Plate C.--Prayer Arches of Persian, Caucasian, and Central Asiatic RugsPlate C.—Prayer Arches of Persian, Caucasian, and Central Asiatic RugsNo. 1, Antique silk. No. 2, Kermanshah. No. 3, Khorassan. No. 4, Sarouk. No. 5, Persian, XVI Century. No. 6, Kashan. No. 7, Feraghan. No. 8, Shiraz. No. 9, Daghestan, Kabistan, Shirvan, Chichi, Kazak, Karabagh. No. 10, Kazak. No. 11, Shirvan. No. 12, Karabagh (not usual). No. 13, Beluchistan. No. 14, Bokhara, Tekke. No. 15, Khiva. No. 16, Beshire.
Plate C.—Prayer Arches of Persian, Caucasian, and Central Asiatic Rugs
No. 1, Antique silk. No. 2, Kermanshah. No. 3, Khorassan. No. 4, Sarouk. No. 5, Persian, XVI Century. No. 6, Kashan. No. 7, Feraghan. No. 8, Shiraz. No. 9, Daghestan, Kabistan, Shirvan, Chichi, Kazak, Karabagh. No. 10, Kazak. No. 11, Shirvan. No. 12, Karabagh (not usual). No. 13, Beluchistan. No. 14, Bokhara, Tekke. No. 15, Khiva. No. 16, Beshire.
The patterns of prayer rugs are not only pleasing, but have a peculiar importance, as weavers of certain sections of the country adhere so strictly to time-honoured traditions that the shape of the arch, or mihrab, which is the principal feature, often denotes the class, as well as the group, to which they belong. Some of these arches are illustrated in PlatesCandD(Pages 61 and 63), from which it will be seen that in Persian rugs they are formed by gracefully curving lines, but that in rugs of other groups, with the exception of a very few old Ghiordes pieces, they are geometric. The peculiarities of the arches of the several classes, also, are observable; as those of the Beluchistans, which are rectilinear and relatively high, and those of the Bokharas, which are tent-shaped, flat, and small. In the Caucasian group they have a marked resemblance to one another and also to those of the Turkoman rugs, but are larger than the latter. Again, the arch of almost all Asia Minor rugs rises higher than those of any others, excepting the Persian, and extends from one side of the field to the other. In many of them a panel is placed above the spandrel, and occasionally a second panel is placed beneath the field. Above the niche of some Asia Minor and Caucasian prayer rugsis woven a small rhomboidal figure, where the suppliant plants the pebble or bit of earth that he has brought from Mecca; and at the sides of a few arches are crude figures, where are placed the hands during the act of worship. More than one arch is the exception; but now and then are seen two and even four, one above the other, or several parallel to one another. These and other special features associated with prayer rugs will be considered more fully in subsequent chapters.
The smaller designs that appear in rugs and compose the general pattern are distinguished as geometric and floral ornamentation. The former is adopted in those countries where the population is principally nomadic; and the latter is the accepted style in countries where exist numerous towns and cities in which the arts have been cultivated and where a large percentage of the population have enjoyed an advanced state of society. Thus in Caucasia, Turkestan, Afghanistan, and Beluchistan geometric designs are characteristic of the rugs; but in China, India, Persia, and part of Asia Minor floral designs prevail. Sir George Birdwood, an eminent authority on Oriental rugs, has made the statement that the geometric designs are found among the lower Turanian and the floral among the higher Aryan. But it seems most probable that the adoption of the geometric or floral style of ornamentation is due not so much to racial distinctions as to the state to which the textile art had advanced among the different peoples and to the waves of influence that at times spread over the countries. Thus the early rugs of Asia Minor had patterns that were more geometric than those of later times, and during the period when the Mongols ruled in Persia geometric patterns were more frequently employed in the rugs of that country than subsequently.
Plate D.--Prayer Arches of Asia Minor RugsPlate D.—Prayer Arches of Asia Minor RugsNos. 1, 2, 3, 4, Ghiordes. Nos. 5, 6, 7, Kulah. No. 8, Ladik. Nos. 9, 10, Bergamo. Nos. 11, 12, Melez. No. 13, Kir-shehr, Mudjar. Nos. 14, 15, Konieh. No. 16, Anatolian.
Plate D.—Prayer Arches of Asia Minor Rugs
Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, Ghiordes. Nos. 5, 6, 7, Kulah. No. 8, Ladik. Nos. 9, 10, Bergamo. Nos. 11, 12, Melez. No. 13, Kir-shehr, Mudjar. Nos. 14, 15, Konieh. No. 16, Anatolian.
In all rugs, however, some trace of the floral design appears. Even in the Turkoman weavings, the pattern of which is strictly geometric, some vestige of the tree of life is manifest. In the fields of Caucasian rugs, in which are represented squares, octagons, triangles, diagonals, lozenges, stars, etc., the weavers have depicted designs that are almost as geometric as those of the Turkoman rugs by which they have been influenced; but, on the other hand, large numbers of the border designs are distinctly floral. In the rugs of China and Asia Minor are found both geometric and floral ornamentation, the latter predominating in pieces woven during the last two centuries, and the former in those of earlier date. Among >the woven fabrics of India and Persia, however, few traces of the geometric pattern remain; but vines, leaves, and flowers form the favourite theme for decoration.
