The Project Gutenberg EBook of Oriental Rugs, by Walter A. Hawley This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: Oriental Rugs Antique and Modern Author: Walter A. Hawley Release Date: May 20, 2012 [EBook #39740] Language: English Character set encoding: ASCII *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ORIENTAL RUGS *** Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Turgut Dincer and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net cover COLOUR PLATE I Section of the Holy Carpet of the Mosque of Ardebil, in the Royal Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington, London. Described on Pages 83 and 84. SECTION OF THE HOLY CARPET OF THE MOSQUE AT ARDEBIL SECTION OF THE HOLY CARPET OF THE MOSQUE AT ARDEBIL, Size: 34 ft. 6 in. by 17 ft. 6 in. TRANSLATION OF INSCRIPTION. I have no refuge in the world other than thy threshold, My head has no protection other than this porchway; The work of the Slave of this Holy Place. Maksoud of Kashan. 946 A. H. = 1540 A. D. FORMERLY IN THE POSSESSION OF VINCENT ROBINSON & CO., Ltd., 34 WIGMORE STREET, LONDON, W., And Sold by them in 1892 to THE ROYAL VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, SOUTH KENSINGTON, LONDON. ORIENTAL RUGS ANTIQUE AND MODERN BY WALTER A. HAWLEY WITH ELEVEN FULL-PAGE PLATES IN COLOUR EIGHTY HALF-TONE ENGRAVINGS AND FOUR MAPS NEW YORK DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY 1927 Copyright, 1913 By John Lane Company Printed in U. S. A. PREFACE v S INCE the appearance, in 1900, of the excellent work of Mr. John Kimberly Mumford on Oriental Rugs, the public interest in these fabrics has so largely increased that the author feels warranted in offering this monograph, which aims to treat the subject in a way that will not only appeal to the general reader but be of value to the student. In the chapter entitled “Rug Weaving Before the XVIII Century” is a brief review of some of the notable achievements in this branch of art; and in order that the public may as far as possible have access to the masterpieces described, the carpets on exhibition in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York have been given unusual prominence. The chapters on “How to Distinguish Rugs” and on “Purchasing Rugs” should prove serviceable to those who are collecting or are buying for use; and the chapter on “Weaving” contains many details which have not previously received from connoisseurs the consideration they deserve. The descriptions of all but the least important classes of rugs in the Persian, Asia Minor, Caucasian, and Central Asiatic groups include not only a general statement of their most striking features, but also a technical analysis that is termed “Type Characteristics.” It should be understood, however, that these characteristics are not invariable, but are remarkably constant. They may interest chiefly those who aim to acquire expert information, yet they will doubtlessly prove valuable to every owner of a rug as a means for its identification. It would be difficult to acknowledge all the assistance received by the author since he began the study of rugs; for sometimes a mere suggestion has started a line of investigation resulting in interesting discoveries. He has freely consulted well-known authorities, who are quoted in the body of the work; and has received valuable suggestions and assistance from Messrs. T. S. Hawley, of Santa Barbara, Cal., George Harootunian and Frank Loftus, of Los Angeles, Cal.; George Stevenson, of New York; G. Graf, of the Persische Teppiche Gesellschaft, of Tabriz; and P. de Andrea & Co., of Constantinople. He gratefully acknowledges the permission of Messrs. C. F. Williams, of Norristown, Penn., and James F. Ballard, of St. Louis, Mo., to study their valuable collections; and the permission of Dr. Wilhelm R. Valentiner, Curator of Decorative Arts in the Metropolitan Museum in New York, to examine the carpets of the museum and to take photographs of them. He also wishes particularly to mention the kindness of the following collectors and firms who have allowed their rugs to be used for illustrations: Miss Emily Davis, of Buffalo, N. Y.; the Misses Palache, and Messrs. Nathan Bentz and T. S. Hawley, of Santa Barbara, Cal.; Mr. R. Y. Struble, of Fredericktown, Ohio; Mr. E. L. Pierce, of Syracuse, N.Y.; Mr. H. C. Merritt, of Pasadena, Cal.; Mr. J. F. Ballard, of St. Louis, Mo.; Mr. C. F. Williams, of Norristown, Penn.; Major L. B. Lawton, U.S.A., of Seneca Falls, N.Y.; Messrs. Mihran & Co., of Los Angeles, Cal.; Messrs. B. Altman & Co., Benguiat & Keresey, Wm. Baumgarten & Co., Jones & Brindisi, Jos. Wild & Co., W. & J. Sloane, and the Tiffany Studios, of New York City. He is also indebted to Vincent Robinson & Co., Ltd., of London, for the use of the colour plate of the Royal Garden Carpet, now owned by them, and to the Royal Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington, London, for permission to obtain a colour plate of the Holy Carpet of the Mosque of Ardebil. New York, June, 1913. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I Introduction 15 II Physical Features and History of Rug-producing Lands 20 III Materials 30 IV Dyeing 37 V Weaving 44 VI Designs and Symbols 58 VII Rug Weaving before the Eighteenth Century 74 VIII Classification of Modern Rugs 97 IX Persian Rugs 102 X Asia Minor Rugs 163 XI Caucasian Rugs 197 XII Central Asiatic Rugs 233 XIII Indian Rugs 253 XIV Chinese Rugs 263 XV Kilims 276 XVI How to Distinguish Rugs 282 XVII Purchasing Rugs 295 vi Walter A. Hawley. vii Index 309 ILLUSTRATIONS COLOURED PLATES Plate I The Holy Carpet of the Mosque of Ardebil Frontispiece OPPOSITE PAGE II Oushak Carpet 40 III Mosul Rug 66 IV Bergamo Rug 102 V Ghiordes Prayer Rug 130 VI Royal Persian Garden Carpet Between pages 160 and 161 VII Ladik Prayer Rug 190 VIII Soumak Rug 210 IX Samarkand Rug 240 X Kang-hi Rug 270 XI Keen-lung Rug 300 Halftone Engravings Plate 1 Khorassan Rug 22 ” 2 Meshed Rug 26 ” 3 Kirman Rug 30 ” 4 Shiraz Rug 34 ” 5 Niris Rug 36 ” 6 Feraghan Rug 42 ” 7 Feraghan Rug 46 ” 8 Hamadan Rug 52 ” 9 Sarouk Rug 56 ” 10 Sarabend Rug 58 ” 11 Carpet from Northwestern Persia 64 ” 12 Carpet from Northwestern