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With chart in hand we may here review the entire subject and endeavour to use the general considerations as mapped out, in the examination of as many rugs as possible, presenting to ourselves the stereotyped questions about shape, size, possible use, materials, colours, methods of manufacture, style of ornament, and religious significance, that we may be led legitimately to demand of each object that it reveals to us its nationality in spite of all that it may have borrowed from outside the boundaries of the land of its birth. We are not travelling in the Orient, where we might watch the busy fingers of native men and women tying with untiring patience gay knots of colour on the grey background of carefully strung warp. We cannot speak with conviction about the pots of colour used, or the way wools are washed and dyed, or even of the commercialism of to-day; but we have, in common with all travellers and students, all that any one has about the past, every record, writing, hieroglyph, and account of exploration and discovery. All letters of travellers and descriptions of the doings of the mighty monarchs of ancient times are ours to-day, a common heritage; and right in our hands, here in our modern homes, we have the most significant of all art objects to assist us, -- the Oriental rug ! When we first began to hear about Oriental rugs in this country they were called " Turkish" rugs. This was due to the fact that they were shipped from Turkey, and Constantinople became a prominent centre, as still it is, for the sale and distribution of vast quantities of rugs and carpets. No matter where they were made, they were carried by land and sea and sold in either Constantinople or Smyrna. After a while, those who had learned more than others about the matter called all Oriental rugs " Smyrna " rugs, and this name was in vogue for years. Then we began to hear of "Anatolian " mats and rugs, and learned that they too were " Turkish," Anatolia being the name applied to Asia Minor. The three names, " Turkish," " Smyrna," and " Anatolian " served those who bought and sold until the names which applied to the country, city and province failed to satisfy those who wished to be more explicit, and travellers who went from plae to place began to study the styles that were adopted by the weavers, whether they were nomads, villagers, or dwellers in towns, and we began to hear of " Kulah," " Ghiordes," " Ladik," " Konieh," and " Melace " rugs, of " Mosul " productions and " Baghdad " weaves. Then, when commercialism seized European agents, alluring offers were made of carpets and rugs manufactured to fit any room, and large carpets were woven after designs furnished by the agents, who ordered the goods and forwarded money to erect looms large enough for the weaving of fabrics of extra size. Consuls were directed, by their respective governments, to look into the matter of weaving in the places where they were stationed, and now and then in newspapers and magazines we noticed the names, then new to us, of towns where the rug industry was stimulated by increased demand. In Turkish rugs before the middle of the last century, though the weaving was, as it has always been in western Asia, of coarse quality, the designs were native, the dyes pure, and the methods those that had obtained through the years. Soft blues, greens, yellows, and vivid reds were blended with a skill that gave subdued effects, though dealing with primary colours. The rugs that first came from Turkey were apt, in design, to follow the general form of the hearth-rug, in which the field of the rug was pointed at both ends. In antique Turkish rugs the chief characteristic, to which allusion was made in the chapter on classification, is the use of detached motifs of ornament, and such, repeated in certain portions of the rugs, produced in some cases an ornamentation that lost in art value because of its rigid adherence to symmetry. Effort to copy Persian designs gave rise originally to this style of decoration, but it has now become distinctive in Turkish productions and differs from anything else. The location of Asia Minor cannot be too often considered by those who are studying the products of Anatolia. Its nearness to Europe, and its position midway between the Orient and the Occident, have made its art sensitive to every subtle influence. It has been the birthplace of many of the arts. In needlework its women have always excelled, and much that has been accomplished by the needle has been copied in weaving. A close study of antique Asia Minor and Syrian embroideries, many of them the dowry linens of past ages, reveals a native style in treatment, and leads to recognition of the same in the adaptation of the designs to warp and woof. It is important that we dissociate Asia Minor and Syrian productions from those of the provinces that separate Turkey, from Persia—Mesopotamia, Kurdistan and Armenia,—so that we may be cognizant of the peculiarities in purely Turkish fabrics. For our purposes, therefore, we include in this division merely the country west of the Euphrates, where in hamlets and by wandering tribes, as well as by well-known weavers in towns given over to manufacture, rugs are woven and carried to one or another of the special markets for sale, where the goods are often given the name of the place where they are sold, to the exclusion of the name of the town or village where they were