CHAPTER VII
RUG WEAVING BEFORE THE XVIII CENTURY
HERE are no records to definitely indicate in what land the art of rug weaving originated, or to disprove that it developed independently in different lands. It would be unreasonable, then, to assume that rugs were not woven in northern regions as early as in southern. In fact, during the Neolithic age the Lake-dwellers of Switzerland grew and spun flax, and it is believed that they had looms. Moreover, it is probable that the savages of cold climates soon learned to weave garments with the long wool of their sheep or goats; and the similar process of weaving mats for the floors of their huts would naturally follow. Nevertheless, such evidence as now remains points to the civilisations of the Euphrates or the Nile, as the birthplace of this art.
Though we do not know when the first rugs were made, without a doubt they existed before the pyramids of Egypt or the palaces of Babylon had risen from the plains. Among the rock-cut tombs of Beni-Hassan in Egypt, that date from about 2500 B. C. are pictures of men with spindles, of looms and weavers. There is also unmistakable evidence of the antiquity of a high state of the textile art among the ruins in the valleys of the Tigris and the Euphrates. On carved walls of the palaces of Nineveh, where dwelt the rulers of Assyria over three thousand years ago, are elaborate drawings indicating that carpets of remarkable workmanship were then in use. In the borders of some of the robes worn by the rulers are designs of rosettes and latch-hooks, and on one is depicted the tree of life, similar to what may be seen in modern rugs. Nor are ancient writers silent. In the Old Testament are frequent references to woven fabrics. Homer, also, speaks of them in his Odyssey. Herodotus, Diodorus, Pliny, Strabo, in fact almost all classic writers have mentioned them. Moreover, designs on pottery, bowls, tiles, and walls, similar in appearance to those found in the oldest existing carpets, carry contributory evidence to their antiquity and character.
This art, that necessity created, comfort nourished, and luxury matured, has been a process of slow development. To the mind of some dark tribeswoman of the desert contemplating the rushes gathered from a sluggish stream and strewn upon the floor of her master’s hut several thousand years ago, may have been suggested the first idea of a mat. Indeed, from earliest times mats of reeds, straw, bamboo, or other pliable material have been constantly made. At first they were doubtless without ornament; later they were coloured with dyes obtained from roots and herbs to increase their attractiveness; finally designs symbolic of nature or the deity were embroidered on them. As wealth and luxury increased the ornamentation became more elaborate, until during the rule of the Caliphs the mats rivalled in beauty the carpets for which, during the summer months, they were substituted. “On these mats,” wrote the eminent authority, Dr. F. R. Martin, “the artist found free scope for displaying as much artistic skill as on the real carpets, and gold threads were intertwined to make them as precious as the most expensive silk and gold carpets.” Long, however, before they had reached such a high state of perfection, they would have suggested the idea of making warmer and more durable floor coverings. The first of these was a simple web of warp and woof; later they assumed a character not dissimilar to the kilims now made in the lands of their origin. With further advance, more elaborate carpets and tapestries were made; but it was not until the art had been developing for a great many centuries, that there appeared those most perfect products of knotted pile that were similar in kind but superior in quality to the modern pieces.
Slow as was this development, as early as the Christian era, the work of the most skilled weavers of the Orient deserved to be classed as a fine art. During the time of the Sassanian kingdom (extending from about 226 a. d. to 632 a. d.) carpets of elaborate design and finish were produced in Mesopotamia and Syria. Most of them were of the wool of sheep or goats; and in them were represented designs of trees, birds, animals, and other figures. Other pieces were made of silk richly embroidered with silver and gold. Moreover, authentic evidence from the VI Century a. d. not only gives us positive knowledge of the marvellous workmanship of that time, but enables us to conjecture through what a long period of progression the artisans had been labouring to arrive at such results. Dr. Karabacek, director of the Imperial Library of Vienna, in his monograph “Die Persische Nadelmalerei Susandschird,” gave the following description of the “Spring of Chosroes” carpet:
“When Ctesiphon, the residence of the Sassanides, fell into the hands of the Arabs in the year 637 a. d., they found in the royal palace, the ruins of which still remain, a colossal carpet of 1051 square metres,[11] which was originally made for Chosroes I. His successor, Anoschar (531-579 a. d.), used it also, but only during the stormy weather, when remaining in the gardens was impracticable. The festivities were then transferred to the palace, where a garden with the beauty of springtime was represented by the pattern of the carpet. This was the Winter Carpet that was called in Persia the Spring of Chosroes. Its material, which was marvellous and costly, consisted of silk, gold, silver, and precious stones. On it was represented a beautiful pleasure ground with brooks and interlacing paths, with trees and flowers of springtime. On the wide borders surrounding it were represented flower-beds in which precious stones coloured blue, red, yellow, white, and green denoted the beauty of the flowers. Gold imitated the yellow-coloured soil and defined the borders of the brooks, where the water was represented by crystals. Gravel paths were indicated by stones of the size of pearls. The stalks of trees were of gold and silver, the leaves and flowers of silk, the fruits of many-coloured stones.”
As the value of this carpet was estimated at about three quarters of a million dollars, it was regarded as too precious to fall to the lot of a single captor, and was accordingly divided into segments to be distributed as booty among the soldiers. Even if during this period there was no other fabric so valuable and elaborate, it represented the importance of the textile art during the dynasty of the Sassanides.