The floral patterns are the result of many centuries of growth, that reached its highest development in the Persian carpets of the XVI and XVII Centuries; and since then till the present time they have continued as the most characteristic features of the rugs of that country and India. They represent the highest technique of the weaver. In the borders are generally represented vines from which are pendant rosettes, palmettes, or flowers; and in the fields, particularly those of the fine antique rugs, are a profusion of floral forms realistically portrayed. On long, gracefully twining and intertwining stems is often the rose, pink, violet, lotus, crocus, narcissus, or daisy. But if the rug is more modern, in its field of uniform colour may be represented a central medallion covered with delicate tracings enriched by bright-coloured conventionalised flowers.
In the general pattern of all rugs are interwoven particular designs or motives that give them a distinctive character and render the greatest assistance in distinguishing the groups and classes. Thus the serrated leaf and wine cup (PlateI, Fig. 1, opp. Page 226) is found only in Caucasian and old Armenian rugs; and the design represented in PlateH, Fig. 10 (opp. Page 194), suggestive of some Chinese character, is found almost exclusively in Kulahs. Not only are all designs important as aids in classification, but they have a special interest, as it is maintained by writers of the highest authority that when employed by the earliest weavers each had a symbolic meaning. To be sure, the origin of many has been lost in the remote past and is unknown even to those who now employ them; but others still represent definite ideas, as they did centuries ago, and portray to some extent the thought of the weaver. They therefore deserve the most careful study.
Plate 11. Carpet from Northwestern PersiaPlate 11. Carpet from Northwestern PersiaLoaned by C. F. Williams, Esq., to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Plate 11. Carpet from Northwestern Persia
Loaned by C. F. Williams, Esq., to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Few of these designs have been transmitted from a more remote past or have been more universally employed than has been the figureSymbol: SorSymbol: horizontal S. It appears in each of the groups of Oriental rugs excepting the Chinese; and two of the forms it assumes are exceedingly like the arms of the swastika and parts of the fret as occasionally seen in Chinese designs. In Indian rugs it is rarely found except in the borders, which may have been copied from those of other countries. It is very commonly seen in the Beluchistans,Tekkes, and Beshires, of the Central Asiatic group; and in the rugs of the Persian group that show nomadic influences. There is probably not a single class of the Caucasian group, nor any of the Asia Minor group, with the exception of the old Ghiordes, in which it is not sometimes represented. It may be seen near the corner of the Asia Minor “Dragon and Phœnix” carpet of the XIV Century, illustrated in Plate20(opp. Page 88); and appears in some of the old Armenian carpets, which are believed to be even older. That it was associated with sun worship and regarded as an emblem of light and the deity is the accepted belief. It is possible, however, that it was intended by some weavers to represent the serpent, which among many different races is emblematic of superhuman knowledge.
Probably no other design has been more universally employed than the swastika, which appears in the textile fabrics of North American Indians, on the Maya ruins of Yucatan, among the monuments of the Nile, and on the temples of India. Widely as is its distribution, its most usual form of intersecting right angles is found in each of these countries. It is not improbable that it originated in China, where it is a most common decorative motive, and was almost invariably represented in the borders and in many of the medallions of rugs woven before the beginning of the XVIII Century. It is also very frequently seen in the rugs of Samarkand, and occasionally in those of Caucasia. It seldom appears in the rugs of Persia, Asia Minor, or Turkestan. The universality of the design indicates its great antiquity, yet its primitive symbolic meaning of abundance, fertility, and prosperity has never been lost. Some of its different forms are shown in PlateO, Figs. 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d, 5e, and 5f (Page 291).
The reciprocal trefoil (PlateF, Fig. 17, opp. Page 158) is a very usual design in Caucasian and Persian rugs; it is often found in some of the rugs of India and in Beluchistans, but is very rarely seen in other classes of the Central Asiatic or in the Chinese and Asia Minor groups. Its origin is uncertain, but since it appears in the “Polish Carpets” and other antique Persian carpets of strictly floral pattern, where its drawing is more elaborate than in modern rugs, it is not improbable that it is the conventionalised form of the lily or a spray bearing three leaves, and that it has the emblematic significance of the tree form.