Persia 68 ” 13 Compartment Carpet 70 ” 14 Persian Animal Carpet 72 ” 15 Persian Animal Carpet 76 ” 16 Persian Animal Carpet 78 ” 17 So-called Polish or Polonaise Carpet 80 ” 18 So-called Ispahan 84 ” 19 Armenian Carpet 86 ” 20 Asia Minor Dragon and Phœnix Carpet 88 ” 21 Portrait of Georg Gyze by Hans Holbein 92 ” 22 Oushak Carpet 94 ” 23 Sehna Rug 98 Map of Persia 104 ” 24 Bijar Rug 106 ” 25 Kermanshah Rug 110 ” 26 Kurdistan Rug with Mina Khani Pattern 114 ” 27 Gorevan Rug 118 ” 28 Bergamo Prayer Rug 122 viii ix x ” 29 Ghiordes Prayer Rug 126 ” 30 Ghiordes Rug 132 ” 31 Kulah Prayer Rug 136 ” 32 Melez Prayer Rug 140 ” 33 Melez Rug 144 ” 34 Rhodian Rug 148 ” 35 Konieh Prayer Rug 152 ” 36 Kir-Shehr Prayer Rug 154 ” E Primary Border-Stripes of Persian Rugs 156 ” F Secondary Border-Stripes of Persian Rugs 158 Map of Asia Minor 164 ” 37 Anatolian Prayer Rug 166 ” 38 Mudjar Prayer Rug 168 ” 39 Daghestan Prayer Rug 172 ” 40 Kabistan Rug 176 ” 41 Kuba Rug 180 ” 42 Chichi Rug 184 ” 43 Tcherkess Rug 188 ” G Primary Border-Stripes of Asia Minor Rugs 192 ” H Secondary Border-Stripes of Asia Minor Rugs 194 Map of Caucasia 198 ” 44 Baku Rug 200 ” 45 Shirvan Rug 202 ” 46 Soumak Rug 204 ” 47 Kazak Prayer Rug 208 ” 48 Kazak Rug 212 ” 49 Karabagh Prayer Rug 214 ” 50 Gengha Prayer Rug 218 ” 51 Royal Bokhara Rug 222 ” 52 Princess Bokhara Rug 224 ” I Primary Border-Stripes of Caucasian Rugs 226 ” J Primary Border-Stripes of Caucasian Rugs 228 ” K Secondary Border-Stripes of Caucasian Rugs 230 Map of Turkestan 234 ” 53 Turkoman Rug with Katchli Pattern 236 ” 54 Turkoman Rug with Pindé Pattern 238 ” 55 Turkoman Rug of the Salor Tribes 244 ” 56 Yomud Rug 248 ” L Primary and Secondary Border-Stripes of Central Asiatic Rugs 250 ” 57 Beshire Prayer Rug 254 ” 58 Beshire Rug 258 ” 59 Afghan Rug 260 ” 60 Beluchistan Prayer Rug 264 ” 61 Turkoman Saddle-bags 268 ” M Medallions in Chinese Rugs 272 ” N Primary and Secondary Border-Stripes of Chinese Rugs. 274 272 ” 62 Srinagar Rug 278 ” 63 XVIII Century Chinese Rug 282 ” 64 Keen-lung Rug 286 ” 65 Keen-lung Rug 292 ” 66 Kurdish Prayer Kilim 296 Black and White Engravings xi I Page Plate A An Upright Loom 45 Plate B Technicalities of Weaving 49 Plate C Prayer Arches of Persian, Caucasian, and Central Asiatic Rugs 61 Plate D Prayer Arches of Asia Minor Rugs 63 Plate O General Designs 291 Charts Periods when Antique Carpets were made 96 Technicalities in the weave of Persian Rugs 161 Technicalities in the weave of Persian Rugs 162 Technicalities in the weave of Asia Minor Rugs 196 Technicalities in the weave of Caucasian Rugs 232 Technicalities in the weave of Central Asiatic Rugs 252 ORIENTAL RUGS CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION T is not altogether surprising that in a most materialistic age many of a race distinguished more for its utilitarian than artistic accomplishments should fail to see in Oriental carpets high artistic expression; yet during the last twenty years choice specimens have been sold for sums which not only are very large, but show a tendency to increase with each succeeding year. In 1893 a woollen rug, known as the Ardebil carpet and regarded, on account of its beautiful designs and exquisite colours, as one of the finest products of Oriental art, was purchased for the South Kensington Museum. Since it had a length of thirty-four and a half feet with a breadth of seventeen and a half, the price of £2500, which was the sum paid, was at the rate of twenty dollars per square foot. At an auction sale in New York in 1910,1 a woollen rug five and a half feet long by three and three quarters wide was sold for the sum of $10,200, or at the rate of four hundred and ninety-one dollars per square foot; and a silk rug seven feet and two inches long by six feet and four inches wide was sold for the sum of $35,500, or at the rate of nine hundred and thirty dollars per square foot. As it was the general opinion of connoisseurs that the prices paid for these two rugs were low, and as it is well known that these rugs are not more valuable than some others of equal size, it is not unreasonable to assume that many of the best judges of Oriental rugs would declare that at the present time the sum of five hundred dollars per square foot is a fair price for some antique woollen rugs, and the sum of one thousand dollars per square foot a fair price for some antique silk rugs. If these judges were asked on what they based their opinion of the value of these old pieces, which are less serviceable for wear than new rugs that can be bought of an American factory at twenty cents per square foot, they might with reason reply that they are works of art, woven in those days when Michelangelo, Titian, Rubens, and Rembrandt were busy in their studios; that they are as scarce as the paintings of these masters; and that they might justly be compared with them in beauty and artistic execution. Though granting that the technique of weaving makes it impossible to represent a design as perfectly as can be done with a brush, they would claim that the drawing of dainty vines, scrolls, and arabesques was often represented by lines that in abstract beauty of form are unsurpassed, and that no artist had ever produced from his palette colours which equalled in brilliant sheen and marvellously changing hue those of the woven masterpieces. Whoever is inclined to disagree with these judges and with those art critics of Europe and America who assert that in an aesthetic sense the people of the Orient are cultured to a standard beyond the comprehension of the Western world, should remember that the taste for any kind of art is based on convention and is largely a matter of cultivation. The Occidental, who for generations has cultivated the taste for paintings and statuary, looks to the painter and sculptor for the highest expression of artistic genius; but the Oriental takes greater delight in his marvellous creations of porcelain or woven fabrics. There is, too, a marked difference in treatment. The Occidental demands that in art “everything should be stated with the utmost fullness of a tedious realism before he can grasp its meaning”2 and fails to recognise the more subtle beauty