Characteristic Backs of Rugs
ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE BACKS OF SOME RUGS
SHOWING THEIR CHARACTERISTIC WEAVES
The author has endeavored to include in this group of pictures one of every rug which has a distinct characteristic weave. There are many rugs, the weaves of which differ so minutely that their reproduction on paper would be of no material help.
The details of each picture are of the same size as the rug from which it was taken and each one is presented with the warp threads running up and down. This idea of comparison would be even more valuable were it possible to procure pictures of pieces only which have the same number of knots to the square inch. A magnifying glass will aid materially in bringing out the minute details.
No. 1. Khorasan.—Twelve knots to the inch vertically, and six horizontally. This peculiar weave is due to the fact that several rows of knots are tied with no woof thread to separate them; then two or three strands of the woof are thrown in, one after the other, followed by several more rows of knots. This method of weaving is a Khorasan feature.
No. 2. Senna.—Eighteen Senna knots to the inch vertically, and eighteen horizontally. Notice the closeness and irregularity of the rows of knots. Contrast the appearance of this with that of the Saruk (No. 3) which is tied with the same kind of knot and has very nearly the same number to the square inch.
No. 3. Saruk.—Fifteen Senna knots to the inch vertically, and sixteen horizontally. One of the most closely and most evenly woven of the Oriental fabrics. In this illustration the rows of knots can easily be counted horizontally, but it is almost impossible to count them vertically unless we follow the stripe-like arrangement in the straight oblique outlines of some of the designs.
No. 4. Kazak.—Six Ghiordes knots to the inch vertically, and nine horizontally. Notice the wide spacing between each row. This is due to the great number of woof threads between each row, a characteristic of the Kazak. This cut beautifully illustrates the appearance of the Ghiordes knot on the back. Note that each one has two loops as compared with the one loop in the Senna knot, as illustrated in No. 3.
No. 5. Saraband.—Ten Senna knots to the inch vertically and ten horizontally. The white or light blue woof threads are distinctly seen in each row, even in those which are closely woven. The spaces between the rows vary a little in places, giving it an appearance somewhat similar to the Khorasan weave.
No. 6. Daghestan.—Eight Ghiordes knots to the inch vertically, and eight horizontally. This piece has the same number of knots to the square inch as does the Chinese (No. 7), and, although of a different kind, the appearance of the weave is quite similar.
No. 7. Chinese.—Nine knots to the inch vertically, and nine horizontally. The spiral appearance of the colored rows of knots and the white woof threads give it a look quite similar to that of the Daghestan (No. 6).
No. 8. Merve Ghileem.—Eight stitches to the inch. Compare the difference in weave to that of the Kurdish ghileem (No. 9). The colors of the latter are always at right angles to or with the warp and woof threads, while that of the former is diagonal to the warp and woof threads. This method of weaving gives the Merve fewer and smaller open spaces.
No. 9. Kurdish Ghileem.—Notice the many open spaces, also the loose yarn ends, a characteristic of this class of ghileems.
No. 10. Shemakha (coarse).—Eight stitches to the inch. Showing the front of the rug in order to illustrate the Shemakha weave, which is a flat weave and yet quite different from that of the ghileems. Note its braided appearance.
No. 11. Shemakha (coarse).—Back of the same rug as shown in No. 10. Note the quantity of loose yarn ends.
No. 12. Shemakha (fine).—Ten stitches to the inch. Note the difference in the number of loose yarn ends in this piece compared with those in the coarsely woven fabrics (No. 11).