Among all primitive races the sun, moon, and stars have been associated with their religion, so that it is surprising that so fewemblems of them are recognised in rugs. In the theology of the Chaldees, from which the earliest weavers must have received inspiration, the sun was regarded as one of their principal deities and the moon as another. The sun is generally represented by a plain circle, a circle with diameters intersecting at right angles, or a circle with small ovals intersecting at right angles; the moon is represented by the crescent. Of much more frequent occurrence is the eight-pointed star, another inheritance of those ancient times when all primitive races worshipped the heavenly bodies. It represented the female principle of the Chaldean sun god; and it is believed, too, that it represented the deity to the Medes, ancestors of many of the present Persians. There is a tradition among some Eastern races that King Solomon wore a ring of diamonds arranged in the form of an eight-pointed star, and also a crown containing a large star of which the eight points and centre were composed of precious stones of different colour. A star now and then seen in rugs with colours so arranged is known as “Mohammedan’s jewel design.” The six-pointed star, a Jewish symbol for the “shield of David,” was adopted as a talisman by some of the Moslems. All of these stars are chiefly nomadic symbols, they rarely if ever are seen in the rugs of China or India, they are only occasionally found in those of Persia, and are of most frequent occurrence in the Caucasian pieces.
Another design is an octagonal-shaped disc (PlateO, Fig. 10, Page 291), usually about two and a half inches in diameter, on the face of which and extending the full width are figures somewhat like hour-glasses placed at right angles to one another. It seems not improbable that it is of the same origin as the large designs that appear in the field of the Holbein rug of the XV Century, illustrated in Plate21(opp. Page 92). It is a very old motive, and is sometimes regarded as a dial symbolising the diurnal motion of the earth. It is of very frequent occurrence in nomadic rugs; and is found in Beluchistans, in nearly all Caucasians, in some rugs from Asia Minor, and in only a very few from Persia.
The zigzag line, known as the water motive, is found in many of the rugs of China, India, Persia, Caucasia, and Asia Minor, as well as in the Beluchistans and Beshires of the Central Asiatic group, though in some instances it appears as little more than a serrated line. It is represented in the narrow guard-stripes of some of the Western Asia Minor carpets of the XV Century. According to Mr.John Mumford, “even in the oldest Egyptian symbolism a zigzag line stood for water and by implication for eternity; and a succession of these arranged to represent the sea has long been a recognised carpet design in India, China, and Persia.”
Long before the commercial instinct had been felt among the weavers of the Orient, one or more of them dwelling in the Mesopotamian valley tied the knots of this old Mosul. The central field is of camel’s hair that shades from a rich dark chestnut at one end to lighter tones at the other, and is enlivened by bright flowers representing those found on the river’s banks. This variation of ground colour, the small geometric designs at the extreme ends of the fields, the eight-pointed stars of the main stripe of the border, and some of the drawing are nomadic characteristics. The dainty vine and flower of the narrow guard stripes, on the other hand, show Persian influence. This piece represents a type of which few now remain.
Property of the Author
One of the most common designs is what has been called the “latch-hook.” When there is a long succession of latch-hooks with the straight ends resting on a line and the hooked ends inclined in the same direction, as in PlateK, Fig. 20 (opp. Page 230), they are called “running latch-hooks.” Since they appear in the Dragon and Phœnix rug (opp. Page 88), that was probably woven about the end of the XIV Century, they are evidently a very old design, which not improbably was derived from the Chinese fret. The hook is of different shapes, and is sometimes perpendicular, sometimes inclined. Its particular function is to shade or subdue the harsh effect of a sudden transition from one colour to another that is entirely different. As such a device is unnecessary in artistic rugs of intricate designs, it is rarely seen in any Indian or Persian piece, excepting the modern Shiraz that frequently adopts geometric patterns; but it is found in all the rugs of Caucasia, Central Asia, and in most of those of Asia Minor. It is in fact as universal as the reciprocal trefoil.
In rugs of geometric patterns are occasionally found both Greek and Roman crosses. The latter are represented in most of the Soumak rugs, and appear profusely in old Asia Minor or Armenian rugs, in which they were probably woven with the intent to convey a religious significance; but in many instances crosses are not used symbolically.
The design of a comb (PlateO, Fig. 11, Page 291) is a Mohammedan emblem suggestive of cleanliness, yet it is not improbable that it is sometimes intended to represent the instrument employed in pressing the threads of weft closely against the knots. It is found mostly in Caucasian rugs, and rarely in those of other groups.
In a large number of the finest carpets woven in Persia three or four centuries ago was represented what is known as the Chinese cloud-band (PlateO, Fig. 7). It appeared in Persia about the middle of the XV Century, and was conspicuous in the carpets of Herat, Tabriz, and Gilan, as well as in many of the “Polish Carpets.” Later it was introduced into Asia Minor, but was never represented in any of the strictly nomadic weavings. It appears in only a very few of the modern rugs, and these are mostly Persian. Nor is itrecognised in its usual form in any of the Chinese rugs that now exist; though without a doubt it originated with the Chinese, since their early mythology placed the abode of the Supreme Ruler in the Constellation of Ursa Major, of which the stars of the Big Dipper were represented in early art as enveloped in a band of clouds; but in more conventionalised ornamentation the stars are omitted and the band remains. As a motive, then, it is symbolic of heaven and the deity.