Plate 15. Persian Animal Carpet in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
During the Caliphate (632 to 1258 a. d.) the Moslem rulers, devoted to luxury, preserved the art treasures of their conquered subjects and encouraged them to renewed efforts. This is particularly true of the Caliphs and sultans of Syria and Egypt. A carpet that adorned the banquet hall of the Caliph Hisham of Egypt, who died 743 A. D., was of silk interwoven with strands of gold, and had a length of three hundred feet and a breadth of one hundred and fifty feet. All of the rooms of the Egyptian palaces, occupied by the sultans, contained carpets of silk and satin; and the mosques of Syria were similarly furnished. In the year 1067 a. d. one of the Caliphs was forced to sell his accumulated treasures, which consisted, besides jewels and works of art, of about four thousand bales of carpets. Dr. Martin states that a single one of these bales contained several hundred perfect carpets, which were woven in silk and gold, and that some of them contained portraits of entire royal families. One of them, valued at about $300,000, was made for the Caliph el Mirz li alla in the year 964 a. d. It was of blue silk, on which were represented the heavens and the earth, seas and rivers, as well as the holy cities Mecca and Medina. Such was the character of some of the carpets woven during the days of the Caliphs.
As the imperfect records which have been left us indicate that the finest carpet collections of this period were in the mosques and palaces of Syria and Egypt, it has been assumed that they were woven by the native artisans. To some extent this is doubtless true, as rug weaving was one of the oldest industries of these countries. But it is more probable that most of them were made elsewhere and were acquired as presents or by purchase. Some were made in Armenia, Assyria, and Turkestan; but the largest number, as well as the most costly and elaborate, doubtless came from the same hills and towns of Persia where many of the finest pieces are woven to-day. In several of these towns as many as three or four hundred looms were constantly at work; and since the carpets consisted of warp and weft only, it is probable that they were produced far more rapidly than modern rugs in which knots are tied to the warp. But if they lacked the richness of deep, heavy pile, they were elaborately woven with threads of gold and silver, and were often embellished with precious stones.
ANTIQUE PERSIAN CARPETS
To the tendency of overestimating the age of art objects to which antiquity adds value, there is no exception in the case of Oriental rugs, yet there is good reason to believe that a few pieces still exist that were woven in Persia as early as the XIII or XIV Century. Indeed, we cannot positively affirm that there may not be religiously preserved some relic of the Seljukian dynasty, which ruled in Persia till about 1150 a. d., for we have little knowledge of what some of the old mosques which no Christian has ever entered may contain; but it is more probable that the oldest remaining pieces belong to the Mongolian period, which began with the invasion of the armies of Genghis Khan in the first half of the XIII Century. This conclusion is based partly on the facts that their archaic patterns indicate a very remote period, and that they suggest early Mongolian influences. Moreover, as the age of rugs of a somewhat later period can be determined by the evidence of similarity of their designs with those of early tiles, metal work, pottery, and miniatures, of established age, it is possible to infer the relative age of these older pieces by comparison of patterns showing a progressive development.
One of the oldest Persian pieces now existing, the property of C. F. Williams, Esq., of Norristown, Pa., is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York (Plate [11], opp. Page 64). It is also one of the most interesting. In it are found Persian, Armenian, Caucasian, and Mongolian characteristics, which serve to determine the district where it was woven and to suggest its age. Its Sehna knot, cotton warp and weft, as well as much of the drawing, are typical of Persia. The tri-cleft leaf and stem seen in the two lower corners, in the main stripe, and in parts of the field are found in almost all Armenian rugs. The reciprocal sawtooth of the outer border stripe and the geometric inner stripe are Caucasian features. Certain colour tones, the octagonal discs at each end of the large central palmettes, and more particularly the tendrils or scrolls of the main stripe of the border which resemble the foliate forms as they appear in Chinese rugs and porcelains of the late Ming and Kang-hi periods, are Mongolian. The combination of these characteristics indicates that it was made in the most northwesterly part of Persia where in 1258 Hulaku Khan established his capital, and his successors ruled for over a century. Here undoubtedly the craft of weaving flourished for a long period, and exercised an important influence on the surrounding countries. To judge by the colours; the formal character of the border; the rigid lines of the large palmette motives of the field, which are not seen in carpets of a much later period; and the stiff, archaic character of the bushes with foliage and blossoms arranged mechanically on the thick trunks, it is not unreasonable to place this piece as early as the middle of the XIV Century, during the interval between the overthrow of the Seljukian dynasty by the followers of Genghis Khan and the later invasion of the Timurids. In fact, it may be even older, since those graceful lines that belong to the highest art of a subsequent period are entirely lacking. But in the drawing is strength, and in the colours, a few of which have faded, are beauty and harmony.
Plate 16. Persian Animal Carpet in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Such old pieces are very rare, yet a similar one, belonging to Prof. W. Bode, is in the Kaiser Friedrich Museum at Berlin. Its drawing is more regular, and the trunks of the trees are broader. These two carpets represent the art of weaving at a very early period.
Of equal interest and higher artistic merit is another carpet (Plate [12], opp. Page 68), belonging to C. F. Williams, Esq., and at present in the Metropolitan Museum of Art but formerly in the possession of J. Böhler of Munich. It has a length of nearly seventeen feet and a breadth of nearly twelve. There are about three hundred knots to the square inch. Though much of that stiffness of drawing found in the earlier pieces remains, the more pliant branches and less regular setting of the flowers indicate a later date; so that it is not improbable that it was woven about the first of the XV Century. Dr. Martin regards this piece as one of the oldest of the Timurid period if not from the Mongolian, and says that the trees resemble those in a Mongolian miniature in the Musée des Arts Decoratifs in Paris, and in a manuscript from the year 1396. At any rate, they display more formal drawing than the trees of more recent carpets. The character of pattern and the colouring suggest that it was woven in Northwestern Persia.
