Oriental Rugs, Antique and Modern

by W. A. Hawley

Gulistan is the Persian name for a flower garden, and the rugs known by that name were once made in a district not far from Kashan, where rose bushes bloomed profusely. The fields may be covered with conventionalised floral and leaf patterns, or again they may contain roses naturalistically drawn with extended petals, as if viewed from above. The most striking characteristic is the opulence of colour, such as red, blue, and yellow softened by shades of brown and green. Even the weft and the webs of the ends are red, blue, or brown. The sides have a two-cord selvage, warp and weft are usually of cotton, and one thread of warp to each knot is depressed at the back. These rugs, which formerly came in large sizes, are no longer made.

Only a short distance to the northeast of Hamadan is the district of Kara-Geuz, which is occupied by a large tribe, who in the past have furnished some of the best of Persian cavalry. The people are industrious, and not only cultivate the land but engage in weaving. Some of their rugs closely resemble the Kurdish pieces, and others correspond with the Irans. In the technique of weave they often follow the Hamadans. On the outskirts of this district is the town of Bibikabad, where, also, rugs are woven for market.

For a number of generations the country adjoining Lake Urumiah on the west and stretching into the Turkish domain has been partly occupied by a powerful race of brave and active people who are known as Afshars. They are regarded as a branch of the Yuruks of Asia Minor, and the rugs of both tribes have many points of similarity. The wool of the nap is generally the coarse product of the mountain sheep. The patterns incorporate some of the floral features of Persian rugs, though they display many Caucasian characteristics. These Afshars bear a close resemblance to the Kazaks, from which they may be distinguished by observing a fold as they are bent backwards, which will show the fibres of the yarn of a knot standing out at front as a unit, while in Kazaks they have a greater tendency to blend. Also at the back, each half of a knot is no longer than wide, nor is it drawn closely against the warp, while in Kazaks each half of a knot is often double its width and is drawn closer.

In the country about Gozene, in the watershed of the Euphrates river, are made a few rugs for local use, though they occasionally reach Western markets. The pattern, which is very simple, usually consists of some small diaper figure of brown or grey colour, or of dull tones of maroon. Many of this class have a double foundation of warp; and frequently, at the back, the knots do not form regular lines parallel with the length, as is the case with other rugs. This is due to the fact that any thread of warp may be encircled by both the left half of some knots and the right half of others. Occasionally, also, a knot is tied about four threads of warp. In other rugs of this class which have a single foundation of warp the weave resembles that of Mosuls.

BORDER STRIPES

The most noticeable feature of Persian border stripes is their floral character, which is very frequently represented by a vine winding from side to side with pendent flowers marking each flexure. Some of these vines have been evolved from arabesques, and others from naturalistic tendrils, but all are graceful. In a few pieces the stripes contain rows of detached flowers, rosettes, or pears, expressed in rich yet unobtrusive colours, that are always in perfect harmony with those of the field. Rarely is the pattern geometric. Accordingly, with the exception of the Indian and some of the Chinese, they are the most elegant, pleasing, and artistic of all border stripes. Moreover, some of them follow almost the same patterns that were in use centuries ago.

Primary Stripes.—In Plate [E], Fig. 1 (opp. Page 156), is represented a typical Herat stripe derived from some of the XV and XVI Century carpets. It shows close relationship to the pattern of conventional rosette and pair of attendant leaves so frequently seen on the fields of such rugs as the Feraghans and Sehnas. In this stripe the angular and serrated leaves are extended to form a vine.

One of the best known Khorassan stripes, shown in Plate [E], Fig. 2, bears a resemblance to the Herat stripe; and it is not unlikely that they had a common origin, since they were designed in adjoining and freely communicating districts. The enlargements of the vine at the centre of each flexure are doubtless leaves, but they occasionally resemble the heads of birds.