In almost all rugs are found expressions of vegetable life, as a twig, vine, flower, or tree. Sometimes they are most naturalistic, again they are partly conventionalised, or so disguised, as in nomadic rugs of geometric designs, that only by study and comparison of many forms in a series can their origin be established. This universal adoption of floral form was due to something more than an aesthetic love for the beautiful, since in every country of the East some part of the tree or plant was emblematic. Moreover, a tree form known as the Tree of Life had a religious significance among many races. The Jews were told that in the Garden of Eden grew the “Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil;” and in the Book of Revelation the Apostle John speaks of “The Tree of Life which bore twelve manner of fruits and yielded her fruit every month, and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” From this passage may have been borrowed the belief of the Mohammedans in the Tree of Life which grew in Paradise, and spread its branches that true believers might rest beneath them and enjoy its fruits and the companionship of beautiful houri. In the ancient lore of China is the Taoist tradition of the Tree of Life, growing by the Sea of Jade, that confers immortality on the fortunate who may gather and eat its fruits; also the tradition of the mountain top where grows the sacred tree on which the elect may climb and mount to heaven. Even among the ancient Chaldees was a story of a tree that grew to heaven and sheltered the earth. In different countries the Tree of Life is represented by different kinds; in Yarkand of Eastern Turkestan it takes the form of a cedar; in Persia it is generally the cypress. Wherever employed it is symbolic of knowledge, resurrection, immortality.
Plate 12. Carpet from Northwestern PersiaPlate 12. Carpet from Northwestern PersiaLoaned by C. F. Williams, Esq., to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Plate 12. Carpet from Northwestern Persia
Loaned by C. F. Williams, Esq., to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
No other form of vegetable life was so universally employed in Oriental symbolism as the lotus flower (PlateO, Figs. 16a, b, and c), since the Egyptian, Assyrian, Indian, Chinese, and Persian alike did it reverence. It was, perhaps, first employed emblematicallyin the valley of the Nile, but later it was held in high esteem by the inhabitants of India where the floating blossom is regarded as an emblem of the world. It was inseparately associated with Buddha, and its religious significance must have extended with the spread of Buddhism. Professor Goodyear regards a large number of designs that apparently are not related in form as derived from it through a long series of evolutions. During the highest development of the textile art in Persia it appears most realistically drawn in a large number of the carpets, especially the so-called Ispahans, or Herats, and the so-called Polish. It is also most artistically represented in the fabrics of India, and is a favourite design for Chinese weavers. But in other modern rugs it is seldom used as a motive, and is so conventionalised as often to escape notice.
If the lotus was the first flower to be represented in early woven fabrics, as seems not improbable, several others have met with greater favour among modern weavers. Of these the rose, which is cultivated extensively in the gardens of the East, appears in a large number of the rugs of Persia and Asia Minor. Moreover, a pattern frequently seen in many old Persian rugs is an all-over pattern of small bushes with flowering roses. Almost equally popular is the lily, which is characteristic of many of the rugs of India and of a few of Western Asia Minor. The “Euphrates flower,” which grows by the river banks of the Mesopotamian valley, is also occasionally found as an all-over pattern in some of the rugs of Western Iran and Southern Caucasia. Less frequently seen and still less frequently recognised, as they are generally woven in small figures, are the daisy, anemone, crocus, narcissus, pink, and violet. All are depicted chiefly on account of their associations and beauty, and whatever emblematic meaning they are intended to convey is generally no more than that of their colours. There are, however, in a few old Persian carpets designs of sunflowers, which were accepted by the Zoroastrians and the earlier sun and fire worshippers as symbols of the sun and emblems of light.
Of the fruits of the earth none is more highly esteemed than the pomegranate, which was sculptured in temples of Mesopotamia and embroidered on the robes of Assyrian and Jewish priests. In the days of King Solomon it was cultivated in Palestine, where the Israelites, like modern Persians, made a sherbet by mixing its juice with sugar and spices. At the time of Homer it was cultivated in Phrygia. Now it grows wild over vast tracts of Syria, Persia, and AsiaMinor. Yet it rarely appears conspicuously in any woven fabrics excepting the Ladik prayer rugs, in which it is invariably seen. Since the weavers of these, whether Christian or Moslem, would probably be familiar with many of the old Jewish and Assyrian rites, it is not unlikely that it refers emblematically to its religious associations rather than symbolises, as has been suggested, the idea of fruitfulness as expressed in the Turkish wedding custom where the bride throws a pomegranate at her feet that the scattered seed may fore-tell the number of her children.
In almost every rug of Persia, India, and Asia Minor there is in some part of the border a vine with pendant leaves, flowers, rosettes, or palmettes; and even in many Caucasian rugs of geometric pattern the vine with its appendages is seen in conventionalised form. In a few of the more sumptuous carpets, where the drawing is elaborate, delicate tendrils bearing flowers or the more formal designs of the Herati border take the place of the vine, from which they were evolved. In such borders the designs generally convey no symbolic meaning, but the simpler vine encircling the field without beginning or end represents symbolically the continuity of purpose and permanency.