The field is skilfully divided into three subfields by beds of flowers, from which slender trees rise and partly screen from view more stately cypresses. The subdivisions are further indicated by pairs of palmettes, of which the upper pair mark a transition between the lower pair and those more elegant forms commonly seen two centuries later. There are likewise palmettes of simpler form in the two guard stripes. But the principal ornamentation of the rich border is the interlacing arabesques of three different colours, which are decorated with a slender wreath of leaf and flower. There is, moreover, a particular interest in the grouping of the arabesques since they form a design which may be the prototype of the so-called turtle borders so frequently seen in Feraghans and Gorevans, and is itself derived, according to Dr. Martin, from a still older form in which branching arabesques extend across the whole field. It may not be unreasonable to assume that this pattern has been handed down from that earlier period when a Saracenic influence was felt in all the weavings.
If the chief interest in this piece is centred in the pattern, its greatest charm lies in its soft, dainty colours, some of which are exquisitely beautiful. They are expressed in delicate shades of orange, ivory, light green, sable brown, and light and dark blue on a background of pinkish red. This pattern and colouring suggest an Eastern wood when the first frost of autumn has left its touch on the leaves. The border contains the same colours as the field but is strong and effective, since the soft tones are in the narrow guard stripes and the deeper colours appear in the broad central stripe in larger masses and in immediate contact.
If this carpet was woven about 1400 a. d., as seems not improbable, the drawing of the trees, palmettes, and border designs becomes by comparison an important guide for determining the age of other antique Persian carpets.
Very different, indeed, from the preceding is a woollen piece (Plate [13], opp. Page 70), sixteen feet four inches long by eleven feet two inches wide, that was formerly in the collection of Mr. Vincent Robinson of London, but is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, which bought it at the Yerkes sale in 1910, for $19,600. It has about six hundred knots to the square inch, and is woven with warp of cotton and silk, and with weft of silk. The pile is velvety, and the texture, drawing, and colouring display a high grade of artistic craftsmanship. Another of similar character is represented in the Vienna Publication of Oriental Carpets of 1889, at which time it belonged to the Countess Clotilde Clam-Gallas of Vienna; and a third belongs to the Palais de Commerce at Lyons.
In no other rugs from Iran is the effect of Mongolian tradition on design more noticeable; but that this was due to the Timurid invasion at the end of the XIV Century is doubtful, and it is not improbable that more immediate intervention with China determined the motives. Nor is the Saracenic influence obscured, since in every part of the field and border is seen the perfect rhythm of graceful arabesques. Such carpets represent, in fact, the transition from those earlier pieces to the higher products of Persian looms.
Plate 17. So-called Polish Or Polonaise Carpet in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
One of the simplest ways of studying the pattern is to regard it as consisting of a number of units formed by a large rounded octagon encircled by eight heart-shaped escutcheons, and with a smaller rounded octagon at the centre of the diagonal lines connecting them. On the large octagons, which are of dark blue crossed by narrow bands of sable brown, is represented the fight of dragon and phœnix so common in the ornamentation of the Ming dynasty; and in the smaller octagons, which are plum colour, are four running lions in red, blue, and green. The eight escutcheons alternate in crimson and blue, and have arabesques and Chinese ducks. The large pentagonal-shaped areas of the ivory field are covered with a most symmetrically drawn tracery of tendrils and flowers in red, yellow, and blue; and in the smaller hexagonal-shaped areas are cloud bands of similar colours.
The border shows a marked advance over that of the preceding piece. The main stripe, which follows a pattern that with slight modification is adopted in many of the carpets of this and a later period, consists of a chain-like series of octagons similar to those of the field, separating elongated panels with crenated edges. The latter are adorned with cloud bands in yellow interlaced with delicate tendrils supporting flowers in red, yellow, green, and white, on a dark blue field; and surrounding them on a red ground is also a delicate tracery of leaves and flowers. The outer and inner stripes have arabesques and tendrils bearing flowers in red, green, and blue on a ground of golden yellow. All the colours of both field and border have mellowed into rich, beautiful hues in which is the most perfect harmony.
The intricacy and character of design, the delicacy of drawing, and the tones of colour indicate that this piece was woven near the beginning of the Safavid dynasty, in the early part of the XVI Century. Mr. Robinson ascribes its origin to Bagdad; but it seems far more probable that it came from the northwestern part of Persia, which was an important centre of textile art only a few years later. This piece and the two others described on the pages just preceding are among the most interesting carpets now existing; for they represent not only a very high standard of the textile craft, but also most important steps in its development.
There is no evidence to indicate how early animal carpets were woven in Persia. Dr. Martin found a piece with archaic drawing, that from its resemblance to an old tile of established age, he placed at about the year 1300 a. d.; but it was about the beginning of the XVI Century that were woven the first of those masterly pieces which displayed animals surrounded by a maze of floral life. Lions, leopards, boars, deer, and hounds were the principal motives. To each of these was ascribed some principle or quality, so that it has been assumed that the aim of the weaver was to give expression to some theme of interest.