of various forms of Oriental art. The Oriental, on the other hand, is far less realistic and is better satisfied if his subject suggests abstract qualities that depend for their fullest appreciation on those quickening experiences that at different times have touched the soul of the observer. Moreover, as Buddhism, which prevails in many of the countries of Asia, teaches that a universal spirit is manifested in each form of nature, determining its character, and a similar idea 15 16 pervades other religions of the East, the highest aim of Asiatic art is to express that inner spirit. It is largely this difference in artistic cultivation that accounts for the difference in taste. Whoever then would fully appreciate these rugs must view them not only with an eye trained to see the beautiful harmonies of colour and design, but with the artistic temperament of the Oriental. By study and cultivation the European as well as the American is growing to value more highly the products of Oriental art. When the old sea captains carried on trade with Japan, they imported into Europe large quantities of Imari ware, which the Japanese purposely decorated with crude and vulgar colours to meet the less refined taste of the Europeans, who regarded many of them as fine specimens of ceramic art and studiously copied them in their factories. But so great has been the change in artistic taste since then that now they are valued principally as objects of curiosity. Likewise, many beautiful Japanese Makimonos, in which a few strong lines gave but a hint of the essential thought, formerly passed before the eyes of Europeans as the paintings of semi-barbarians. But now we begin to see, as did Whistler, that they are often the products of great genius and that they express thought and feeling with marvellous power. There has been a similar growth in the appreciation of Oriental rugs. Even within the last generation this growth has been apparent, so that the few who wisely bought those old worn pieces which thirty years ago hung at doors of little shops where dark-faced foreigners invited acquaintance, are now the envy of the many who, too late, have learned that to-day they can scarcely be bought at any price. The more we study the several fields of art in the Orient, the better we realise the wonderful creative genius of its people and learn to value the products of any one field. Japan has awakened the admiration of the highest art critics for its bronzes, some of which exceed in size any other castings in the world, and for its netsukés, which are the smallest of carvings. Its blades of steel are superior to those of Damascus and Toledo; and its lacquer, which is the most wonderful of its artistic products, displays genius of a very high order. To China, a country that we often regard as barbarous, we owe the invention of silks, the printing press, and gunpowder; yet it is in porcelain, that was manufactured even in those days when Caesar was marching with his legions against the barbarous races of Central and Northern Europe, that China has surpassed the world and set a standard that probably will never again be reached. In the land where glide the Indus and the Ganges stand temples, erected by the descendants of the house of Tamerlane, before which the beholder, even if familiar with the wonders of St. Peter’s, is lost in admiration of the intricate delicacy of detail, the majesty of proportions, and the gorgeous splendour of colour with which some of the spirit of the East is expressed in material form. When we realise that in these different lines of artistic effort the genius of Asia has rivalled and surpassed that of Europe and America, we become the better prepared to believe that choice specimens of woven fabrics, in weaving which every class of every country of Asia has been engaged from time immemorial, are to be regarded as works of the highest art. However pleasing the design or elaborate the detail, it is principally in the colouring that these rugs claim our interest and admiration. The colours which are derived from vegetable or animal dyes grow more mellow and beautiful with passing years, and applied to wools of finest texture acquire a lustre and softness which in the choicest specimens are like the radiant throat of a humming bird, or tints at the close of an autumn day. The different shades have different moods, expressing peace, joy, pensiveness, sorrow, the deep meaning of which the Oriental mind with its subtle and serious imagination has grasped as has none other. Moreover, in all truly fine pieces there is perfect harmony of tone. It is in this richness, suggestiveness, and harmony that the greatest artistic value lies. That all do not appreciate these qualities is not because they do not exist; for the keen perception of colour, like the keen perception of music, is a faculty granted to one person but denied to another. Even to those who take delight in colour there are different degrees of appreciation. “The fact is,” said John Ruskin, “we none of us enough appreciate the nobleness and sacredness of colour.” But as the ear can be cultivated to a higher taste for music, so can the eye be cultivated to a higher taste for colour; and to fully appreciate the beauties of Oriental rugs it is necessary to develop this faculty to its fullest extent. And yet it is not alone as works of art that Oriental rugs interest us. They suggest something of the life and religious thought of the people who made them. Some seem redolent with the fragrance of flowers, others reflect the spirit of desert wastes and wind-swept steppes. So, too, in the colours and designs of some appear the symbols of that mysticism with which the minds of the followers of Zoroaster in their effort to commune with the unseen forces of the universe were imbued; and though the original meaning of many of these symbols has been forgotten, the study of others leads to a better understanding of the life-thought of the weavers. Realising, then, that Asia has been the cradle from which has come the highest expression of many forms of artistic achievement, and that the Western mind is now assigning to its woven fabrics their proper place in