One of the most interesting designs (PlateO, Fig. 6, Page 291) is known as the Cone, Palm, Mango, Almond, River Loop, and Pear. By some it is believed to represent no more than the closed palm of the hand, since there is an old tradition in Persia that a weaver once asked his little son to devise for him a new design, whereupon the boy thrust his hand into a pot of dye, then placed it sidewise upon a piece of white linen, on which became impressed the “palm” design formed by the hand and incurving small finger. By some it is regarded as a cluster of old Iranian crown jewels. To others, who point to the well-known pattern of the Kashmir weaving, it denotes the bend of the river Jhelum above Srinagar in the valley of Kashmir; and to Sir George Birdwood it symbolises the flame sacred to ancient fire worshippers. In this work it will be called the Pear, the name now generally applied to it. In the course of the many centuries that have elapsed since its origin, and in its migration through India, Persia, Turkestan, Caucasia, and Asia Minor, it has adopted more strange shapes than any other device. In the rugs of Sarabend it is represented in its best-known form of simple curving lines, in the Bakus its identity is almost lost on account of its geometric appearance, and in the fabrics of India it is often veryornate. Though its origin is hidden in the mists of the past, when its antiquity is considered, and also the devotion of the early races to the glowing orb of the sun and to terrestrial fires, it is not surprising that it has been regarded as a relic of the Zoroastrian faith of old Iran, symbolising the eternal flames before which the Parsees worshipped.
Plate 13. Compartment Carpet in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New YorkPlate 13. Compartment Carpet in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Plate 13. Compartment Carpet in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
If the floral designs are more beautiful, others are more truly symbolic, and when appearing in rugs of barbaric patterns they are more interesting. Of these the creeping things are represented by the serpent, scorpion, turtle, crab, and tarantula. Among a few races of Asia the serpent, which is found in a few old Persian carpets, has been regarded as emblematic of immortality, but has been more frequently considered as the symbol of knowledge. The scorpion, also, was supposed to represent the idea of knowledge. It does not often appear in woven design, but is sometimes drawn with careful precision in Caucasian fabrics. The turtle or tortoise stands for constancy. What is called the “turtle border” (PlateE, Fig. 3, opp. Page 156), which was probably derived from interlacing arabesques, occurs most frequently in Feraghans and also in some other Persian rugs, as Muskabads, Sarabends, Serapis, and even the Sehnas. The tarantula and crab designs are found exclusively in borders of Caucasian rugs. As their resemblance to the animals they are supposed to represent is remote, it is most probable that they are simply the conventionalised forms of the star and palmette.
Among the designs seen in Chinese rugs are several not found in any others. Of these the dragon, originally intended as a symbol of the infinite, denotes imperial power; the stork, long life; the duck, conjugal felicity; the bat, happiness; and the butterfly, a spirit. These designs will be noticed in the chapter on Chinese rugs.
With few exceptions the only modern rugs in which birds are represented are the Persian. The drawing as a rule is far from natural; but in the fine old carpets it is often so accurate as to show unmistakably the order to which they belong. Several of them were used symbolically, as the bird of paradise, suggestive of felicity; the peacock, symbol of fire; the eagle, emblem of power. The attitude, to be sure, in which they appear, affects in a measure their symbolic meaning; as an eagle in flight denotes good fortune, but one in the act of descending denotes ill luck.
As the Mohammedan religion interdicts portraying birds and beasts as well as human forms, they are rarely seen in any rug ofWestern Asia Minor, which is inhabited by the Sunnites, the strict conformists to the law of the Koran; but in Mohammedan countries lying farther to the east, where the Shiites or nonconformists live, animal designs are very common. In modern rugs of Persia and Caucasia, dogs, goats, and camels are the most popular animal subjects, but the drawing is often so poor that the identity is in doubt. In the old carpets, on the other hand, animals and human beings were most realistically drawn, and were intended to represent symbolically the weaver’s thought. In fact, those masterpieces of Persian art known as the “Hunting Carpets” would lose much of their interest if their many forms of animal life were without symbolic meaning. In them the lion is a symbol of victory, power, the sun, and the day; the antelope and unicorn are symbols of restfulness and the moon. The lion destroying an antelope would mean, then, the victory of day over night, or of a powerful over a weak foe. Leopards and hounds likewise symbolise success and fame. There are also mythological creatures, as the phœnix, emblematic of life and resurrection, and the wingeddjinnior Persian spirits, that often adorn the fields and borders of some of the elaborate antique carpets of Iran.
Not only the forms of vegetable and animal life and their relative attitudes to one another were intended to convey a symbolic meaning, but among almost all ancient races colours had a special significance. To the Moslems no colour was more sacred than the green, which, though difficult to produce in beautiful tones, they have placed in the fields of many of their prayer rugs. To them, also, blue was the emblem of eternity, and in the spandrels above the arches it was the symbol of the sky. Though to the Hindoo it denotes ill luck, it was the chosen colour of the Persians, as well as one of the imperial colours of the Chinese. Among all nations yellow, another imperial colour of China, and red are suggestive of joy and happiness. Such colours, when used in conjunction with other emblems, expressed not only beauty, but also different shades of thought.