A number of these carpets represent the chase and are called “Hunting Carpets.” The best of them are regarded by Dr. Martin as belonging to the latter half of the XVI Century for reasons indicated in the following extract from his work: “The manuscript of Nizami, one of the pearls of the British Museum, which was executed in Tabriz 1539-1542 for the Shah Tamasp, has the most wonderful designs on the margins. Although the manuscripts and the miniatures are signed by Persia’s most renowned masters, there is nothing to give a hint as to who has drawn these magnificent borders. This manuscript, which at the time it was written, was considered one of the most remarkable ‘the like of which the eye of time never beheld,’ plainly proves that the large carpets with hunting scenes must be relegated to a later time or to about 1560-1570. Both animals and trees are of a far more stately and earlier character in the manuscript.”
One of the best of these pieces with animals (Plate [14], opp. Page 72) is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York, by which it was purchased at the Yerkes sale in 1910, for $15,200. It has a length of ten feet eleven inches with a breadth of five feet ten inches, and an average of four hundred and eighty knots to the square inch. Both warp and weft are of silk, and the pile is of wool. As it was confidently believed by Mr. Edward Stebbing[12] that this piece belonged for a long time to the Mosque of Ardebil, where Ismael had established his capital, and from which Tamasp subsequently moved; it is not improbable that it belongs to the early period, between the closing years of Ismael’s reign and the first part of the reign of Tamasp.[13] Nor is there anything in the technique of colour or design to convey a different impression, as the general colour of the field is a claret red, and that of the border a dark blue characteristic of this period.
The most noticeable feature of the carpet is the display of animal life amid the carefully balanced arrangement of floral figures. Four-fifths of the field can be divided into two perfect squares with sides equal to the breadth of the field; and the remainder will be equivalent to one-half of one of these squares. Each quarter of a square contains animals, probably intended to represent a lion, leopard, and boar, that are perfectly balanced with those of the adjacent and alternating quarters. Moreover, the same balance exists in the case of the smaller animals and floral forms. Thus it appears that each square forms a perfect unit in which is shown a remarkable relation between all parts. Such mathematical exactness indicates the highest artistic skill. The repetition of pattern also accentuates the predominant idea of animal life, which is rendered even more noticeable by the strong golden yellow of some of the group. Whoever has studied the early Iranian monuments remembers with how slight variation some of the drawing has been copied during subsequent generations; so that it is not surprising that Mr. Stebbing should call attention to the resemblance of some of the animals in this carpet to those of the rock-carved sculptures of Tak-i-Bostan near Kermanshah.
As is the case with most modern Persian rugs, there is no correspondence between the size of the animals and the flowers. Nevertheless the lack of harmony is not felt, as the animal and the floral life are intended to be regarded separately. The principal flowers of the field are peonies, some of which are woven with silver threads. They also appear in the border arranged with perfect precision within the folds of symmetrical cloud-bands and interlacing arabesques. The latter form a well-executed repetitive figure that suggests an origin for the reciprocal trefoil or lily pattern, as it is sometimes called, which received its highest development in the silk rugs of a later century.
On the whole, this piece is not far short of the highest sumptuary standard of a subsequent period, and is an excellent example of the artistic development of the earliest part of the Safavid dynasty. In few other carpets is combined such intricacy of design with richness and simplicity of colour.
Of still greater interest than the last is the Arbedil Carpet, now in the South Kensington Museum. It has a length of thirty-four and a half feet with a breadth of seventeen and a half; the texture shows about three hundred and twenty-five knots to the square inch; and the pile is of wool tied to warp and weft of silk. It has been very carefully studied by Mr. Edward Stebbing, from whose description the following extracts are taken:
“The body ground is blue, covered with a floral tracery of exquisite delicacy and freedom of treatment. A central medallion of pale yellow terminates on its outer edge in sixteen minaret-shaped points from which spring sixteen cartouches; four green, four red, and eight light cream; and from two of these again, as it were, suspended and hanging in the direction of the respective ends of the carpet, two of the sacred lamps of the mosque.
“Quarter sections of the central medallion also on a pale yellow ground, relieved by tracery, form the angles; while a broader border completes the glorious design, a border of the alternate elongated and rounded cartouches filled with floral and other tracery, the former on a base of red, the latter on a rich brown ground flanked on the inner side by a broad band of cream seven inches wide, relieved by a variation of a so-called cloud pattern, and a narrower band of crimson near the body of the carpet; and on the outer side by a single broad band, also seven inches wide, of tawny hue, shading from dark to light, and relieved by a bold design in blue.”
But however exquisite the tracery, however delicate the colouring, the greatest interest centres in the fact that in a panel adjoining the border of the upper end is the following inscription:
“I have no refuge in the world other than thy threshold; “My head has no protection other than thy porchway; “The work of the slave of the holy place, Maksoud of Kashan, in the year 946.”
Here is revealed the age of the carpet, which not only determines the character of workmanship of a particular period, but affords a standard for determining by comparison the relative age of other pieces. The year 946 corresponds with our year 1540 A. D., and the position of the date indicates that it was inscribed a little before the completion of the fabric. Accordingly, it would not be unreasonable to assume that the carpet was begun during the closing years of the reign of Ismael, who died at Ardebil in 1524, and that it was finished during the reign of Tamasp I.
To infer that at this period were many such carpets would be a mistake; since this was doubtless woven by the order of the court, and by one of the most skilled artisans, who may have made it the crowning labour of his life. It indicates the highest technique acquired in the early part of the Safavid dynasty.
