u sta ti ple, b yi g r gs at, 5 3 C n in n ra es carpet desig , 7 5

C o in ru n 1 2 6 1 0 r ss g desig , , 3 C in m h n 1 ypress trees , ce eteries, 7 9 ; at s ri es, 7

DAGH ESTAN u 1 1 8 Ill n 2 8 r gs, ; faci g

D d S n of . avi , ig et , ill , 9 3 INDE$ 1 4 9

m m oun n nh n of 1 0 Dersi tai s , i abita ts , 2 D h f of 8 h of 8 2 s of o h 1 2 ervis es, ezzes , 3 ; ead , ; place w rs ip, 9 D vo oh m n 0 e tees, M am eda , 7 D n o of 1 6 u s for iva s, pill ws , 3 ; r g , 8 D n of u 2 of o ou 2 m o an of rofes yei g r gs, 5; list c l rs, 3 ; i p rt ce p s on 2 l o to 0 i , 9 ; vil ages dev ted , 3

E GY PTIAN m o of m m o a 0 of S, sy b l i rt lity, 5 ; weaving , 9

El - a assi m n n of 1 1 1 y , ea i g , th u n ou h 2 Elizabe , Qee , tr ble wit Persia, 7 ” 1 2 h m for 1 8 Evil Eye, 3 , 3 ; c ar s , 97 , 3

REHAN u 1 1 1 ill . f in 0 FE r gs, ; , ac g 3 m o of 1 2 Fi re worshippers, sy b l , 2

GARD EN n 68 S, Easter , G n in u 1 I 2 1 h o o . i rdes k t, Herat r gs, ; ill , 3 G ll n 6 68 th m o h o u 86 . i rdes r gs, ; i s , faci g 4 , ; wi Perga s n 8 ter , 9 hore an 6 G v carpets, 4

e u 1 1 Ghor van r gs, 5

Go in i and Tu 1 ats Pers a rkey, 9 G n Ghorevan oreva . See w n Greeks, eavi g by , 9 Gu n om m on a to ides, Easter , c issi p id , 53

DA u 1 1 . n 6 H AMME N r gs, 3 ; ill , faci g 5 u o 6 ri ou in Harp t, fact ry at, 7 ; va s spell gs o m n for Hect r, la e t , 7 9

er u ion of 1 1 1 H at, sit at ,

u 1 1 1 . f n 8 Her at r gs, ; ill , aci g u fa o 8 1 Hereke, r g ct ry at,

- ru n Horse shoe in g desig s, 4 9 1 59 RUGS IN THE IR N ATIVE LAND

IN DIGO f om 26 2 8 , dye r , , I n om m on m terpreters, c issi ade by, 55 I m hah 6 s ail, S , 9

“ uan ; fi'om 2 8 J berries, dye , m f o oh m m n 1 1 Jews, sy bols o , ad pted by M a eda s, 9

KAABA 8 , at Mecca, 4

n u 1 l . f n 1 0 1 0 8 Kabista r gs, 2 1 ; i ls aci g 4 , Kah r u 1 ga r gs , 34 F u um Kaiser rederick M se , carpet at, 7 5

m n O h ou u 8 . n 1 Kara O s a g l r gs, 9 ; ill faci g 4 hm u um Kas ere r gs . See S ac

u s 1 2 . f n Kazak r g , 3 ; ill , aci g 54

m 1 il . in 1 2 8 1 2 1 0 1 1 Keli s, 5 , 7 , 3 7 ; ls , fac g , 3 , 4 ; bride, 4 ; u for o 1 0 u m n 1 2 sed p rtieres, 4 ; r gs rese bli g, 5

m ns h h u S ee T Ker a a r gs . abriz Khatchli s T rug . See ekke h u 1 2 K iva r gs, 3 Khoaru I m for 6 8 , carpet ade , ho n u 1 1 K rasa r gs, 7 rm n u 1 0 1 n 8 Ki a r gs, 4 , 3 4 ; ill . , faci g 4