Plate 14. Persian Animal Carpet in the Metropolitan Museum Of Art, New YorkPlate 14. Persian Animal Carpet in the Metropolitan Museum Of Art, New York
Plate 14. Persian Animal Carpet in the Metropolitan Museum Of Art, New York
These are but a few of the many motives that are employed by the weaver. Some of them represent objects intimately associated with his daily life. Some of them reflect his thoughts and emotions. Others are the still unsolved hieroglyphics of his craft. When, then, we examine some old worn rug, we may see only an exquisite pattern resplendent in the deep rich colours of an artnow lost; but if to an æsthetic taste be added an interest in a symbolism that expresses something of the thought and life of the weaver, we may find in the study of the various designs another charm that increases with the discovery of any previously hidden meaning.
THERE are no records to definitely indicate in what land the art of rug weaving originated, or to disprove that it developed independently in different lands. It would be unreasonable, then, to assume that rugs were not woven in northern regions as early as in southern. In fact, during the Neolithic age the Lake-dwellers of Switzerland grew and spun flax, and it is believed that they had looms. Moreover, it is probable that the savages of cold climates soon learned to weave garments with the long wool of their sheep or goats; and the similar process of weaving mats for the floors of their huts would naturally follow. Nevertheless, such evidence as now remains points to the civilisations of the Euphrates or the Nile, as the birthplace of this art.
Though we do not know when the first rugs were made, without a doubt they existed before the pyramids of Egypt or the palaces of Babylon had risen from the plains. Among the rock-cut tombs of Beni-Hassan in Egypt, that date from about 2500 B. C. are pictures of men with spindles, of looms and weavers. There is also unmistakable evidence of the antiquity of a high state of the textile art among the ruins in the valleys of the Tigris and the Euphrates. On carved walls of the palaces of Nineveh, where dwelt the rulers of Assyria over three thousand years ago, are elaborate drawings indicating that carpets of remarkable workmanship were then in use. In the borders of some of the robes worn by the rulers are designs of rosettes and latch-hooks, and on one is depicted the tree of life, similar to what may be seen in modern rugs. Nor are ancient writers silent. In the Old Testament are frequent references to woven fabrics. Homer, also, speaks of them in his Odyssey. Herodotus, Diodorus, Pliny, Strabo, in fact almost all classic writers have mentioned them. Moreover, designs on pottery, bowls, tiles, and walls, similar in appearance to those found in the oldest existing carpets, carry contributory evidence to their antiquity and character.
This art, that necessity created, comfort nourished, and luxury matured, has been a process of slow development. To the mind of some dark tribeswoman of the desert contemplating the rushes gathered from a sluggish stream and strewn upon the floor of her master’s hut several thousand years ago, may have been suggested the first idea of a mat. Indeed, from earliest times mats of reeds, straw, bamboo, or other pliable material have been constantly made. At first they were doubtless without ornament; later they were coloured with dyes obtained from roots and herbs to increase their attractiveness; finally designs symbolic of nature or the deity were embroidered on them. As wealth and luxury increased the ornamentation became more elaborate, until during the rule of the Caliphs the mats rivalled in beauty the carpets for which, during the summer months, they were substituted. “On these mats,” wrote the eminent authority, Dr. F. R. Martin, “the artist found free scope for displaying as much artistic skill as on the real carpets, and gold threads were intertwined to make them as precious as the most expensive silk and gold carpets.” Long, however, before they had reached such a high state of perfection, they would have suggested the idea of making warmer and more durable floor coverings. The first of these was a simple web of warp and woof; later they assumed a character not dissimilar to the kilims now made in the lands of their origin. With further advance, more elaborate carpets and tapestries were made; but it was not until the art had been developing for a great many centuries, that there appeared those most perfect products of knotted pile that were similar in kind but superior in quality to the modern pieces.