Plate 18. So-called Ispahan in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Besides the mosque carpets, other pieces such as small prayer rugs were used for devotional purposes. When the first of them were made is unknown, though they existed in the days of the Caliphs, when the words of the Prophet were still fresh in the memories of his followers; and they were also used at an early period among Turkomans. The oldest that remain belong to the early part of the Safavid rule. One that was formerly in the collection of Stefano Bardini of Florence and is now owned by Mr. Benjamin Altman, appeared at the exhibit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1910. It is a woollen piece with a length of nearly five and a half feet and a breadth of three and a quarter. In the central field is a prayer arch resembling some of a later period, with outlines gracefully recurving near the base and broken on each side by a pentagonal-shaped flower. All parts of each of the two trees that rise from the bottom of the field are reversely duplicated in the other. Some of the stiffness of drawing of the earlier carpets remains, but the blossoms are clustered more naturally and the whole treatment is more skilful. The effect of the scroll-work on the red ground of the spandrel; of the suspended lamp with its bright flowers of red, yellow, and pink; and of the blossoming trees beneath, is most pleasing; but the chief interest centres in the outer border stripe, where appear features that are more interesting than harmonious, features derived from Persia, Assyria, Mongolia, and Arabia. The rounded octagons have Cufic lettering that recalls early Mesopotamian civilisation; the cartouches at the bottom with their cloud-bands suggest Mongolian conquests; and the upper cartouches contain the following verses from the Koran:
“Iman the victorious and expected Mahdi, the Lord of the Age. Zalsi and Hason; and bless the standing proof. Oh Lord bless Mohammed the chosen one. Ali, the elect, Fatimeh the Immaculate. Jofer Sadik, Mooza Kazin, Ali Riza Mohammed Taki, Mohammed Nakee, Ali. The two branches Harson and Hussein Bless Ali Zaimulubbad Mohammed Bak’r.”
These verses, the archaic lamp, and the green of the field, a colour sacred to Moslems, all indicate the religious character of the carpet. Similar features also appear in another antique piece of about the same age, but the Cufic characters of the border are within squares surrounded by circles that resemble Chinese seals as they appear in early manuscripts. Both of these pieces were probably woven in Northwestern Persia about the middle of the XVI Century. Few such prayer carpets remain, though without doubt they were used by devotees during succeeding periods, and it is not unusual to see, even in modern Kermanshahs, prayer arches of the same pattern.
Of totally different character but of about the same age is an animal rug (Plate [15], opp. Page 76) that belongs to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was bought at the Yerkes sale in 1910, for $5,600, and had previously belonged to the collection of Vincent Robinson of London. It has a length of about seven and a half feet with a breadth of about five and a half, and consists of woollen pile tied to cotton warp crossed by woollen weft. The weave is not unlike what is seen in many modern Sarouks; as the knot is Sehna, one thread of warp is doubled under the other in each knot, and the coloured thread of weft, which crosses twice, is partly exposed at the back.
Like so many of the old Persian pieces, the ground colour of red appears in the main field, and is strongly contrasted with the dark blue of the medallion and dark green of the corners. Red and green also appear in the border contrasted with yellow. This association of colour is not usual, nor is the repetitive pattern of the border with its sharp cusps at many of the angles, nor the trapeziform corners, and the nearly rectangular medallion. Likewise the mechanically formed bushes with their quince-like fruit, on which sit birds of disproportionate size, show a departure from the accepted traditions of the Safavid schools. Yet these very features awaken new interest, and suggest that it was probably woven in some part of Northern or Western Persia where the influence of the court was not paramount. Nevertheless the accurate balance of the different halves, and the drawing of the palmettes show that it is distinctly Iranian.
If this last piece be compared with the animal rug (Plate [16], opp. Page 78) that was presented to the Metropolitan Museum of Art by Mr. Cochran, the wide contrast will at once be noticeable. As the latter has a length of about eight and two-thirds feet with a breadth of nearly six, the difference in size and proportions is not great; nor is there any particular difference in the number of animals; nor in the balanced relation of upper and lower, right and left halves; nor in the red ground of the main fields. But here the resemblance ends. Whereas in the former the animals are one of the most prominent features, in the latter they are subordinate to the rich assemblage of floral and palmette forms, that occupy not only the field but also the border. It is, indeed, a piece that marks a transition from the animal rugs, so prominent in the early part of the XVI Century but rarely woven later than its end, to the more elegant pieces, so characteristic of the court of Ispahan, which belong almost exclusively to the XVII Century. It accordingly seems not without reason to assign it to about the year 1600.
Plate 19. Armenian Carpet in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Not only do these different elements that denote a transition add interest; they also give a most pleasing effect. The main border stripe of a rich green with its well-drawn palmettes surrounded by vines and foliated stalks, on which rest naturally drawn birds of handsome plumage, and the chaste floral designs of the narrow guards, serve as a tasteful frame to the central picture. Here again the outer field, with artistic effect, brings into greater relief the central medallion, where on a ground of greenish yellow, standing and seated amidst blossoming shrubs in red, blue, and green, as in a garden, are richly dressed human forms. Apart from these, yet perhaps intended in some way to reflect the tenor of their thoughts, are four ducks, emblematic of matrimonial happiness. Whatever may have been the original shade of the central medallion, it is now slightly out of harmony with the surrounding colours, and is perhaps the only jarring note in this exquisite piece of workmanship. Not improbably the present shade is due to the unfriendly hand of time, since the artistic genius of the weaver is fully displayed in the masterly arrangement of other colours and in the delicacy and precision of the drawing of the perfectly balanced floral and animal forms.
The difficulty of determining the locality where the antique carpets were woven is often greater than in the case of modern rugs, but this piece was probably one of the last of those fine old animal carpets that were woven in the northwestern part of Persia.