the galleries of art, we may begin the study of Oriental rugs with the assurance that the further it is pursued the greater will be the appreciation and delight. It will take us among strange and interesting people, and over fields that were historic grounds before the walls of Rome were built. It will lead beyond the dome of St. Sophia to the land of the Arabian tales, where the splendour of former days is reflected in tomb and mosque, and where, perhaps, when the Western world grows old, there will rise again from crumbling ruins another nation that will revive the poetic and artistic genius of the East with all the majesty and creative power of the past. 17 18 19 20 T CHAPTER II PHYSICAL FEATURES AND HISTORY OF THE RUG-PRODUCING LANDS HE artistic character of Oriental rugs, like every other artistic impulse, is subject to the influence of physical environment. This influence is not alone that to which an individual weaver has been subjected, but is the transmitted effect of the accumulated experiences of many generations. It appears in the colours which simulate tones displayed by varying phases of nature, and also in the designs or symbols which, derived from older types by a long process of evolution, partially reflect feelings engendered in a people of highly imaginative and poetic temperament by long contact with elemental forces. Moreover, the quality of material used depends almost exclusively on the climate and physical conditions of countries where it is produced. Accordingly, the artistic and essential characteristics of rugs are better understood by a knowledge of the salient physical features of the countries where they are woven.3 The principal Oriental countries that continue to produce rugs are China, India, Afghanistan, Beluchistan, Persia, Turkestan, Caucasia, and Asia Minor. As all of them are contiguous, they may be regarded as a geographic unit; and though there is much diversity of detail, there is also much in common. From near the western boundary of Asia Minor a vast plateau stretches eastward into Central Asia, increasing in altitude towards the east. Its mean elevation in Asia Minor is from two thousand to three thousand feet, and as it extends beyond the Zagros Mountains and crosses the northern half of Persia, it rises from four thousand to five thousand feet. Continuing eastward through Southern Turkestan and Afghanistan it increases in altitude until it has risen to nearly twelve thousand feet in the lofty table-lands of Central Asia, where it begins to descend as it extends farther into the desert of Gobi. From the western part of this plateau a spur extends northward between the Black and Caspian seas, to form the high table-land of Caucasia, which has a mean elevation of about seven thousand feet. The general topographic features of this plateau include great stretches of comparatively level land, broad tracts from which there is no drainage to the sea, and sandy desert wastes. On almost every side it is bounded by mountain chains and is intersected by transverse ridges that lift still higher peaks where rests the perpetual snow. Throughout the deserts and large parts of the table-lands the rainfall is slight, so that there are but few important river courses. The cultivated portions of this vast area are relatively small, and consist largely of strips of land in fertile valleys, through which flow perennial streams. From time immemorial these streams have been used for irrigation, and the inhabitants of the districts have prospered by abundant harvests. In one or another of these valleys have been built the principal cities, within the walls of which were imposing temples that stimulated religious fervour, schools of learning to quicken the intellect, and gardens where perfumed flowers and the songs of birds delighted the aesthetic senses. In these cities science, philosophy, religion, and art received their highest development. In them lived the most skilled artisans and artists of the Orient; and the products of the loom were of the finest quality. Beyond these valleys are great stretches of uncultivated tracts consisting of plains, hills, and mountains. Some of these tracts are naturally fertile and could be made productive, but at present are used only for pasturage, and over them numberless tribes of fierce nomads drive their flocks of sheep. On the other hand, where the land has no drainage to the sea, so that the streams and rivers that flow into it empty into small lakes or are finally absorbed, the soil becomes impregnated with alkali deposited from the waters, and the grass is scanty. There are also sandy wastes of great extent where scarcely any animal life can exist. Moreover in many parts of the country the rain falls only during a few months of the year, and more abundantly in the higher altitudes, so that the nomads are constantly searching for fresh pasturage, and moving from the lowlands, where the grass dies after the rainy season, to the higher altitudes, from which they return again at the approach of winter. So numerous are the flocks that in the struggle for pasture the weaker tribes are driven to the poorer land. The pastoral life, the necessity of moving from place to place, the strife resulting from the difference in quality of pasture, have affected the temperament and character of the people. The boundless stretches of land, the clear atmosphere, the burning desert sands, the delicate mirage, and the starry heavens, have made men hospitable, thoughtful, devotional; constant wanderings have made them independent; the struggle for pasturage has made them lawless and cruel. These qualities are reflected to some extent in their woven fabrics, which lack the high artistic finish of those woven in cities. A large proportion of them are prayer rugs and contain symbols of the sun and fire worship. The designs are barbaric, and many are doubtless the same as those used hundreds of years ago. The colours of the old pieces, woven on upland plains or in mountain fastnesses, blend less harmoniously than those woven by more cultured weavers; but they frequently possess rich, pure tones, which are no longer seen in the modern rugs. As even a partial expression of the thoughts and feelings of a people, there are no rugs from the Orient more worthy of study than the rare old pieces woven by nomadic tribes. Not only physical environment but the conquests of foreign enemies, as well as political struggles at home, have had an important influence on all art. It will be of interest, therefore, to briefly review the histories of Central and Southwestern Asia, where rugs have been made for over three thousand years, in order to understand the different racial influences which have affected their artistic development. 