Slow as was this development, as early as the Christian era, the work of the most skilled weavers of the Orient deserved to be classed as a fine art. During the time of the Sassanian kingdom (extending from about 226a. d.to 632a. d.) carpets of elaborate design and finish were produced in Mesopotamia and Syria. Most of them were of the wool of sheep or goats; and in them were represented designs of trees, birds, animals, and other figures. Other pieces were made of silk richly embroidered with silver and gold. Moreover, authentic evidence from the VI Centurya. d.not only gives us positive knowledge of the marvellous workmanship of that time,but enables us to conjecture through what a long period of progression the artisans had been labouring to arrive at such results. Dr. Karabacek, director of the Imperial Library of Vienna, in his monograph “Die Persische Nadelmalerei Susandschird,” gave the following description of the “Spring of Chosroes” carpet:
“When Ctesiphon, the residence of the Sassanides, fell into the hands of the Arabs in the year 637a. d., they found in the royal palace, the ruins of which still remain, a colossal carpet of 1051 square metres,11which was originally made for Chosroes I. His successor, Anoschar (531-579a. d.), used it also, but only during the stormy weather, when remaining in the gardens was impracticable. The festivities were then transferred to the palace, where a garden with the beauty of springtime was represented by the pattern of the carpet. This was the Winter Carpet that was called in Persia the Spring of Chosroes. Its material, which was marvellous and costly, consisted of silk, gold, silver, and precious stones. On it was represented a beautiful pleasure ground with brooks and interlacing paths, with trees and flowers of springtime. On the wide borders surrounding it were represented flower-beds in which precious stones coloured blue, red, yellow, white, and green denoted the beauty of the flowers. Gold imitated the yellow-coloured soil and defined the borders of the brooks, where the water was represented by crystals. Gravel paths were indicated by stones of the size of pearls. The stalks of trees were of gold and silver, the leaves and flowers of silk, the fruits of many-coloured stones.”
As the value of this carpet was estimated at about three quarters of a million dollars, it was regarded as too precious to fall to the lot of a single captor, and was accordingly divided into segments to be distributed as booty among the soldiers. Even if during this period there was no other fabric so valuable and elaborate, it represented the importance of the textile art during the dynasty of the Sassanides.
Plate 15. Persian Animal Carpet in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New YorkPlate 15. Persian Animal Carpet in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Plate 15. Persian Animal Carpet in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
During the Caliphate (632 to 1258a. d.) the Moslem rulers, devoted to luxury, preserved the art treasures of their conquered subjects and encouraged them to renewed efforts. This is particularly true of the Caliphs and sultans of Syria and Egypt. A carpet that adorned the banquet hall of the Caliph Hisham of Egypt, who died 743 A. D., was of silk interwoven with strands of gold, and had a length of three hundred feet and a breadth of one hundred andfifty feet. All of the rooms of the Egyptian palaces, occupied by the sultans, contained carpets of silk and satin; and the mosques of Syria were similarly furnished. In the year 1067a. d.one of the Caliphs was forced to sell his accumulated treasures, which consisted, besides jewels and works of art, of about four thousand bales of carpets. Dr. Martin states that a single one of these bales contained several hundred perfect carpets, which were woven in silk and gold, and that some of them contained portraits of entire royal families. One of them, valued at about $300,000, was made for the Caliph el Mirz li alla in the year 964a. d.It was of blue silk, on which were represented the heavens and the earth, seas and rivers, as well as the holy cities Mecca and Medina. Such was the character of some of the carpets woven during the days of the Caliphs.
As the imperfect records which have been left us indicate that the finest carpet collections of this period were in the mosques and palaces of Syria and Egypt, it has been assumed that they were woven by the native artisans. To some extent this is doubtless true, as rug weaving was one of the oldest industries of these countries. But it is more probable that most of them were made elsewhere and were acquired as presents or by purchase. Some were made in Armenia, Assyria, and Turkestan; but the largest number, as well as the most costly and elaborate, doubtless came from the same hills and towns of Persia where many of the finest pieces are woven to-day. In several of these towns as many as three or four hundred looms were constantly at work; and since the carpets consisted of warp and weft only, it is probable that they were produced far more rapidly than modern rugs in which knots are tied to the warp. But if they lacked the richness of deep, heavy pile, they were elaborately woven with threads of gold and silver, and were often embellished with precious stones.
To the tendency of overestimating the age of art objects to which antiquity adds value, there is no exception in the case of Oriental rugs, yet there is good reason to believe that a few pieces still exist that were woven in Persia as early as the XIII or XIV Century. Indeed, we cannot positively affirm that there may not be religiously preserved some relic of the Seljukian dynasty, which ruled in Persia till about 1150a. d., for we have little knowledgeof what some of the old mosques which no Christian has ever entered may contain; but it is more probable that the oldest remaining pieces belong to the Mongolian period, which began with the invasion of the armies of Genghis Khan in the first half of the XIII Century. This conclusion is based partly on the facts that their archaic patterns indicate a very remote period, and that they suggest early Mongolian influences. Moreover, as the age of rugs of a somewhat later period can be determined by the evidence of similarity of their designs with those of early tiles, metal work, pottery, and miniatures, of established age, it is possible to infer the relative age of these older pieces by comparison of patterns showing a progressive development.