Though modern silk rugs fail to awaken the interest of woollen pieces, the old silk carpets were formerly regarded as the choicest products of weaving. As a rule, they were the work of the most skilled artists employed in the imperial factory under the direction and patronage of the court. It was during the reign of Shah Tamasp that they received special attention. Following a custom that had been in vogue of sending carpets as presents to foreign courts, in 1566 he sent to the Sultan of Constantinople a number of pieces on which flowers, birds, and animals were woven with silk on threads of gold. But it was doubtless after his successor Shah Abbas I had begun to embellish his capital at Ispahan, that were made the famous “Polish” silk or “Polonaise” carpets about which there has been so much controversy. It is true that Mr. Robinson in his “Eastern Carpets” claims that they were woven in Poland by Persians taken there by a Pole named Mersherski; but it seems far more probable that they were woven under the supervision of the Persian court and were either sent as presents to European sovereigns or purchased by wealthy connoisseurs of art.
How many of these pieces may be hidden away in the palaces and mosques of the far East it is impossible to determine, but two hundred would be a very conservative estimate of the number owned by the different courts of Europe and by private collectors of that country and America. One of them was presented to the Danish court as late as 1639; and it is believed that all that reached Europe arrived there between the years 1604 and 1650.
Their beauty is exquisite and chaste. To the threads of silver and gold is tied silken nap that often displays a striking brilliancy. Unlike the earlier Persian carpets which had more subdued hues, these pieces have light tones such as salmon, rose, and green, which are arranged with perfect harmony. Moreover, there is an elegance of design representing the highest types of Iranian, Saracenic, and Mongolian influences combined. Here in perfection are dainty floral forms, the rhythmic tracery of arabesques, and delicate cloud-bands. In them the textile art of the East reached a perfection that probably has never been surpassed.
One of these (Plate [17], opp. Page 80), that has a length of about nine feet and a breadth of five and a half, belongs to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In many respects it is typical of its class, though threads of yellow and grey are substituted for the usual gold and silver of the foundation. On a field of rose are outlined palmettes, leaves, and scrolls in green, blue, brown, and salmon, that harmonise with the light blue of the border. All of these colours blend with pleasing effect and soften lines that in a print seem harsh. Furthermore with all its complexity of detail, every part of the pattern is arranged with mathematical precision. That a carpet with such perfect balance of every part, such intricacy of elaborate detail, such graceful curves of the heavy foliate leaves should be woven without copying some older pattern or a carefully executed drawing, seems improbable.
Plate 20. Asia Minor Dragon and Phoenix Carpet in the Kaiser Friedrich Museum, Berlin
In this piece and in others of the same class can be recognised what is probably the prototype of more conventionalised and less elegant designs so often seen in modern Persian pieces, since the palmette with encircling lancet leaves in its borders is most suggestive of the borders of modern Herats; and the rhomboidal-shaped figure connecting four palmettes at the centre is equally suggestive of the Herati or fish pattern seen in the field of innumerable Feraghans.
It was also during the reign of Shah Abbas[14] and his immediate successors that most of the so-called Ispahans were woven, though some of them appeared as early as the XV and some as late as the close of the XVII Century. As in the case with the Polish silk carpets, within recent years some difference of opinion has existed regarding the place of their manufacture. After careful research, Dr. Martin believes that they came from Herat and with this idea some other authorities concur. It is true that Herat belonged to the Persian Empire during the reign of the Safavid dynasty, and that even in the days of Shah Ismael magnificent carpets were woven there. It is also true that during the time of Tamasp and Abbas it was as important an art centre as Tabriz, and that the weaving of carpets was a leading industry there. Furthermore, there has not been found the same evidence to show that Ispahan was at this period an equally important centre of weaving. On the other hand, it is well known that the splendid industrial and art products of this period were largely due to the direct encouragement and favour of the court, and that the court was for most of the time at Ispahan. It is also known that skilled artisans were repeatedly removed from one district to another at the command of a sovereign, so that carpets of similar character might be woven contemporaneously in remote parts of Persia. It accordingly seems not improbable that the original type of these carpets was evolved at Herat and that many of them at least were made at Herat, but that others were also made at Ispahan. At any rate they were made to a great extent under the influence that emanated from Ispahan.
Almost without exception they are pieces of large size and oblong shape. The ground colour of the field is usually red, the border blue; but blue is occasionally used in the field and green in the border. Their distinguishing feature is the use of the palmette, that was probably derived from the lotus, so frequently associated with the Buddhist cult of India and China. In the field it generally occurs in pairs that slightly vary in size. Of almost equal importance are the Chinese cloud-bands and the scrolls or arabesques. These three designs were constant motives in almost all the Ispahans; but they were subject to modifications in size and shape, which appearing in chronological order furnish some guide to the time when the carpets were woven. For instance, the palmettes were at first small and distributed plentifully over the field; later they became larger, until in a few instances they were a yard in diameter. Dr. Martin says that in the first part of the XVII Century the palmettes began to be very large and the richness of the interior design to disappear; until at the end of the XVII Century only a few were sufficient to cover the ground that one hundred years before was almost hidden by innumerable designs of small palmettes, cloud-bands, and scroll work. He also states that towards the middle of the XVII Century the borders began to lose their importance and that the palmettes were surrounded by two long, narrow leaves.
