BELUCHISTAN
Synonyms.—Balooch, Baloochee, Bilooz, Bilouche, etc. Sometimes wrongly called "Blue Bokhara."
By Whom Made.—By the Nomadic tribes of Beluchistan and by Beluches residing in Afghanistan and Eastern Persia.
Knot.—Always Senna. Number vertically six to ten; number horizontally five to twelve; number to square inch thirty to one hundred twenty.
Warp.—Usually wool, frequently goats' hair.
Woof.—Always dark wool.
Nap.—Fine, long, compact, lustrous wool, goats' and camels' hair.
Sides.—Overcast or selvaged, usually with goats' or horses' hair.
Ends.—Wide ornamented selvage with loose or twisted warp ends. Often a row of colored yarns run through the web.
Border.—From three to four border stripes, usually one wide one and two narrow ones.
Prevailing Colors.—Usually dark reds and dark browns with a sprinkling of white. Tan is frequently employed in the field and is generally the undyed camel's hair.
BELUCHISTAN RUG
Size 6'8" × 3'4"
(Without the webbing, which is one foot long at each end)
(MINA KHANI DESIGN)
FROM THE COLLECTION OF THE AUTHOR
Designs.—Geometrical devices, hexagons, octagons, etc. Occasionally stiff floral patterns.
Sizes.—Mostly small, two to seven by three to eleven feet.
Cost.—From $1.00 to $2.50 per square foot.
Remarks.—One of the last rugs to be affected by outside influences. Although scarcely any chemical dyes are used, the "doctoring" process has been adopted so that nowadays an unwashed Beluchistan is a scarce article. The modern ones are inferior to the antiques, although all wear well.
THE EXAMPLE ILLUSTRATED
Knot: Senna. Eight to the inch vertically and thirteen horizontally, making one hundred eight to the square inch. The centre field of dark blue is covered with the Mina Khani design, which, being a Kurdish design, is seldom found in Beluchistan products. The two narrow border stripes in white are of the Greek key design upon a background of dark brown, while the main border stripe consists of rectilineal vines and flowers arranged similarly to the Herati border design upon a varying background of light and dark Turkoman red. The webbing at each end is covered with fine designs and stripes and in several places are talismanic tufts of wool.