20 21 22 Khorassan Rug PLATE 1. KHORASSAN RUG In the rich valleys near the mouths of the Tigris and Euphrates dwelt in the remote past a race of unknown origin called Sumerians, and to the north of them lived another people known as the Accadians. These races built canals, cultivated the soil, established towns, and invented the cuneiform writing. They lived in harmony with one another, and continued to prosper until about 3000 b.c., when the Semitic race of the Chaldees, appearing from an unknown land, subdued them. The Chaldees, however, allowed the conquered races to retain part of their lands, adopted their civilisation, and about the year 2500 b.c. built the city of Babylon, the foundation of which biblical students claim was laid by the mighty hunter Nimrod. By cultivating the surrounding country, by developing its trade and commerce, the Babylonians became a wealthy and powerful nation; and by encouraging manufactures, art, and science, they became noted for their delicate fabrics, magnificent temples, and knowledge of mathematics and astronomy. About the year 2000 b.c. a number of tribesmen, among whom was Abraham, migrated with their flocks to the upper valleys of the Tigris and founded Nineveh. A century later the land occupied by colonists who settled about Nineveh was known as Assyria. It increased in numbers and in power until, in 1300 b.c., it gained its first victory over Babylon; and during the next four hundred years, though meeting with occasional reverses, it extended its rule over Babylonia, Asia Minor, and Assyria, and received tribute even from Egypt. It thus became the first great conquering power in Southwestern Asia. In their magnificent palaces of Nineveh, surrounded by luxury, the rulers of Assyria were resting in supposed security when a powerful and unexpected enemy appeared from the land now known as Persia. When the valleys of the Tigris and the Euphrates were inhabited by Sumerians and Accadians, Iran, which included modern Persia, was similarly inhabited by races of unknown origin. Subsequently, but at an exceedingly remote period, 23 from the region about the Oxus river in Western Asia two branches of the great Aryan family migrated to Iran. One of these, which settled in the northern part, was known as the Medes; the other, which settled in the southern part, was known as the Persians. Both Medes and Persians subdued the native races and in the course of centuries constructed powerful empires. The former were the first to extend their conquests, and forming an alliance with the viceroy of Babylon they attacked Nineveh in the year 606 b.c. and destroyed it. Babylon now became the mistress of all Mesopotamia, and under Nebuchadnezzar it was enlarged to cover an area of one hundred square miles, and surrounded by walls three hundred feet high. These walls enclosed parks, orchards, gardens, and a city that soon became famous for its palaces, its temple of Bel, and its Hanging Gardens. While Babylon was rising in power changes were occurring in Iran. Cyrus, leader of the Persians, instigated a revolt against the Medes and conquered them. But not satisfied with making the Persians rulers of Iran he extended his conquests westward, and in the year 538 b.c., by diverting the waters of the Euphrates, surprised Belshazzar in his banquet hall and became master of Babylonia. The complete subjection of all Asia Minor followed, and for the next two centuries the warlike Persians were the dominant power in Western Asia. But in the year 331 b.c., when Alexander the Great defeated their armies under Darius, the Persian Empire melted away. Whether in Egypt or China or by the Tigris the art of weaving first took definite form, it was in this land of Babylon and Nineveh, of the Medes and the Persians, of Abraham, Belshazzar, and Cyrus, where a few remaining monuments attest the delicate textiles of those early days, that in more recent ages have been woven the most perfect carpets of which there is any knowledge. During the succeeding five hundred years Persia, Asia Minor, Caucasia, and Syria became the prey of the Parthians, Greeks, and Romans, to whom petty tribes, recognising no sovereign power and secure in their mountain fastnesses, bade occasional defiance. About the year 226 a. d. an able leader of one of the Persian tribes founded the dynasty of the Sassanides, which during the reign of Chosroes (531-579 a. d.) and his grandson Chosroes II (590-628 a. d.) ruled over the country from the Oxus on the north to Arabia and Egypt on the south, and from India on the east to Assyria on the west. This was a period of prosperity and luxury, the glory of which continued until the middle of the VII Century, when it was overthrown by a new power rising from a most unexpected quarter. In the inhospitable land of Arabia, noted for its coffee, dates, and myrrh, for its dreary, sandy, waterless wastes, a land hitherto almost unknown in history, Mohammed promulgated the religion which, suited to the temperament and desires of the Bedouins, united them into a fanatic, militant body of conquerors. After his death his successors, known as the Caliphs, extended his conquests. Their successful armies quickly overran Persia and overthrew the Sassanian rule; then marching northward into Turkestan and as far east as the Indus they overcame all resistance. From the Greeks, by whom they were known as the Saracens, they snatched Palestine and Syria, and invading Egypt, conquered it after the long stubborn siege of Alexandria. A little later the Arabs became masters of Northern Africa, and settling there intermarried with the native