Twenty years ago the warning was given that the choice old rugs were growing scarce; the years following found fewer still upon the market. Two or three years ago one of the largest wholesale houses in New York, carrying a stock of half a million or a million dollars, had no antiques to show. In the autumn of 1902, another large New York importer who had just returned from Persia, Tiflis, and Constantinople admitted that he had not brought back one valuable antique piece.
Nevertheless, the true enthusiast need not be discouraged. From wandering dealers, in odd corners, at the unexpected or by chance, one may happen on a choice specimen.
The very word “Persian” is a synonym for opulence, splendour, gorgeousness; and “Oriental” means beauty and wonder and the magic of the “Arabian Nights.” From the Aladdin’s cave of the mystical East, therefore, we may still hope to gather treasure and spoil.