Rugs: Oriental and Occidental, Antique & Modern Part 6

It is the export depot for goods from the interior, and dealers have allowed the name to be used merely for convenience, for commercial purposes. A student of rugs can readily understand that throughout the vast territory which concentrates its commerce in Smyrna there are a score or more of valuable manufactures which could never be known under one descriptive name.

_Sparta_ rugs are made in a village bearing that name situated in the interior not far from Smyrna. They are very heavy, firm, and in different colors. Some of those recently made are especially fine.

Attention is being paid to harmonious coloring as well as to quality and texture. A splendid specimen is in the home of the leading merchant of Smyrna. It is in the softest shades of rose and blue, with a l.u.s.trous sheen. The texture is as fine as velvet, and the medallion in the centre is most gracefully designed. Many rugs are sold under the name of _Ca.s.saba_, which are really woven at Sparta.

_Yaprak_ (see Ouchak) rugs.

_Yuruk_ rugs are so called from a band of nomads who dwell among the mountains of Anatolia. They have large flocks of sheep, and weave rugs of strong, hardy texture. The colors are very good, the field often of brown, ornamented with large, bold designs.

III

RUG-WEAVING IN INDIA, AFGHANISTAN, BELUCHISTAN, CENTRAL ASIA, AND THE CAUSCASUS REGION

INDIAN RUGS

The manufacture of rugs was introduced into India by the Mohammedans at their first invasion in the beginning of the eleventh century. Persian rugs, however, were always preferred to those made in India, and princes and n.o.bles of the Delhi Court, when it was in its greatest splendor, sought the fabrics woven in Herat, or by the Sharrokhs on the Attrek, or the nomad tribes of Western Kurdistan. These were purchased only by the princes and their wealthy followers. A few specimens of these rugs still remain in India, and are now and then reproduced with more or less accuracy.

In the sixteenth century, however, the Emperor Akbar, or more properly Jalal-ud-Din Mahomed, sent for Persian weavers to make the exquisite fabrics for which Persia was then so famous. At first these weavers continued to weave according to the designs employed in their own land; but it is not surprising that as time went on, and the natives of India learned the art of weaving from the Persians, Hindoo ideas should have found expression, in Southern India especially. Thus geometrical designs were subst.i.tuted for floral, although even now the designs of some Indian rugs revive memories of Persian teachers in the careful arrangement of flowers and leaves. The designs of Indian rugs were frequently named after the original owners, in which cases the weavers generally lived and worked in the houses of their employers. At the present time the manufacture of many Indian rugs is carried on largely in jails, where the old Persian designs are generally used.

In Indian rugs, as in those of other countries, there are certain distinct characteristics that stamp them as coming from particular districts, and in India alone are to be detected the few a.s.syrian types still in existence. Genuine old India rugs are works of art, but they are rarely seen.

The religion of the Hindoo does not permit of his tasting the flesh of sheep; and as India is not a wool-producing country, except in the northern part, cotton is often subst.i.tuted. For this reason, and because the time consumed for weaving is less, Indian rugs are generally less expensive than Persian.

Mr. Julian Ralph, in an interesting account of his visit to the home of a prince in India, published in one of our magazines, writes of the splendid rugs shown him by his host: "They were state rugs, and one was green with a border of gold that must have weighed twenty pounds or more. The other was red with a similar border, so stiff and c.u.mbrous that it did not seem made to walk upon. However, the prince sent for his stiff-soled heavy-heeled ceremonial shoes which were quite as richly crusted with gold, and walked about on the rugs, crushing the gold embroidery in a ruthless way." When Mr. Ralph spoke of the damage, he said, "It is of no consequence, these borders have to be renewed very frequently."

An Indian rug of great beauty was taken to England from India by Lord Clive, who ordered the architect of his magnificent palace--Claremont--then in process of building, to design a room especially for it. Such special care for the proper display of this work of art may be exceptional, but it shows true appreciative power on the part of Clive.

