Oriental Rugs, Antique and Modern

by W. A. Hawley

Though a certain glamour attaches to all that comes from Persia, the Indes, or Far Cathay, in no part of the Orient are rugs woven on more classic ground than are the Asia Minor pieces. They are still made in the shadow of the walls where Cro[es]us lived and among villages where Homer trod. Their yarn is spun with crude distaff by the shepherd who still drives his flock along the same road where Artaxerxes marched, across the bridges that Roman legions built, and over the green slopes of Mt. Ida. In fact the names of some of them call to mind pictures of the Crusades, the journey of Paul, the march of Alexander’s conquering army, and of cities founded before the beginning of history.

When analysing the rugs of Asia Minor, it is necessary to make a distinction that has been previously noticed in the case of Persian rugs, though with them it is less important. From the time when there arose a large demand in the markets of Europe and America for the rugs of the East the natural supply decreased, and, as a consequence, the price of those that remained increased. To meet this deficiency, and because of the higher prices, there was established a system by which large numbers of women and children were constantly employed; although many worked in their own homes, using such material as was furnished by their employers and receiving fixed daily wages. In the western and southern parts of Asia Minor, which are connected by railroads with seaports, are a number of communities where this system is in vogue. One of these is at Demirdji in the province of Smyrna, where there are a small number of looms; others are in the districts of Ghiordes and Kulah, which together have about one thousand looms; and Oushak, the principal rug-weaving centre of Asia Minor, has as many more.[28] Almost all rugs produced at such places are now shipped to Smyrna, which itself has but very few looms, or to Constantinople, whence they are reshipped to Western markets. These products lack much of the oldtime artistic spirit and individuality of character, on account of the dependence of the weavers on their employers, who demand the largest output consistent with fair quality. Furthermore, the weavers are frequently required to reproduce Western patterns. The result is that most of these rugs possess little of the firmness of texture, the harmonious relations of designs, and the excellent colour of old fabrics. Since, then, they represent in a measure European influences, and are subject to further changes to meet the demands of a fluctuating foreign taste, it would be of little use to describe them, especially as all their original characteristics exist in the old pieces.

The striking features of Asia Minor rugs woven over fifty years ago are the colour schemes, main patterns, and the separate designs, which may be either independent of the pattern or constitute part of it. The colour effect of Asia Minor rugs is as a rule brighter than that of the Central Asian, Indian, or Persian groups; for the reds, blues, and yellows are less subdued. Some of their tones never appear in Chinese rugs, and on the whole they most closely resemble those of the Caucasian pieces; yet it is not unusual to see such colours as mauve, lavender, and canary yellow, that rarely appear even among these. Moreover, in a few of them masses of strongly contrasting colours are placed beside one another without the customary shading of Persian rugs or the artificial device of Caucasian latch-hooks to soften the effect of harsh combinations.

MAP OF ASIA MINOR

The difference, nevertheless, between the Asia Minor rugs and those of other groups is less apparent in the colour schemes than in the main patterns, for in the Asia Minor rugs is evidence of an independent inspiration and development. There are lacking the rigid octagonal figures of the Central Asian groups; the frets and floral sprays distinctive of Chinese; the naturalistic floral treatment of the Indian; the delicate tracings, rhythm of movement, and wealth of foliage motives that characterise the Persian; as well as the severely geometric forms and conventionalised motives of the Caucasian. Instead of gracefully flowing lines we find strong rectangular ones; instead of flowers realistically balanced on interlacing, foliate stalks, they are arranged separately in formal rows. But if their patterns lack the fertility of invention or the refinement of Persian and Indian pieces, they excel them in the strength of their clear definition, accentuated by massing of colour. It is, however, in the prayer patterns, which appear in the majority of Asia Minor rugs, that the weavers attain their best results; for in such work they have the inspiration of a high religious as well as artistic spirit. In these patterns, which differ from those of any other group of rugs, is often manifest singular beauty and grace, as well as delicate sentiment derived from worship in Moslem chapels; for in many is represented the burning lamp that, projected against a background of sacred green, hangs from the column-supported arch, above which is spread a spandrel of blue typifying the vaulted heavens.

Likewise many of the small designs that are found in other groups of rugs are rarely, if ever, seen in this one; as, for instance, animals, birds, fishes, and human beings are never employed, on account of the religious prejudice of the Sunnite Mohammedans, who prevail in the country. Nor, with very few exceptions, is the Herati design, so characteristic of Persian rugs, nor the pear design, so characteristic of both Persian and Indian rugs, ever seen. Furthermore, the reciprocal trefoil, that is used as a motive for a small border stripe in all Caucasian and many Persian rugs, is very rarely found in Asia. Minor pieces woven during the last two centuries, though it appears in some of an earlier era. But in its place are the water motive and ribbon, which are less frequently employed by the weavers of any other country. There are also many small floral motives that appear only in Asia Minor rugs, and that will be noticed in connection with the separate classes.

These characteristics of colour, pattern, and design are not the result of a spontaneous growth unalloyed by foreign influences; for a natural art never existed in Asia Minor, which has never enjoyed a national existence; but they are the results of artistic movements that at different times have swept over that country. Thus, as an heirloom of dynasties that once flourished farther east, are the Cufic characters that appear in some of the early border patterns; and as a relic of the Mongol and Timurid invasions are the dragon and other designs found in the oldest pieces. In Oushaks, as well as others, are seen the evidences of Persian treatment; while the drawing and colour schemes of the prayer rugs forcibly suggest Saracenic, Grecian, and Christian ideas. In fact, the rugs of Asia Minor, while possessing co-ordination of colour and design, are in a measure composite. They never reach the high artistic development of Persian rugs, because the latter were produced under the fostering care of great kings whose royal magnificence could secure from years of patient labour suitable furnishings for palaces and mosques; yet they are none the less interesting subjects for speculation and study.

Bergamos.—In the valley of the Caïcus and twenty miles from the Ægean Sea is the city of Pergamus, that gives its name to the Bergamo rugs. It is of unknown antiquity, and may have stood when Agamemnon was warring with the house of Priam before the walls of that other city of the same name. In turn, Persians, Macedonians, Thracians, Syrians, and Romans had taken possession of it before the Apostle Paul founded there one of the seven churches of Asia. Greek sculptors chiselled its monuments, philosophers taught beneath the shade of its trees, and scholars gathered there the library that rivalled that of Alexandria. Partly encircled by mountains and enclosed by the wall of this old city, that was wellnigh destroyed during the Turkish wars, is the modern city of some fifteen thousand inhabitants. It is to-day one of the flourishing cities of the Levant, yet only in the surrounding ruins is there any reminder of its former greatness and splendour. But in these crumbling relics of the past and in the excellence of its woven fabrics of more recent times are traces of the artistic spirit that once prevailed there.