Size, 4.11 × 3.1
The fine weaving of this Soumak Rug and its beautiful coloring are especially admirable. The texture is very firm, the threads being tightly drawn. On a field, which is a choice shade of blue, rest geometrical forms, each one of which has a ground of terra cotta, pale green, or soft yellow, and is ornamented with rich blue, ivory, or a light shade of terra cotta. All are outlined with black. The hook design is noticed in different parts of the rug, and especially in the border. The artistic effect of this bit of weaving is most pleasing.
Owned by Mr. Will J. Davis, Chicago.
The pashim is the soft downy wool growing next the body of the goat. In color it is white, dark gray, or drab; and of this many of the finest India rugs are woven. Large-tailed sheep are common in Kabul, Peshawar, and other districts; these furnish wool from which many a rug is woven. It is possible that the very sheep watched over by the shepherds of Judea the night of our Saviour's birth were reared partly for their wool, with a view to rug-weaving.
The camel is useful not only as a beast of burden; its hair is woven into fabrics both fine and durable, chief of which are rugs, beautiful, much desired, and costly; the younger the animal the more is its hair esteemed. The natural colors harmonize readily with the furnishings in most rooms, and the soft texture of the best ones is attractive.
The process of carding is accomplished by means of a block with vertical pins in even rows close together. The wool is drawn through these many times, and then spun into yarn.
The Quality
The fineness of a rug depends largely upon the quality of the wool and the number of knots to the square foot. In one yard of the best made Persian rugs there are between twenty thousand and thirty thousand stitches made by hand. The wool must be of fine quality, but not too soft. It should be closely woven, and evenly cropped. A great deal depends upon the manipulation of the wool in the rough, and careful attention should be given to this particular.
The quality of the wool is affected by whatever circumstances affect the well-being of the sheep, and in a marked degree by climate. Hence there is a decided difference in the wools of various districts and sections of a country. It is a well-known fact that the wool produced in cold countries is soft and fine, while that of the warmer climates is, on the other hand, harder, firmer, and more lasting. Hard wool is easier for the weaver to handle, and the tufts can be cropped with more facility. It is partly owing to these facts that the rugs of the cold districts are most in demand.