woven. This leads to great confusion in classification. Two influences of widely differing nature must be considered in studying the fabrics of any chosen rug-producing district of Asia. These are, first, the effect upon design of the spontaneous, unhindered thought of the nomad following his sheep and goats through the mountains, under the sky's wide canopy, with lack of all restraint and conventionality, including in the most irresponsible way anything in design which he picks up on his travels, weaving along with tribal designs all sorts of odd conceits. The second influence is that which bears evidence in fabrics to a long-continued use, in settled localities, of historic design. Without any knowledge of the migratory habits of the tribes, who have spread themselves all over middle Asia, we should be sadly confused in our study of ornament. It is for this reason that it seems wise to exclude from "Turkish " rugs those that bear such direct relation to Caucasian products that they are often mistaken for them. Turning from a careful study of a good atlas, upon which we may locate the already mentioned rug districts, to our own maps, we may enter the names specified in our first classification of Turkish rugs,—Melace, Ghiordes, Konieh, Kulah, etc.,—and, with typical illustrations in hand, proceed to study the rugs of each district, and the special patterns that for some unaccountable reason have been adhered to in spite of the rise and fall of Empires under whose control the land has been for centuries. The whole of western Asia as well as Egypt and Morocco, should be included in any comprehensive study of Turkish textiles, for from a Mohammedan standpoint alone can the subject be properly grasped. The religion of the Turk has absorbed into itself the most meaningful of old Jewish symbols. Tracing its ancestry back to Abraham, it has a right to all the Hebraic traditions. To the Moslem as well as to the Jew belongs the six-pointed star, the " Ensoph " of the Chaldeans, and it is interesting to note its prevalence in the art of Syria. In Turkey we may find traces of Greek, Byzantine, Persian, Rhodian, Roman, and Russian ornament. In fact it is in western Asia that we find Chaldean and astrological influences in old designs, and so elemental in their significance are many Arabic, Syrian, and Asia Minor patterns that we may safely recognize the fact that the mind of the people who migrated westward from the heart of Mesopotamia had in it a conquering power which is felt in design to the present day. It is almost impossible to study the textiles of western Asia without some knowledge of the potter's, art, for the two arts are more absolutely interdependent in that region than in almost any other. Designs in the tiles and pottery of Damascus and Rhodes, in fact upon the enamelled walls of mosques and tombs, wherever the Saracen travelled, may always be easily distinguished from the Persian, which in the vast majority of cases gave them birth. These enduring materials have been an unceasing fountain of supply to the workers in other arts, and an evidence of the thought-life of the people during the successive domination of foreign and domestic rule. We sometimes find the designs upon enamelled tiles copied in their entirety upon grave carpets, and, wherever the Mohammedan settled, the two arts, those of the potter and of the weaver, have been companions. There are, in truth, so many side-lights on the subject of design, that we are loth to leave any untouched. The quilted and appliqué decorations of Cairo and Damascus furnish the most useful means of analysing ornament, for such free work can be done with the scissors and needle that each detail of a pattern is wrought out to perfection, and upon the inside of canvas tents one often finds a wealth of ornament to decipher. There are some styles of Oriental rugs that are generally classed as Mohammedan without regard to the nationality of the weavers, and under the name Hispano-Moresque (a term used in describing pottery made in Spain by the Moors by processes taught by the Persians), are grouped the productions of various countries where the religion of the Prophet has persistently held sway. An iridescence such as is at its best in some old " Melez " rugs of south-western Asia Minor, whither the influence of Rhodes must have carried Persian suggestions, and also in some antique Cairo and Morocco gems, is traceable to a chemical mingling of colours in careless methods of dyeing and to the atmospheric effect of years of exposure. We frequently see in modern rugs an 'effort made to reproduce this iridescence by combining many different shades and strands of extremely fine wool in each knot so that the mottled effect produced might suggest the antique colouring. It is an interesting fact that a name which connects itself with the latest development of an art in a country far removed from its place of birth, will often establish itself in the vocabulary of the student, who, not knowing the original terms, will use the new word to describe the old process. Thus the name " Hispano-Moresque "suggests a Spanish process, whereas the art of lustre was originally carried from Persia to Spain by the Moslems long after its invention in Persia. To Byzantine influence many Turkish designs may be traced, and it is difficult to separate the mosaic patterns of Asia Minor from the geometric ornamentation of the Turcoman and nomad tribes, though the latter were ordinarily based