From the time of the decadence of the industry of weaving fine shawls, which was so long a feature of Kashmir, the wool of which they were woven was gradually transferred to the rug industry, and the weavers turned their attention from the shawls to the rugs, on which they displayed the same patience and skill.

CHARACTERISTICS OF CERTAIN INDIAN RUGS

_Agra_ sends out very satisfactory rugs. These are mostly of great weight and thickness. Many of the best are woven in the jail. The finest specimen that I have seen belongs to Mrs. Potter Palmer, of Chicago, and is a duplicate of one owned by Mrs. Frederick D. Grant. The rug is of enormous size and weight, and the tree design is arranged in shades of exquisite blue upon a field of delicate fawn color. The border, in the same coloring, gives the most perfect harmony to the entire rug. Many more Agra rugs would be imported, but there is now a United States law prohibiting the importation of goods made in jail.

_Allahabad_ rugs are similar to those of Agra, but the latter are as a rule preferable.

_Amritsar_ gives employment to over twenty thousand men and boys, and supplies the market with some of the finest of modern Indian rugs.

Leading English and American firms have factories located there, and for that reason rugs brought into the Occident from Amritsar are reliable.

They are firm in texture, and have fast colors. The manufacturers realize the importance of these attributes in a rug, and their own responsibility in the matter.

The _Dhurrie_ (Durrie) is a strong, well-made rug of cotton, often in stripes of blue, brown, or gray, with narrow yellow and red lines. Some Dhurries end in a fringe, and are square. In India they are largely used by the foreign population, and in the United States they are especially appropriate for summer time. They are made chiefly at Agra, Cawnpur, Delhi, Lucknow, and in the vicinity of Bombay.

_Ellore_ rugs belong to the inexpensive cla.s.s, but the designs and colors are pleasing. As they are made chiefly of fibre mixed with wool, they are not durable.

Formerly _Haidarabad_ sent out rugs famous for their beauty, with designs in the forms of medallions, filled with flat floral ornaments and woven with wool pile on a cotton foundation. But the modern Haidarabad by no means compares with the antique.

_Jaipur_ rugs are generally made in the schools of art. They contain many Persian designs representing animals and the cypress tree. The borders are floral, and the field is generally ivory, red, or blue.

_Lah.o.r.e_, the British capital of the Punjab, has rugs woven in both wool and cotton, and the work is done mostly in jails. The designs are Persian, and the texture embraces from forty to one hundred knots to the square inch.

_Madras_ rugs are chiefly made in large quant.i.ties for commercial and export purposes.

_Masulipatam_ rugs were once noted for their beauty, but now many of them are poor in design and workmanship.

_Mirzapur_ rugs are sometimes wrongly sold for Turkish, which they somewhat resemble. The antiques are very durable, but this cannot be said of all the modern ones, the vegetable fibre that is used in part in the construction of them not being durable. Few are exported to the United States. The colors are often black, orange, or grayish-white.

_Moodj_ is the name given to a coa.r.s.e, hardy mat, suitable for the veranda. It is made of buffalo gra.s.s, which grows six to twelve feet high in India. This is harvested, the fibre extracted by pounding, and then it is twisted into rope or yarn. Afterward it is dyed.

_Multan_ rugs have large geometrical figures in octagons, medallions, and circles. These rugs are very lasting. Their general coloring is dark red and blue. Sometimes a really beautiful modern Multan is discovered.

Occasionally an emerald green or a yellow alternates with the usual reds and blues, and again we see a white ground with blue designs. The modern ones are not largely imported into America. The antique Multan is very fine, but scarce.

_Mysore_ rugs are cheap and not interesting.

_Patna_ rugs are usually in blue and white; in quality they resemble the modern Multan.

_Pushmina_ rugs have their name from the manufacturers, who thus designate rugs that are woven of pashim.

_Sindh_ rugs are the cheapest and least durable of all Indian rugs, and on this account not many are imported into the Western market. The colors are green and orange.

_Srinagar_, the capital city of Kashmir, makes very beautiful rugs from the finest wool. This is soft and silky, and as natural dyes are employed, the Srinagar rugs, as well as many other rugs from the northern portion of India, are highly valued. Antique rugs of this character are attractive in soft tones of rose and yellow.