Though most of the antique Iranian carpets that remain were woven in the Northern provinces, it is well known that even from earliest times carpets of elaborate design and skilful technique were also woven in Southern Persia. In fact, many of the wonderful pieces that adorned the palaces and mosques of the Fatimid Caliphs of Egypt came from the districts of Fars and Kirman. The latter, notwithstanding invasions of Seljukian Turks, Mongolians, and Afghans, has continued almost uninterruptedly as a centre of the textile industry; yet comparatively few pieces exist that were woven there three or four centuries ago. Their colour scheme harmonises more with that of the carpets of Western Persia than with the more sombre tones of the old animal carpets and Ispahans, or with the brighter hues of the so-called Polish. Their patterns also show a distinction from those of northern textile fabrics. The fields are often artificially divided, by foliate stalks or lance-shaped leaves with serrated edges, into rhomboidal figures that contain mechanically drawn shrubs, palmettes, or flowers. In the main stripe of the border are generally represented interlacing arabesques adorned with flowering vines or arabesques and a sub-pattern of vines. Mongolian designs are rarely seen in any of these pieces, which probably represent more closely than any other Persian carpets native art unaffected by foreign influences. Almost all of them are now owned in Europe.
Of the early rugs, those woven in Armenia are far less known than those from Persia. Nevertheless, it may reasonably be assumed that the high culture that was manifested in Bagdad and Ctesiphon during the sway of the Caliphs was felt among the mountainous districts to the north; and that the Seljukian rulers, who left such artistic monuments in the old Armenian capitals, appreciated and encouraged the manufacture of fine woollen fabrics. In fact, Marco Polo, who travelled through that region during the latter part of the XIII Century, referred to them as being remarkably handsome.
Probably the oldest remaining pieces are the so-called Dragon carpets, which, it is believed, were produced from the XIV to the XVII Century and possibly even earlier. Not infrequently the length is at least twice the breadth; the very narrow border occasionally consists of only a single stripe; and the field is occupied by a trellis-like pattern of narrow, conventionalised leaves, within which are designs containing archaic flowers and dragons. The ground colour of the field is generally some shade of red, that of the border white, and the leaves are yellow, blue, or green. In the borders of many of them appear an S motive from which undoubtedly was derived the design so frequently seen in panels of more recent Asia Minor prayer rugs.
In the Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York is a XV Century carpet (Plate [19], opp. Page 86), which, though widely differing from these pieces in general pattern, so closely resembles them in the essential characteristics of weave and colour that it is unquestionably of the same class. The field is occupied by concentric diamonds with stepped sides. The encircling bands, that are mostly red, yellow, and violet, and the corners, that are white, contain numerous archaic forms, including palmettes, trees, birds, and animals. There are also numerous small designs of the tri-cleft leaf so common to the Circassian and Soumak rugs; and the ray-like edges of the central lozenge, as well as the four palmettes that rest upon it, suggest the origin of the effulgent stars of old Daghestans and Kabistans. An effort has been made to balance similar designs in corresponding parts of the field, though its centre is at one side of the geometric centre of the diamonds. The palmettes show distinctly a strong Persian influence and the animal forms likewise show that it was not woven by a sectarian Sunnite of Western Asia Minor.
Part of a very unusual carpet (Plate [20], opp. Page 88), from a district in Eastern Asia Minor, is in the Kaiser Friedrich Museum at Berlin. Its principal interest lies in the fact that it is very old and that its approximate age has been determined. In the hospital at Siena, Italy, a similar rug is represented in a fresco called the “Wedding of the Foundling,” painted by Domenico di Bartolo about the year 1440, so that it is reasonable to conclude that this particular piece was woven not much later. In fact, its character would indicate that it or some other from which it has been copied was much older. Each of the nearly square compartments contain octagons, within which on a yellow field are represented the mythical fight of the dragon and phœnix that was adopted as the Ming coat of arms. It is interesting to note that the chain pattern of the brownish-black main border stripe is not unlike what is seen in modern pieces, but the running latch hooks of the corners and the small S designs are unusually stiff. This disposition to formal drawing, which is conspicuous in all parts of the rug, shows an archaic style noticeable only in the very earliest carpets.
In the celebrated painting of Georg Gyze (Plate [21], opp. Page 92) which hangs in the Berlin Gallery, is represented a rug of a class so frequently seen in the paintings of Hans Holbein that they are known as “Holbein rugs.” Their marked dissimilarity to those previously described indicates that they were woven under different circumstances if not in different regions. Neither in the fields nor borders is any trace of Mongolian or Persian influences; and the absence of all floral, leaf, and animal forms so usual in most antique carpets is noticeable. Indeed, the fact that animal forms rarely appear in the art of the Sunni Mohammedans aids in determining the place of their origin. They came from Asia Minor or Western Armenia.
It has generally been assumed that they were woven in Western Asia Minor, because they were purchased there in former centuries and taken thence to Europe; but they possess many features that indicate they may have been woven farther to the east, whence many could easily have been transported westward in caravans. Their borders contain the well-known pattern derived from Cufic letters which, more conventionalised, appears in later years only in such rugs as the Kabistans and Daghestans of Eastern Caucasia. Most of them also contain the small octagonal discs and larger octagonal figures with Greek crosses at the centre that suggest forcibly the designs of Southeastern Caucasia. The narrow stripes of ribbon and chain pattern found in many of them also are very common in Caucasian rugs; so that it seems not improbable that these Holbein rugs were made within the boundaries of that greater Armenia which, embracing the upper Mesopotamian valley, extended over the eastern part of Asia Minor and the southern part of modern Caucasia.
