Fine Art Rugs: Ghiordes or Turkish Sehne or Persian
DIAGRAM SHOWING MANNER OF TYING KNOTS IN ORIENTAL RUGS.
Fibers and materials. A great variety of materials is used in the making of Oriental rugs. Wool is the all-important Textile of the industry; cotton, the base and binder; hair and silk, the occasional materials. Hemp, jute, and linen are also used in their manufacture; but to be a real judge of rugs, one must be a judge of wools. Wool is a modified form of hair, distinguishable from it by its softness, curl, and elasticity, and by the microscopic overlapping scales of its surface. It is sometimes impossible to determine whether an aimal fiber is wool or hair, because the one by degrees merges into the other. fine art Rugs wool has as many as 2,800 scales to the inch. Poor wool has not more than 500. This makes a difference in Oriental Rugs in the absorption and retention of dye.
Indian Rugs are those in which flowers, leaves, vines, and occasional animals are woven in a naturalistic manner. In the earlier rugs, of which few remain, the weavers drew the flowers as though they were botanical specimens. In the later Indian Rugs many copies of Persian patterns were made, but the copies are always easily recognized. The colors in these Rugs are often brilliant. In broad generalization, the two classifications of Oriental Rugs that are decorated almost exclusively with flowers are the Persian and the Indian, and their style and patterns are so distinct that their identification is comparatively easy. The leading place names associated with Indian Rugs are Agra, Lahore, Kashmir, and Srinagar.
Turcoman rugs, comprising the products of Turkistan, Bacharach, Afghanistan, and Beluchistan, are red Rugs with web fringes, or apron ends woven in kindergarten patterns-squares, diamonds, octagons, stars, and crosses. The forms are nearly always of pure geometric linear design. They are closely woven, with a short firm pile. That the wild tribes of these localities should dye their wools in the shades of blood and weave the designs of childhood is fitting and logical.
Homemade Rugs
Needlepoint rugs, sometimes called embroidered rugs, are rare but they are the aristocrats of the homemade types. They have been made in Europe since the early years of the 18th century and the early housewives of America produced them in varying qualities of design. The most durable were made with a heavy wool yarn sewed in a cross-stitch pattern on a heavy net or canvas foundation cloth. Designs varied from copies of fine art Rugs English and French patterns to characteristic peasant and farm motifs, the latter type being produced in New England and in the German settlements in Pennsylvania. Some of them were made in a single piece and others made in squares that were sewn together. The value of such Rugs if in good condition depends upon their color and pattern. There is little in the art of rug weaving that surpasses them in interest, and even at the present time they are made for home use by women who appreciate their charm and value. They are seldom found through usual supply sources and they are a challenge to the housewife and decorator who is looking for the unusual. It is said that approximately three hours time is required to make one square foot of such a rug.
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