races. Near the Straits of Gibraltar their African descendants, known as the Moors, crossed to Spain, where in the year 711 they vanquished a powerful army that opposed them. During the following year they subdued all of that country and began an invasion of Northern Europe. But on the rich pasture lands near Tours, where the infantry of Charles Martel met the Mussulman cavalry in one of the most decisive battles of history, they were defeated with terrible slaughter and Christian Europe was saved. These conquests of the Mohammedans had not only a political and religious significance, but also an important influence on art at a time when Europe was sunk in ignorance and barbarism. Fond of magnificence and luxury, the Caliphs founded great capitals in Assyria, Egypt, and Spain, and built palaces that have histories which sound like fairy tales. Bagdad on the banks of the Tigris, with its sixteen hundred canals, one hundred and five bridges, and nearly a million people, with its countless baths, its many thousand mosques, and its royal palace, where was collected the best of Asiatic taste, elegance, and splendour, possessed more grandeur than any other city in the world. Gibbon states that within the palace, furnished with Oriental luxury, hung thirty-eight thousand pieces of tapestry, one third of which were of silk embroidered with gold, and that on the floors lay twenty-two thousand carpets. In Cairo and in Cordova, likewise, the Caliphs surrounded themselves with similar splendour, of which, unfortunately, but few traces now exist; but the Castle of the Alhambra still remains as a powerful reminder of their taste and artistic genius. It is largely to the influence of this race that were due many of the beautiful Spanish rugs such as Queen Eleanor in the XIII Century took to England from Cordova and Granada, as well as those of other periods. Moreover, in some of the choicest pieces of Asia Minor and Persia, woven during the XVI and XVII Centuries, are traces of this early Saracenic art. For about five centuries the militant power of these Mohammedans was dominant in Southwestern Asia when another conquering race appeared. The great wall of China, which was built over two hundred years before Christ by the famous Che-Hwang-te, to protect it against the invasions of the Tartars, turned westward many wandering hordes from the more fertile pastures and valleys of Southeastern Asia. One of these hordes was of Turks, who, leaving their homes near the sources of the Irtish and Yenisei rivers in the Altai Mountains, settled in Turkestan. Many centuries afterwards, to escape from other hordes pressing westward and to reach fresh pastures, different branches of them migrated southward and westward. About the year 1000 a. d. one of these branches known as the Seljukian Turks gained a foothold in Persia, and under Malek Shah, in 1072, made Ispahan its capital. About the same time it extended its power over Asia Minor and overran Georgia, where it destroyed the capital Tiflis after slaughtering the inhabitants. To this Turkoman race should probably be accredited the earliest Mongolian influence on Persian textile art. Somewhat later a people numbering forty thousand tents were ranging that part of Mongolia which lies north of the 24 25 26 desert of Gobi in search of pasture and water. One of their number gathered about him a few followers, and by his own genius gained the ascendency over his tribes. He then allied himself with another powerful tribe, and reducing to obedience all the Mongolians who dwelt north of the desert of Gobi, in 1206, in the presence of his chiefs, he assumed the title of Genghis Khan. After becoming the ruler of millions of nomads of the great central plateau of Asia and conquering part of China, which was then enjoying a period of great wealth and prosperity, he invaded Western Asia. Bokhara offered no resistance and might have been spared, but learning that some of the Sultan’s garrison were concealed he ordered the city to be burned. Samarkand, which surrendered after three days’ siege, was pillaged and the inhabitants were slaughtered. Herat appeased his anger by opening its gates. Even his death did not stop the ravages of the Mongol horde that captured and sacked Bagdad, and, crossing the Tigris and Euphrates, pillaged all Asia Minor. In 1258, Hulaku Khan, grandson of Genghis, conquered Persia and established his capital in the province of Azerbijan, where his descendants ruled for over a century. Meshed Rug PLATE 2. MESHED RUG With these invasions another wave of Mongolian influence was felt in Western Asia. Whatever may have been the effect on local art by the settlement of the Seljukian Turks in Persia and Asia Minor during the early part of the XI Century, it was inappreciable as compared with that of Genghis Khan and his followers. For the influence of Bagdad over Southwestern Asia was like that of Rome over the empire of the Cæsars, and when in the middle of the XIII Century it was plundered for forty days, and other important cities of Asia Minor and Persia similarly treated, there was no longer the same incentive to work, so that art for a time languished. But in some cities the artistic spirit of the people prevailed over the loss of independence, and the more skilled workmen were encouraged by their new masters, who, recognising the beauty of the Persian carpets, sent many Persian artists to China and brought many Chinese artists to Persia, that the different races might derive advantages from the instruction of one another. It is therefore not surprising that from this time the influence of Chinese art has been recognised in the woven fabrics and metal work made in the southwestern part of Asia. In fact, the Chinese motive known as the “key pattern,” as well as other less familiar designs of distinctly Mongolian origin, appeared for the first time in some of the carpets and metal work of this period. Like Turkestan, Asia Minor has been one of the great battle-grounds of the world. During parts of the XI, XII, and XIII Centuries not only Seljukian Turks, but Mongols and Ottoman Turks under Murad and Bajazet, rose in influence until all Asia Minor, as well as