Plate 21. Portrait of Georg Gyze by Hans Holbein, Showing a Holbein Rug With Cufic Border
These rugs claim the attention not only because they have borders of such interesting origin, but by the fact that the age when they were woven is ascertainable. As Holbein lived between the years 1497 and 1543, and some other rugs of this type appear in the works of early Flemish and Italian painters, it may reasonably be assumed that some of them were made before the end of the XV Century.
A very excellent example of this class, owned by Mr. C. F. Williams, is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It has a length of about five feet with a breadth of three and a half. The ground colour of the field is an olive green and that of the main stripe of the border is red. The prevailing colours of the designs, which are entirely geometric, are blue, green, and ivory. All of these rugs are small or of moderate size, and are slightly oblong. Some of them have a ground colour of green; and yellow is frequently found in the pattern. The weaving is rather loose; and compared with Persian rugs they have fewer knots to the square inch.
Another carpet from Asia Minor that also belongs to Mr. C. F. Williams appears in Plate [22], opp. Page 94. It is the only entire rug with this pattern that is known, though a piece of a similar rug is in the Victoria and Albert Museum at London. On fields of blue and red are outlined three large four-pointed stars separated by smaller diamonds. Within these figures and in the surrounding field is a network of tracery supporting conventionalised leaf and floral forms. Between the field and the main stripe of the narrow border is a close co-ordination of pattern, but the simple ribbon of the inner guard seems alien. It appears without modification in many later Asia Minor and Caucasian rugs.
An important feature are the double knots at the corners of the stars, since they are identical with designs found in a manuscript made for one of the Shahs in 1435, and thus assist to determine the age of the rug. For this reason and on account of its general character, it seems not unreasonable to place it as early as the middle of the XV Century.
Similar carpets were woven during a long period, and it is probable that in the latter half of the following century they were largely influenced by the weavers that Solyman the Magnificent, after capturing Tabriz in 1534, transported to his own country. The same general features still remained, but the detail was more elaborate and ornate. Arabesques, palmettes, and floral forms, both of field and border, resembled more nearly the Iranian character. But at a later period, after the beginning of the general decadence to which every industry and art were subject, the patterns became much simpler, and the colours were reduced almost exclusively to red and blue with a little green. At length, both pattern and colours assumed the type of modern Oushaks, that by a slow process of devolution originated from these antique pieces.
In Armenia and Asia Minor it is probable that weaving existed before the Christian era, and that the earliest carpets which remain, though affected by more eastern influences, are largely the product of an indigenous art. But in India it was otherwise. It is true that Sir George Birdwood is authority for the statement that the Saracens introduced carpet-weaving there; but it is most probable that at the time of the invasion of the armies of Tamerlane and during the lives of many of his successors, whatever carpets were woven were very crude. Even when the Moguls began to build and embellish palaces, they obtained their carpets from Persia. But at length Shah Akbar established manufacturies at Lahore about the year 1580, and invited Persian weavers to settle there. From them the native workmen acquired much of their knowledge of patterns and technique.
It was during the reign of Shah Jahan (1628-1658), builder of the famous peacock throne and Taj Mahal, that most of the choicest pieces that now remain were woven. In delicacy of texture they rival those of any other country, and it is not unusual to find pieces with nearly eight hundred knots to the square inch; moreover, all their designs are depicted with remarkable clearness of definition. One of the most noted of these carpets is the woollen piece, about eight yards long by two and a half wide, that was made at the royal factory at Lahore and presented to the Girdlers Company of London in 1634. The mingling of leaf and floral forms, as well as the Herati designs of rosette and crumpled leaf, on a field of red, shows unmistakably its relation to Persian carpets. At the same period were woven large numbers of others with fields covered with an imposing display of superbly drawn flowers, of which every part from root to leaf tips was represented with astonishing realism. Another class included the animal or hunting carpets, which unlike their Persian prototypes seem intended not so much to portray symbolically some historic event or abstract idea, as to convey a correct impression of an actual event.
Plate 22. Oushak Carpet
Loaned by C. F. Williams, Esq., to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
One of these, a woollen piece with a length of eight and a quarter feet and a breadth of five and a quarter, is in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. The inspiration was from some old Persian piece, but the rendering is peculiarly Indian. In this representation of an Oriental jungle is a strange mingling of the real and unreal. The struggle of a monster bird with a winged beast, half lion, half elephant, and the demoniac faces of the border suggest the inspiration of early pagan mythology; but the movements of the running gazelles and the stealthily creeping tiger, the attitude of the driver of the cart and his attendant, are most natural. The drawing as a whole is exceedingly delicate. The ground colour of the field is the red of most Ispahans and Herats of this period, but the border is a cream colour, a combination not in accord with Persian tradition. The other colours are fawn, blue, pink, grey and brown. It is probably the only Indian hunting carpet of its kind.
Few strictly antique carpets from other countries of the Orient are known. Of the innumerable pieces that were surely woven in Caucasia and Western Turkestan before the end of the XVII Century, scarcely a vestige can be found. Nor are there many from the looms of Syria, though in the days of the Caliphs every mosque was adorned with magnificent carpets. It is true a few sterling pieces of Saracenic character, that have been ascribed to the region about Damascus, still exist. There are also a few rare and beautiful pieces that have come to light in China.[15] But of the countless thousands that in almost every country of the Orient once covered floors of palaces and mosques, representing one of the most refined arts, now nearly lost, only an insignificant fraction remains.
CHART INDICATING PERIODS WHEN ANTIQUE CARPETS WERE MADE