One of the oldest Persian pieces now existing, the property of C. F. Williams, Esq., of Norristown, Pa., is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York (Plate11, opp. Page 64). It is also one of the most interesting. In it are found Persian, Armenian, Caucasian, and Mongolian characteristics, which serve to determine the district where it was woven and to suggest its age. Its Sehna knot, cotton warp and weft, as well as much of the drawing, are typical of Persia. The tri-cleft leaf and stem seen in the two lower corners, in the main stripe, and in parts of the field are found in almost all Armenian rugs. The reciprocal sawtooth of the outer border stripe and the geometric inner stripe are Caucasian features. Certain colour tones, the octagonal discs at each end of the large central palmettes, and more particularly the tendrils or scrolls of the main stripe of the border which resemble the foliate forms as they appear in Chinese rugs and porcelains of the late Ming and Kang-hi periods, are Mongolian. The combination of these characteristics indicates that it was made in the most northwesterly part of Persia where in 1258 Hulaku Khan established his capital, and his successors ruled for over a century. Here undoubtedly the craft of weaving flourished for a long period, and exercised an important influence on the surrounding countries. To judge by the colours; the formal character of the border; the rigid lines of the large palmette motives of the field, which are not seen in carpets of a much later period; and the stiff, archaic character of the bushes with foliage and blossoms arranged mechanically on the thick trunks, it is not unreasonable to place this piece as early as the middle of the XIV Century, during the interval between the overthrow of the Seljukian dynasty by the followers of Genghis Khan and the later invasion of theTimurids. In fact, it may be even older, since those graceful lines that belong to the highest art of a subsequent period are entirely lacking. But in the drawing is strength, and in the colours, a few of which have faded, are beauty and harmony.
Plate 16. Persian Animal Carpet in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New YorkPlate 16. Persian Animal Carpet in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Plate 16. Persian Animal Carpet in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Such old pieces are very rare, yet a similar one, belonging to Prof. W. Bode, is in the Kaiser Friedrich Museum at Berlin. Its drawing is more regular, and the trunks of the trees are broader. These two carpets represent the art of weaving at a very early period.
Of equal interest and higher artistic merit is another carpet (Plate12, opp. Page 68), belonging to C. F. Williams, Esq., and at present in the Metropolitan Museum of Art but formerly in the possession of J. Böhler of Munich. It has a length of nearly seventeen feet and a breadth of nearly twelve. There are about three hundred knots to the square inch. Though much of that stiffness of drawing found in the earlier pieces remains, the more pliant branches and less regular setting of the flowers indicate a later date; so that it is not improbable that it was woven about the first of the XV Century. Dr. Martin regards this piece as one of the oldest of the Timurid period if not from the Mongolian, and says that the trees resemble those in a Mongolian miniature in the Musée des Arts Decoratifs in Paris, and in a manuscript from the year 1396. At any rate, they display more formal drawing than the trees of more recent carpets. The character of pattern and the colouring suggest that it was woven in Northwestern Persia.
The field is skilfully divided into three subfields by beds of flowers, from which slender trees rise and partly screen from view more stately cypresses. The subdivisions are further indicated by pairs of palmettes, of which the upper pair mark a transition between the lower pair and those more elegant forms commonly seen two centuries later. There are likewise palmettes of simpler form in the two guard stripes. But the principal ornamentation of the rich border is the interlacing arabesques of three different colours, which are decorated with a slender wreath of leaf and flower. There is, moreover, a particular interest in the grouping of the arabesques since they form a design which may be the prototype of the so-called turtle borders so frequently seen in Feraghans and Gorevans, and is itself derived, according to Dr. Martin, from a still older form in which branching arabesques extend across the whole field. It may not be unreasonable to assume that this pattern hasbeen handed down from that earlier period when a Saracenic influence was felt in all the weavings.
If the chief interest in this piece is centred in the pattern, its greatest charm lies in its soft, dainty colours, some of which are exquisitely beautiful. They are expressed in delicate shades of orange, ivory, light green, sable brown, and light and dark blue on a background of pinkish red. This pattern and colouring suggest an Eastern wood when the first frost of autumn has left its touch on the leaves. The border contains the same colours as the field but is strong and effective, since the soft tones are in the narrow guard stripes and the deeper colours appear in the broad central stripe in larger masses and in immediate contact.
If this carpet was woven about 1400a. d., as seems not improbable, the drawing of the trees, palmettes, and border designs becomes by comparison an important guide for determining the age of other antique Persian carpets.
Very different, indeed, from the preceding is a woollen piece (Plate13, opp. Page 70), sixteen feet four inches long by eleven feet two inches wide, that was formerly in the collection of Mr. Vincent Robinson of London, but is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, which bought it at the Yerkes sale in 1910, for $19,600. It has about six hundred knots to the square inch, and is woven with warp of cotton and silk, and with weft of silk. The pile is velvety, and the texture, drawing, and colouring display a high grade of artistic craftsmanship. Another of similar character is represented in the Vienna Publication of Oriental Carpets of 1889, at which time it belonged to the Countess Clotilde Clam-Gallas of Vienna; and a third belongs to the Palais de Commerce at Lyons.
In no other rugs from Iran is the effect of Mongolian tradition on design more noticeable; but that this was due to the Timurid invasion at the end of the XIV Century is doubtful, and it is not improbable that more immediate intervention with China determined the motives. Nor is the Saracenic influence obscured, since in every part of the field and border is seen the perfect rhythm of graceful arabesques. Such carpets represent, in fact, the transition from those earlier pieces to the higher products of Persian looms.