Thrace and Macedonia, was subject to them. But still another power from the far East was to overrun Asia and divert Bajazet from the walls of Constantinople. Under Tamerlane, the descendant of Genghis Khan, the Mongol hordes were again united and again attempted the conquest of the world. From the walls of China to the Mediterranean Sea, and from the Steppes of Turkestan to the 27 A Arabian deserts, his victorious armies overcame all opposition. Never was conqueror more rapacious, more bloodthirsty. At Ispahan, seventy thousand inhabitants were slain. Georgia was laid waste and the people were massacred. In 1401, Bagdad was besieged and, when taken, a pyramid of ninety thousand human victims was raised as a monument to the Tartar conqueror. In the following year, when the armies of Bajazet and Tamerlane met on the plains near Angora, the Turks were defeated and Bajazet was captured. But now the tide of Mongol invasion receded; and laden with spoils Tamerlane returned to his capital at Samarkand, where he enjoyed the remaining years of his life by surrounding himself with a brilliant court and by building palaces and temples, which he adorned with royal splendour. With all his atrocious barbarities he had a higher appreciation of art than his Mongolian predecessors. At his capital were assembled skilled artisans from Eastern and Western Asia; and there at the beginning of the XIV Century European travellers saw innumerable art treasures, including carpets of wonderful workmanship and beauty. The Mongol power also gained an important foothold in India. This country, like Iran, had been subjugated by a branch of the Aryan race, which conquered the native Dravidians, and remained dominant until the VII and VIII Centuries. Then the Mohammedans invaded it, and were still in ascendency when Tamerlane crossed the mountains and attacked Delhi. After the lapse of more than a hundred years his descendants, Baber, Akbar, and Shah Jahan, rose to power. The magnificence of their courts and the splendour of the temples which they built stimulated Indian art; and under the instruction of Persian artisans, who were induced to settle in that country, the natives attained their highest skill in weaving. With the death of Tamerlane, in 1405, the Ottoman power in Persia and Asia Minor rose again, and Turkish victories followed in quick succession until in 1453 Constantinople fell and the church of St. Sophia became a mosque. After the lapse of half a century Shah Ismael of the family of the Safavids defeated the Turkomans in 1502, and founded a new dynasty in Persia. With his rise began one of the most splendid periods in its history. Within a few years victories extended his empire from the Euphrates river to Afghanistan and from the Oxus to the Persian gulf. This was the land of ancient Iran, over which from his court at Ardebil he ruled until his death. In the early part of the reign of Shah Tamasp, which lasted from 1524 to 1576, the new dynasty was threatened by the Turkish ruler, Soliman the Magnificent, after he had taken Rhodes from the Knights of St. John and invaded Southern Europe. In 1534 he captured Bagdad and Tabriz, as well as conquered Shirvan and Georgia.4 But the lost territory was soon regained and the new Persian capital was established at Tabriz where, as will be seen later, were woven many of the greatest masterpieces of Persian textile fabrics. Much as these monarchs had accomplished, it was Shah Abbas the Great who, after ten years of internal strife, succeeded by expelling the Turks from Persia, restoring tranquillity, and establishing commerce, in elevating his country from one of devastation and confusion to one of greatness such as it had not known for many ages. He transferred his court to Ispahan, where, while adding to the magnificence of the city, he encouraged art even to the extent of sending to Italy, for study, a number of the most skilled artists of Persia. These in time returned and exerted an influence that appeared in the more elaborate designs of carpets of a subsequent period. It is also probable that he rendered valuable assistance to Akbar of India in founding carpet-weaving in that country. He ruled from 1586 to 1628. This period, during which America was a wilderness and England under Queen Elizabeth was still struggling with the feudal system, was the golden age of Persian history and Persian art; but with his death the Safavid dynasty declined and art decadence began. In 1722, the Afghans conquered Persia and for a number of years ruled it with horrible cruelty; but they were finally defeated by Nadir Shah, who captured Herat in 1731, extended his dominion into Georgia, and recovered some of the lost territory from the Turkish Empire in the West. After his death the sovereignty of Persia again waned, until in time it was confined to its present limits. It thus appears that from the earliest times recorded in history the southwestern part of Asia has been subject to invasion, and to constant struggles between the different races of the East for supremacy. Even from the desert of Gobi, the flanks of the Altai Mountains, and the deserts of Arabia have poured forth armies to devastate the land. One victorious power after another has extended its sway from the banks of the Indus to the shores of the Mediterranean. The result is that the present Oriental textile art is of a composite character, which can be understood only by taking into consideration the value of these racial influences that have contributed to it some of its most interesting and subtle charms. CHAPTER III THE MATERIALS S was the case with the earliest shepherd weavers, many nomads living in unfrequented parts of Asia spin the wool taken from their own flocks, then colour it with dyes brewed from roots and herbs that they have personally gathered, and finally weave it according to well-known patterns into fabrics. But in large, enlightened communities the manufacture of an Oriental rug involves a division of labour. From the shepherds the professional dyers obtain the wool, which, after colouring, they sell to weavers; and these in turn often receive their patterns from others. A knowledge of these separate 