_Warangul_ rugs. At Warangul, in the eastern part of the Deccan, modern rugs have been woven for the past sixty years. The designs are chiefly Persian, with a strong Indian influence. To show the beauty and delicacy of some of the old rugs, I may mention that one was made at Warangul, in the sixteenth century, which contained 3,500,000 knots on its entire surface, or 400 knots to the square inch, and the designs were so complicated that a change of needle was required for every knot.

Leading importers now give names to designate the different qualities of India rugs, and therefore the name borne by a rug does not necessarily indicate the district in which it was woven. For example the Dhurrie rug is woven in several districts of the northern provinces.

[Ill.u.s.tration: AFGHANISTAN RUG

SIZE, 9.5 7.6

_This rug has a remarkably soft yet firm texture. The rough beauty and the fine coloring are very attractive. The field is a rich shade of red verging toward the hue of a blood orange, and again gleaming with far deeper shades. The large octagons are defined by a very narrow dark brown line. Two sides of these octagons are in a deep, sapphire blue, while the remaining two sides are of an orange cast. The octagon sections are all ornamented, the small red diamonds at the edges being separated by dark green lines. The lattice-work design in the squares of the border of the rug are decorated with green and ivory, the latter in the hook design. The centres of all the octagons are of the orange shade, and one only is crossed through the centre, the markings being knots of green. Large diamond forms, barred with sapphire blue and rich green, are between the octagons on the field. Occasionally a small geometrical figure in either blue or green, with pale yellow or ivory, is seen, and a wide red webbing with heavy dark brown lines across it extends at some length beyond the border. The rug was woven in that northern region of Afghanistan known as Afghan-Turkestan._

OWNED BY MR. GEORGE HUBBARD HOLT, CHICAGO.]

AFGHANISTAN RUGS

Afghanistan rugs are generally large and nearly square. They are coa.r.s.er than the Turkoman rugs, but resemble them in color and design. The Afghans, however, are more striking, the octagon designs being larger and bolder. At Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan, and in other cities rugs are found which are made by the nomad tribes on the frontier. The same tribes weave also the cotton and silk rugs said to be woven at Bhawulpore, India. The Great Rug in the Palace of Chehel Sitoon (forty pillars) at Ispahan, Persia, is said to be the largest ever woven, and to measure about sixty feet long by thirty feet wide. This rug was made in the sixteenth century, and is of Herat design and manufacture. Owing to political disturbances, weavers from Herat have settled in the province of Khora.s.san, Persia, since 1838, and prefer to call that their home.

Some rugs have a strong odor, which is especially noticeable in those of Afghanistan. The reason for the presence of the odor is that the animal's hair has not been properly washed. Nothing but a thorough cleansing on the back as well as on the surface, with soap and hot water seems to be effective in carrying it away, although certain atmospheric changes affect it. A damp, wet day brings out the odor strongly.

Fortunately this disturbing element is not in all Afghan rugs. There is a great deal of force and strength exhibited in these rugs, and a richness most attractive in the finest specimens. A color plate in this volume, with its accompanying description, explains the typical Afghanistan rug.

BELUCHISTAN RUGS

Beluchistan rugs bear the marks of nomadic workmanship. They show that they are woven by tribes who combine strength and skill. The designs are generally geometric, and bold in effect. The rugs have rich dull tones of blue, red, and often with markings of white or ivory on a foundation of dark brown, in fact so dark sometimes as to give the appearance of black. This is accounted for partly by the great abundance of goat's hair and camel's hair woven into it, which is sometimes dyed even darker than the natural color. There is a fine l.u.s.tre in this rug, and it is one of the hardiest and most durable of all the Oriental rugs. The wool used is soft and the pile left rather long, which accounts in part for the rug being so thick and heavy. Occasionally we find a beautiful old prayer rug in brown tones, and with corner areas in fine dull reds and a wonderful deep rich blue.