CHART SHOWING THE DISTINGUISHING FEATURES
OF THE DIFFERENT RUGS (part 1)
| Knot | Warp | Woof | ||||||||||||||||
| Ghiordes | Senna | Wool | Cotton | Goat's Hair | Camel's Hair | Silk | Linen | Dyed | Wool | Cotton | Goat's Hair | Camel's Hair | Silk | Linen | Dyed | Extra Thr'ds | ||
| PERSIAN | ||||||||||||||||||
| Bakhshis | O | R | A | A | Ob | |||||||||||||
| Gorevan | O | R | A | A | Ob | |||||||||||||
| Serapi | O | R | A | A | Ob | |||||||||||||
| Kara Dagh | A | A | R | R | Or | R | ||||||||||||
| Kashan | A | R | O | O | R | O | O | |||||||||||
| Souj Bulak | A | R | O | R | O | |||||||||||||
| Tabriz | S | R | R | O | O | O | R | O | ||||||||||
| Bijar | A | Ah | Rh | O | ||||||||||||||
| Kermanshah | S | R | A | A | Ob | |||||||||||||
| Senna | A | R | O | O | O | R | O | O | ||||||||||
| Feraghan | Mo. O | An. A Mo. O | A | S; | R | O | ||||||||||||
| Hamadan | A | A | O | R | O | |||||||||||||
| Ispahan | A | A | A | |||||||||||||||
| Joshaghan | A | A | A | |||||||||||||||
| Saraband | Mo. R | An. A Mo. O | A | A | Flb | |||||||||||||
| Saruk | A | R | O | R | O | |||||||||||||
| Sultanabad | R | O | A | A | ||||||||||||||
| Mahal | R | O | A | A | ||||||||||||||
| Muskabad | R | O | A | A | ||||||||||||||
| Niris | A | A | A | |||||||||||||||
| Shiraz | F | R | An. A Mo. R | Mo. F | A | R | F | |||||||||||
| Herat | R | S | O | R | An. Rs | O | R | Rb | ||||||||||
| Khorasan | A | A | O | R | A | |||||||||||||
| Meshed | S | R | O | R | R | O | ||||||||||||
| Kirman | A | A | R | O | ||||||||||||||
| Kurdistan | A | R | O | Rg | R | O | O | Rborg | ||||||||||
| TURKISH | ||||||||||||||||||
| Kir Shehr | A | A | R | A | R | |||||||||||||
| Oushak | A | A | R | A | R | |||||||||||||
| Karaman | A | Ac | Rr | A | Rr | |||||||||||||
| Konieh | A | A | Rpc | A | ||||||||||||||
| Mujur | A | A | A | Ar | ||||||||||||||
| Ladik | A | A | Rr | A | R | |||||||||||||
| Yuruk | A | R | O | Rb | R | O | Rb | |||||||||||
| Ak Hissar | A | A c | Ac | |||||||||||||||
| Anatolian | A | A | A | R | ||||||||||||||
| Bergama | A | A | Rr | A | Rw | |||||||||||||
| Ghiordes | A | An. R Mo. A | An. O | An. O | O | R | S | |||||||||||
| Kulah | A | A | An. A Mo. R | Mo. O | ||||||||||||||
| Meles | A | A | R | O | R | |||||||||||||
| Makri | A | A | A | |||||||||||||||
| Smyrna | A | Ac | Ac | R | ||||||||||||||
| Mosul | A | R | O | O | Rd | Rc | O | Rgorb | ||||||||||
| CAUCASIAN | ||||||||||||||||||
| Daghestan | A | R | O | Rg | An. R Mo. O | Mo. R An. O | F | |||||||||||
| Derbend | A | R | F | Rb | A | R | ||||||||||||
| Kabistan | A | R | O | O | R | |||||||||||||
| Tchetchen | A | R | O | A | Rb | |||||||||||||
| Baku | A | R | O | F | O | R | ||||||||||||
| Shemakha | A | A | ||||||||||||||||
| Shirvan | A | R | O | O | Mo. b g or pc | R | O | |||||||||||
| Genghis | A | R | F | b. g or r | A | Fb, r or g | R | |||||||||||
| Karabagh | A | A | A | Fr or b | R | |||||||||||||
| Kazak | A | A | A | Rr or b or b | R | |||||||||||||
| TURKOMAN | ||||||||||||||||||
| Khiva | A | R | F | Rd | R | F | Rg or | |||||||||||
| Beshir | O | R | R | O | R | O | d | |||||||||||
| Tekke | A | A | A | Rr or b | ||||||||||||||
| Yomud | O | R | R | F | Rb | R | F | Rr | ||||||||||
| Kashgar | A | A | A | |||||||||||||||
| Yarkand | A | O | R | O | R | R | ||||||||||||
| Samarkand | S | R | R | O | O | Rb or y | R | O | O | Rb or y | R | |||||||
| Beluchistan | A | R | O | A | Rd | |||||||||||||
| Chinese | O | R | O | R | R | O | Rd | R | ||||||||||