on the study of natural phenomena upon which tribal pattern grew, and the former were copied directly from the mosaic work in stone which was forced into shape by the limitations of material. We also find among old Turkish patterns many that carry thought into the past, when Christianity was first warring with the infidels ; and in the St. George and the dragon country Christian and pagan designs are often mingled, while to the northeast, Armenians, who claim theirs to be the oldest Christian Church, have so blended secular and religious concepts as to cause the greatest confusion. Because of the vast amount of conflicting evidence, the task of identification of objects is not easy, and yet we proceed with courage, as analysis will at least familiarize us with oft-used motifs, and in the labyrinth of Eastern symbolism we may perchance find much to stimulate further research. The Oriental rug in an Occidental home is a very different thing from what it is in the land of its birth or even in the possession of a dealer, from whom one may often learn much in regard to its possible and, perchance, absolute ancestry. As a thing of beauty it has a right to exist,—it pleases the eye and serves its purpose in every way, even though we ask of it no questions and bring to it no response. The sunlight of the day and the shadows of the gloaming only increase and augment its charms. But when there come to us moments of interest in the history of Asia and of design, suddenly we are aware that in the material object before us we may learn to detect evidences of thought, and we turn with new interest to that which has long been a treasured possession, but has never before been either more or less than that. We learn from one skilled in deciphering patterns, hieroglyphs, and ideographs, that in western Asia, particularly in Syria and Arabia, the use of the equilateral triangle antedates the adoption of any other form in design ; that as a primary symbol it was used to indicate the most mysterious and occult belief of a people given to vain imaginings. We discover, in our intercourse with the Orientals who have adhered most absolutely to their native beliefs, that, however modern civilization may have forced upon them European ideas, there come times to each and all when inherited convictions alone satisfy and alone are regarded. In many years search I have found no sign, symbol, or design so frequently bound upon the body as a talisman as the triangle, and to it scores of Turkish patterns may be traced.
The seal of Solomon, built on the right angled triangle, and the signet of David, based on the equilateral triangle show relations of forms to each other which are most convincing to students who care to penetrate through the sign to that which it signifies. Turkish geometric patterns are largely indebted to the equilateral triangle for a fidelity to tradition which can readily be traced in designs. In some few rare old specimens of Asia Minor weaves, isolated fragments of many designs may be found. It is not always possible to trace to rugs themselves the designs which weavers have copied. In old embroideries, paintings, and manuscripts are found evidences of the determination to hold to tribal and national ideas when decorating ceremonial art objects, and to these it is always most safe to revert in studying a design and tracing its evolution. In the analysis of any pattern which we are studying, it is wise, whether we be draughtsmen or not, to draw as carefully as possible the main outlines of border designs. Take, for example, any familiar Turkish border seen in old Ladik or Anatolian fabrics. A flower looks like a flower until, in endeavouring to trace it, we find it is composed of one square or triangle after another, and has, with utmost difficulty, been given floral form. On Rhodian tiles, pottery, and embroidery we find the ancestors of many patterns that have been thought to belong exclusively to Asia Minor, but which have evidently, through the Saracenic occupation of the islands of the sea, found their way into Anatolia, and have influenced geometric Turkish designs. The cross-stitch, so universally used in Greek and Russian embroideries, has perpetuated many meaningful designs, while in old lace and cut-work, patterns were forced to take rectilinear forms, but it is not difficult -to distinguish between those that were deliberately based on squares and triangles and those which assumed angular forms because of the limitations of materials. We find that the design known as the " link," the " spiral," and by various other names, was first represented as a combination of triangles And in many old designs the two angles face each other without the connecting line. All through the western Orient this pattern can be found in fabrics, —in the borders of Asia Minor rugs and as detached ornament on the field of nomad weavings,—in some a mere " happen-so " arrangement and in others showing a definite use of it as a " sun motif." The spirals of Egyptian ornament are being studied very carefully by students who feel that their significance is far greater than was at first supposed. Recognition of these three variants of the design, the link, the sun motif, and the spiral, makes us cognizant of the fact that it was originally an interesting motif, and we may look for its appearance and learn to distinguish between the significant and the meaningless use of it. Until within a century or two the Orient has seemed