Knot. Nine to the inch vertically and eight horizontally, making seventy-two to the square inch.
This is a most unusual piece. It has a long nap, is tied with the Turkish knot and in many respects resembles the Bergama while on the back it has a distinctly Khorasan appearance. It is an old piece with a most lustrous sheen and the colors are of the best, every one being of exactly the same tint on the surface as it is down next to the warp threads.
The prevailing color is a rich terra cotta with figures of lilies in olive-green, old rose, blue and white. There are also a number of six-petaled flowers in red, white and blue. In the centre there is a diamond-shaped medallion with triangular corner pieces to match, all of which are outlined in natural black wool. The nap is so cut as to give the surface the characteristic hammered-brass appearance so common in many of the antique Bergamas and the lustre is such as is only found in the very old pieces.
(See page [234])
THE CARE OF RUGS
There is a popular idea that an Oriental rug will never wear out and that the harder it is used the more silky it will grow. This is an erroneous idea and many rugs that would be almost priceless now are beyond repair, having fallen into the hands of people who did not appreciate them and give them the proper care. Oriental rugs cannot be handled and beaten like the domestics without serious injury. In the Orient they receive much better treatment than they do at our hands. There they are never exposed to the glare of a strong light and are never subjected to the contact of anything rougher than the bare feet. The peculiar silkiness of the nap so much admired in old pieces is due to the fact that the Oriental never treads on them with his shoes.
Large rugs, having a longer pile, resist more the wear and tear from the shoes, but they must be handled with greater care than the small ones, as, being heavier, the warp or woof threads are more liable to break.