CHAPTER XVI
HOW TO DISTINGUISH RUGS
HE owner of an Oriental rug will find the pleasure to be derived from it will be greater if he knows where and by whom it was made. This is particularly true if it is one of those pieces of which the charm depends more on its individuality than on the masterly handling of line and colour. The study of classification, therefore, will well repay the effort; though unfortunately it is often discouraging, since it involves a consideration of the characteristics of a hundred different classes, almost all of which are found to have exceptions to the best known types. To add to the difficulty, the opinions of dealers in regard to the less known classes are very often erroneous; and detailed descriptions, even at the best, are unsatisfactory. Without a long personal experience in handling rugs, combined with careful study, it is impossible to become expert; but familiarity with one class makes it easier by comparison and a process of elimination to distinguish others.
The beginner should first learn to identify each of the six groups. Of these the Chinese can readily be distinguished by their well-known patterns, which are found in no other part of the Orient except in the rugs known as Samarkands, Yarkands, and Kashgars; and the Indian may generally be recognised by the realism and formal arrangement of their floral patterns. Relatively few of either group are found in the United States; and as about ninety per cent of the rugs belong to the other four groups, they alone will be considered in detail. Leaving out of consideration, then, the Chinese and Indian rugs, it should be remembered:
(a) That, as a rule, rugs from Persia have floral patterns; and rugs from Asia Minor, Caucasia, and Central Asia have geometric.
(b) That figures with latch-hooks belong principally to rugs of the Caucasian group and, to a limited extent, to the rugs of the Asia Minor group.