Ki sha u 0 rm an r gs, 1 4 m 1 0 Kis keli s, 4

Kisilbach on of 1 26 , religi , no of n in um u 1 2 1 0 1 K t desti y, S ac r gs , 7 ; ill on 8 2 n 6 m o n n 1 K ia, carpet at , ; desig , 9 ; der weavi g , 0 0

o n u in o nm n 1 as to 8 K ra , sed ad r e t, 5 ; law beverages, 4 ; verse f om m in 0 r Psal s , 7

u u 1 2 1 . n 8 K ba r gs, ; ill , faci g 3

Kub s an n i t . See Kabista

u h u 0 s . f on and n 8 8 K la r gs, 9 ; ill , r tispiece faci g 4 0 , ; borders of 8 8 , , 93

1 51 RUGS IN THE IR N ATIVE LAND

o u 1 0 0 . n 1 0 0 1 2 M s l carpets, ; ills , faci g , 4

a ad h Musk b . See Mes ed

EW YO RK o o n of u in 8 N , d ct ri g r gs , 3

N of the ile, lily , 4 7 N n h of 1 0 0 i eve , site ,

’ O RI N TA nuf u om n L m 6 E L Ma act rers C pa y , i ited, 5

P LL m A AS keli s, 1 3 7 Ch n Paper, i ese, 4 7 ” h m m n n of 20 Pas i , ea i g , h m in the 1 0 Patriarc al syste , East, n 1 0 Pear patter , 9 n o n of Pe el pe , weavi g , 9 m o hi o of 6 Perga s, st ry , 9 6 n 2 and m o u . 6 o Perga s r gs , 9 ; ills , faci g 9 , 9 , c ver o in 6 Ch n n n o u Persia, carpet fact ries , 4 ; i ese desig s i tr d ced n o 8 ou h h 2 n u of vow i t , 4 ; tr ble wit Elizabet , 7 la g age , in 1 2 1 oh m m n m h in 6 o els , M a eda is establis ed , 9 ; rigi

nal nh n of 6 h m in 1 0 n i abita ts , ; patriarc al syste , ; rece t

o in 1 on of 1 h and o of pr gress , 4 3 ; religi , 4 ; s eep g ats , 1 n in in x n h n u 8 9 ; weavi g , si tee t ce t ry, 4 1 d n n u 1 2 8 0 1 0 . an 2 80 Persia r gs, , , 3 ; ills , 3 faci g 7 , ; n in ou of 6 desig s , 4 7 ; vari s grades , 4 u oh m m n t u o 1 Pict res, M a eda at it de t wards, 5 m oh m m n 0 Pilgri ages, M a eda , 7 o of v n 1 Pill ws, di a s, 3 7 o o o on n u 1 0 P l , Marc , Persia r gs, 4 om n o use of 8 P egra ates, dec rative , 3 n h of Gh o u 8 of u h u Prayer ic es, 7 7 ; i rdes r gs, 7 ; K la r gs, 0 of L u 6 of T u 1 0 9 ; adik r gs, 9 3 , 9 ekke r gs, 3 INDE$ 1 53

ru 6 of Cz sarea 8 1 o ou in 8 Ghio Prayer gs, 7 ; , c l rs , 7 rdes, 8 m u for 1 n n 2 7 ; keli s sed , 39 Persia , ill . , faci g 7

