Oriental Rugs, Antique and Modern

by W. A. Hawley

COLOUR PLATE IX—SAMARKAND RUG

Although this rug is an excellent example of that class generally known as Samarkands, it was bought in Yarkand. Undoubtedly it was woven in some part of Turkestan that lies between these two cities; yet with the exception of the eight-pointed stars at the centre of the upper and lower medallions the pattern is characteristic of Chinese ornamentation. Surrounding the central medallion, on a ground of rich deep blue, are six conventionalised butterflies, and near them are four clusters of pomegranates. At each end of the field are designs that suggest the tree of life, which under different forms appears so persistently in the woven fabrics of the East. The delicate drawing of these motives is accentuated by the formal character of the four corners and by the broad border of well-known stripes. It is a piece in which beauty of line and colour is combined with unsolved symbolism.

Loaned by Mr. Hulett C. Merritt

On account of the constant intercourse between the Khiva and Bokhara tribes, their woven fabrics show a close relationship in patterns and colours; yet they contain important differences. Those made by the Khiva tribes are cruder, and reflect the effect of constant struggles against the rigours of the desert and the fierce Kirghiz from the steppes to the north. The wool is also coarser and longer, and the knots are much fewer to the inch. Occasionally geometric as well as animal designs suggestive of Caucasian influence occur. Moreover, the brownish threads of weft that separate each row of knots, are noticeable at the back, whereas in other Turkoman rugs the weft is hardly perceptible.

Many of the old pieces were very handsome, as is shown by the following description of an antique goat’s hair carpet from Khiva by Dr. Birdwood.[35] “The ground is of madder red, decorated with leaves and scrolls and lozenge-shaped forms in red, white, and orange, each lozenge being defined by a deep line of indigo blue. The ends terminate in a fringe. Professor Vambery says that these rich lustrous carpets are made entirely by the nomad women about Khiva, the head worker tracing out the design in the desert sand and handing out to her companions the dyed materials of different colours as required in the progress of weaving.”

Type Characteristics. Colours, principally dark red, with minor quantities of blue and ivory. Knot, Ghiordes or Sehna. Knots to inch horizontally six to ten; perpendicularly, eight to fourteen. The rows of knots are but slightly pressed down, so that the warp shows at back. Warp, wool or goat’s hair; each of the two threads encircled by a knot is equally prominent at the back. Weft, wool of medium or coarse diameter. A thread of weft crosses twice between every two rows of knots. Pile, wool of medium length. Border, generally three stripes. Sides, a double selvage of two or three cords, which is generally of goat’s hair. Both ends, a web, one or more rows of knots and a warp fringe. Texture, stout. Usual length, four and one half to six feet. Usual width, three fifths to three quarters length.

Yomuds.—When, in 1718, the Yomuds were driven by the Tekkes from their homes in the well-watered region about Kizil Arvat, they moved to a less fertile country to the north and west. Though now numbering about one hundred thousand, they have few villages; and regardless of the dreary sand storms, the biting cold of winter, or the terrible heat of summer, they wander with their sheep and goats from place to place in search of more favoured spots. Sometimes their khibitkas are seen along the border of the Caspian Sea as far south as Astrabad in Khorassan, or among the sandy trackless wastes of Kara Kum, nearly as far north as the Aral Sea.

Many of their rugs rival the Royal Bokharas in wealth of colour. The prevailing tone of the field is usually red or maroon, but is sometimes rose, plum, or dark brown; and the remaining shades correspond with the blue, green, brown, and white of Tekkes. Contrasted with these is the ivory ground of the border, which, as a rule, has a much brighter colour than the field. Furthermore, the pile of the old pieces has a lustre that is due to the excellence of the dyes and the thick soft wool.