28 29 30 steps involving the industries of producing the different materials and the crafts of dyeing, weaving, and designing is essential to a full understanding of any Oriental woven fabric. The materials that were formerly used in weaving were generally of animal origin, such as the wool of sheep, goats, and camels. To a more limited extent silk and cotton also were used, and occasionally hair of the yak, cow, and even human hair. In later years, when there arose a western demand for eastern fabrics so that the aim of the weaver was to produce an article as cheaply as possible, flax, hemp, jute, and larger quantities of cotton were sometimes substituted. Since all of these materials are indigenous to the country where they are used, and are affected by its climate, altitude, humidity, and fertility, they acquire qualities that frequently give to rugs a distinctly local character. Plate 3. Kirman Rug PLATE 3. KIRMAN RUG The wool of sheep constitutes the warp and weft of at least half the Oriental rugs and the pile of over ninety per cent. To be sure, in Japan the pile is largely jute and cotton; in a few of the districts of Asia Minor and Persia it is mercerised cotton or silk; and in districts where the camel is still a beast of burden its wool and fine hair are often substituted for other kinds; but throughout all the rug-weaving countries of the East the wool of the sheep has been and still is preferred to all other materials for the pile of rugs. This is due not alone to its warmth, to the facility with which it can be spun and twisted into knots, but also to the fact that from the remotest times the inhabitants of these districts, like Abraham of old, have been shepherds, who followed their calling because over the steppes of Tartary and the great plateaus that extend through Asia Minor, Persia, Afghanistan, and Turkestan spread vast pasture lands that seem better suited than any other parts of the world for the nourishment of sheep with fine fleeces. In fact, a part of these districts seems to be the natural habitat of the sheep; for among the crags of some of the lofty mountain chains of Central Asia, and farther west where Eastern and Western Turkestan meet in the lofty plateau of Pamir, called the “Roof of the World,” still wander great bands of magnificent native sheep with enormous horns and brownish grey wool, from which it is believed sprang the vast flocks that now browse on every hill and mountain slope of Western Asia. Centuries of care have effected an important evolution in this native stock, for in no other part of the world are there sheep with longer and more silky fleeces. Nevertheless there are different grades, as the quality depends in a measure on the climate and pasturage as well as on the care of the sheep. Thus in the hot, sandy lands the wool shows some deterioration; but in the cold, dry climates of the many high lands of Western Asia and in the pastures of particular localities the wool is long, fine, and lustrous. For instance, in parts of Khorassan, on the flanks of high mountains near Kirman and Shiraz, on the shores of Lake Niris in Farsistan, among the rolling uplands of Asia Minor, are produced uncommonly fine and beautiful fleeces. When, moreover, the sheep of these localities receive the care that is given by some of the nomadic tribes, as the Uzbeck Tartars, who not only shelter them but cover them with blankets, the wool acquires a soft and silky quality that is unsurpassed. The wool produced in many parts of India, on the other hand, is poor; for not only are the serrations, on which largely depends its value for textile purposes, less numerous than in better 31 varieties, but it is harsh and contains many long hairs that do not well unite with it and that take up very little dye. The wool of the goat is much less extensively used, yet appears in some rugs, not only as warp and weft, but also as pile. The goats of Kashmir, which live in the cold climate of a table-land three miles above the ocean level, produce the finest and most beautiful wool; but as it grows near the skin, and beneath wiry hairs from which it can be removed only with tedious care, it is too precious to be used excepting for the most beautiful shawls and choicest carpets. Of next importance and finest texture is the wool of the Angora goat, known to commerce as mohair. Formerly there was not much demand for it, but now, on account of the consideration that it has received in the carpet factories of recent Sultans, it is found in many of the rugs of Asia Minor. As it grows to an average length of five to six inches it is easily spun; and its soft, lustrous sheen gives to the rugs in which it is used a silky and brilliant appearance. Some of the Bokhara goats, also, yield fine wool that is used in rugs. Yet, as a rule, yarn made from the fleece of the goat is not regarded with favour by weavers, since it is apt to be coarse and to pack closely. Nor does the wool of the goat mix well with the wool of the sheep. There is, however, a much finer grade growing next to the skin, which may be removed with a knife when it is exposed by combing the longer fleece in a direction reverse to that in which it lies. The tougher grades are preferred to any other material by weavers of the Afghanistan, Beluchistan, and some Turkoman rugs for selvages at the sides, as they afford excellent protection against hard usage. Goat’s hair is also sometimes used in these rugs for warp. Unless mixed with wool it is very rarely used for weft, as it is not sufficiently pliable. Of more frequent use than the wool of the goat is the wool of the camel which grows close to the skin beneath the long hair. In the tropical countries, as in Soudan, the camel has no wool, but in more northern latitudes it yields a crop which increases in quantity and improves in quality as the climate grows colder. Thus in Arabia, Asia Minor, and in most of Persia and Turkestan the yield is small, in the table-lands of Eastern Persia and Afghanistan it is much larger, and on the lofty plateaus of Turkestan and Chinese Tartary as much as ten pounds of wool is obtained yearly from each beast. The clip is taken at the usual moulting...