Part 1 (1/2)

Rugs: Oriental and Occidental, Antique & Modern.

by Rosa Belle Holt.

PREFACE

While there is a singular lack of books in the English language treating directly of Rugs,--a theme which is so intensely interesting to buyers,--it is noteworthy that under the category of Oriental Carpets are to be found a few volumes of interest. These, however, are too rare and expensive for the general reader. For this reason I have undertaken to present in a concise form certain facts that may enable a novice to appreciate the beauty and interest attaching to rugs, and a.s.sist a prospective purchaser in judging of the merits of any particular rug he may desire to possess.

For much valuable information on the subject I am indebted to publications which are referred to in my Bibliography, to correspondence with Ministers to Oriental countries and Consuls residing therein, to interviews with rug-dealers in various cities, and to certain learned Americans, Armenians, Greeks, Syrians and Turks. It has also been my good fortune to be intrusted, for purposes of description and reproduction, with many beautiful and rare rugs, from owners who cherish them as treasures. These true rug-lovers have generously contributed to whatever there may be of interest in this book.

R. B. H.

NEW YORK CITY, _August 1, 1901_.

RUGS

I

HISTORY AND DETAILS OF RUG-WEAVING

_Fair warp and fitting woof Weave a web that bideth proof._

MOTTO OF THE CANTERBURY WEAVERS.

RUGS

ORIENTAL AND OCCIDENTAL ANTIQUE AND MODERN

I

THE HISTORY AND DETAILS OF RUG-WEAVING

The History

Rugs, in the house beautiful, impart richness and represent refinement.

Their manufacture was one of the earliest incentives for the blending of colors in such harmony as to please the eye and satisfy the mind; consequently, it is one of the most important of the industrial arts.

Since the days when ancient peoples first lay down to sleep wrapped in the skins of animals, the human intelligence has quickened, and as the race has become more civilized, rugs have gradually taken the place of skins. Thus began the industry of rug-weaving, and it has grown to such an extent that it is now of world-wide importance.

The word _Rug_ is used in this volume in the following sense: ”A covering for the floor; a mat, usually oblong or square, and woven in one piece. Rugs, especially those of Oriental make, often show rich designs and elaborate workmans.h.i.+p, and are hence sometimes used for hangings,” In several books rugs and carpets are referred to as identical. In fact most written information on rugs has been catalogued under the term _carpets_; and there seems to be good reason for a.s.suming that the terms _tapestries_ and _carpets_, as used in ancient times, were synonymous with the word _rugs_ of the present day, for these were spread loosely on the floor without the aid of fastenings.

Historical references to spinning and to the weaving of tapestries date back to a very early period. An ancient Jewish legend states that Naamah, daughter of Lamech and sister of Tubal-Cain, was the inventor of the spinning of wool and of the weaving of thread into cloth.

On at least two of the wonderful rock-cut tombs at Beni-Ha.s.san, in Egypt,--2800-2600 B.C.,--there are pictures of weavers at work. In one, women are filling a distaff with cotton, twisting it with a spindle into thread, and weaving this on an upright loom. Beside them is a man, evidently an overseer, watching the weavers and their work. The other wall-painting represents a man weaving a checkered rug on a horizontal loom. Other monuments of ancient Egypt and of Mesopotamia bear witness that the manufacture of rugs dates a considerable time prior to 2400 B.C.

At Thebes a fresco, dating 1700-1000 B.C., represents three men weaving at an upright loom. A small rug, discovered in that city some time between the years 666 and 358 B.C., and now in the possession of Mr. Hay in England, is described by Sir J. Gardner Wilkinson as follows: ”This rug is eleven inches long by nine broad. It is made like many carpets of the present day, with woollen threads on linen string. In the centre is the figure of a boy in white, with a goose above it, the hieroglyphic of 'child' upon a green ground, around which is a border composed of red, white, and blue lines. The remainder is yellow, with four white figures above and below, and one at each side, with blue outlines and red ornaments; and the outer border is made up of red, white, and blue lines, with a fancy device projecting from it, with a triangular summit, which extends entirely round the edge of the rug. Its date is uncertain, but from the child, the combination of the colors, and ornamental border, I am inclined to think it really Egyptian, not of the Pharaonic, but of the Greek and Roman period.” Dr. Samuel Birch, who edited the last edition of Wilkinson's work, affirms that this is so.

On the marbles of Nineveh is represented the pectoral worn by Sardanapalus. It is an exact miniature of a Kurdish rug of modern times.