RHO DE o n of i ll. n of on in S, c i s , , 9 5 ; lege d , 94 ; st e carpets , 4 6 ho i n in ru n R d a lily, 9 5 g desig s , 94 om n n R a s, weavi g by, 9 o oh m m n 1 1 R sary, M a eda , 9 o u 1 1 R yal r gs, 3 ill facing 1 1 2

u of o of h h A 8 2 u 8 R gs , peri d S a bbas, 4 ; black, 9 ; b rial, 7 ; u n of in the 6 ho old b yi g , East, 5 3 ; carpet, 3 c ice , 5 5 fi on of 1 2 n of o o 6 classi cati , ; desig , 4 5 ; d ct red , 3 7 , 5 ; n of D n h h 1 1 m m n u dyei g , see yei g ; eart , 7 , 4 ; i ple e ts sed

in m k n 1 6 n on on 6 no in 1 a i g, ; i scripti s , 4 ; k ts , 4 ; m n of om m o u n n aki g , 5 ; fr sq es, 57 ; Persia , see Persia u u 80 n h n r gs ; prayer, see Prayer r gs ; silk, ; silke s ee on of on 6 Tu h Tu h u , 39 ; st e, 4 ; rkis , see rkis r gs ;

un nn of 1 1 m ho of n I o eve ess , et d weavi g, unn 6 in 8 R ers , 4 ; trade

- SADDLE BAG 1 1 8 . f n 1 6 S, 3 5, 3 ; ill , aci g 3 ’ om oo of 8 0 St . Peter s, R e, d rs ,

m n u 1 . n 1 u h Sa arka d r gs, 3 3 ill faci g 3 3 p rc ase

n u 1 0 ill . n 6 Saraba d r gs, 9 ; , faci g 7

h u 1 0 8 . n 2 0 Sarak r gs, ill , faci g of oo 1 1 0 Seal, bl d, nn im 1 f n 1 2 Se a kel s, 39 ; ill aci g 3 nn no in Ferehan u 1 1 2 1 Se a k t r gs, ill . , 3 nn u 1 0 Se a r gs, 7 S era i u 1 1 6 p r gs, h in and Tu 1 S eep, Persia rkey, 9 h 'of 1 S iites , liberality , 5 h u 1 1 S iraz r gs, 5 1 54 RUGS IN THE IR N ATIVE LAND

h n u 1 1 8 . n 1 0 S irva r gs, ill , faci g u m 1 1 6 Sirab, r gs ade at, m n u 6 ru u n in 6 m f o S yr a, r gs, 4 ; g b si ess , 53, 5 ; g act ry at, 8 rocess ~used n i 1 5 p by Sy d cate, 4

o om on of . S l , seal , ill 93 ou h n n on u um S t Ke si gt M se , carpet at, 7 5

n . 2 1 Spi dle, ill , S m ul u n of u in ta b , b yi g r gs , 54

u an of Tu u o on of 8 S lt rkey , spirit al p siti , 5 8 um u 1 2 . n S ac r gs, 5 ; ill , faci g 5 S unn of 1 ites, beliefs , 4 m o 1 Swastika sy b l, m o i m Of o ou 0 on u 6 Sy b l s c l rs, 5 r gs, 4

TABRIZ u 1 0 r gs, 4 Ta h oun 80 j Ma al , trees ar d,

Tam as r m for 1 p , ca pet ade , 7

T u 1 2 n of n 1 1 ekke r gs, 9 patter , ill . , faci g 6 Tele hos m o 6 p at Perga s, 9 T n u h e ts, K rdis , 5 T m u n n of 6 i r, i sig ia , 7

Tocat , bridge at, 3

Tran scaucasus f om 1 2 , carpets r , 5 T n m o 1 ria gle as sy b l , 1 9 Tu m om 2 8 eric, dye fr , Tu h u 1 2 80 8 1 in 6 rkis r gs, , 5 ; ill . , 3 ; carpet sizes, 4 ; in m n 6 S yr a , 5 Tu om n u 1 2 rk a r gs, 7

Tur of 1 1 ou Of 6 n u of vow ks, beads , 9 c rtyards , 4 ; la g age , in 1 2 1 off n to m o u ri h m els , eri gs sq es, 5 7 pat arc al syste of 1 0 n o of 1 on of 1 h , rece t pr gress , 4 3 ; religi ; 4 ; s eep and o of 1 n of 8 g ats , 9 wi e , 4 Tzitzi u 1 2 r gs, 4