remote, and the lay mind has not grasped the fact that in Turkey-in-Asia are native many of the designs known to us as European. Confusion has resulted, and many people, not interested in the study of Oriental rugs claim that the old patterns found in Sicilian silks and Italian velvets were inventions of the weavers of Europe, whereas in reality the Crusaders, on their return, introduced into their own lands all sorts of Oriental designs. Our knowledge of Italian and Spanish adaptations so far anteceded our interest even in the remote lands east of the Mediterranean that we have to unlearn much that we have hitherto accepted. It is surprising how true it is that the eye sees only that which it is trained to observe. Ask any dozen people to look at a rug, and then to turn from it and tell what they have seen. Almost invariably not one can answer so simple a question as " What form did the scroll take in the broad border design ? " In analytical study one sees that the meanders vary in rugs, and that in no better way can the individual handling of foreign motifs be detected than by following the development of the methods of forming scroll designs in rug borders. The Persian rug easily leads in naturalistic representation of the flowing vine, and upon recognition of old Iran perfection we may base our comparative study. Turkish treatment in the west, and Indian in the east, show widely differing means of accomplishing the same end. One cannot always tell to which division a rug belongs, because. of the details of ornament ; but it is surprising how quickly the mind responds to the mental training, and the eye to the practice of looking for some definite thing. In certain rugs we find an easy adaptation of borrowed patterns, while in others it seems almost impossible for the weaver to accommodate himself to a new thought. The East Indian will crowd his vine motif into octagonal form and it is with difficulty that most weavers outside of Persia find it possible to carry the undulating line through an entire border without breaking it up into sections. Archaic, classic, and tribal designs should be separated and classified by each individual student who wishes to verify for himself that which should be accepted only when it carries conviction with it. The arts are interdependent and explain and interpret each other. The history of art motifs and their migrations is as authentic as any record of the past. The antique Oriental rug (for only such can serve as type and standard) will awaken our interest in the past as few art objects can, and comparison with all other art manifestations will help us to comprehend much that at first seems enigmatical. Under the general name of " Asia Minor rugs " collectors gather rare specimens of old 'weaves that have made the Anatolian peninsula famous, and that have so distinguished its fabrics and patterns that there are certain features always similar in them, though the weavers of different localities lay claim of priority to either their invention or adoption. Such are plainly traceable to archaic and symbolic designs which were the common property of all alike. This accounts for the fact that in all rug-weaving localities at the present time recurrence is made to types that once obtained more universally than they do now. These designs come under the head of primary or symbolic ornament, for almost invariably they bear testimony to elemental phenomena, as water, star, and sun motifs prevail. This is not apparent at first glance, and one may study for years over Ghiordes, Kulah, Melhaz, and Ladik specimens before being able to see the evidence of local handling and craftsmanship which differentiates one object from the other. 'he main features seem at first so much alike that we are tempted to cease all effort to subdivide until interested to do so, because methods finally force their peculiarities upon us, and we find that these primary symbols have been differently used by individual workers. With those Orientals who revere tradition and who cling to pre-Islam Hebrew thought and conditions manifested in old design, or to the Armenian handling of Christian truth, and to the rendering throughout Syria, Arse Minor, and Arabia, of prehistoric conceptions of natural phenomena, there is a decided preference for archaic patterns which have always been used as types. It is rarely now that one is able to procure old specimens of ancient weavings, but such, when obtainable, are copied more or less accurately. Such also are modified by more modern methods of portraying the same thing, the straight line giving place to the curve when expert weavers, without meaning to do so, change the entire appearance of the patterns by their improved methods of workmanship. For purposes of comparison we may divide Turkish rugs into three groups, showing three stages in the designs of Asia Minor. In the first group we may look for early handling of the meander, which figures as an accepted Ghiordes motif. This zigzag in the first, third, fifth, and seventh of the border stripes in rare old rugs was at first a simple water-motif an elemental design based on primary symbol. Later, in the second group, we find the same motif treated in a more decorative way as the " ribbon," and still later the floral meander marks the third group. The two latter designs of secondary import both show development in craftsmanship, knowledge, and beauty, but deviation from the elementary use of symbol. When the technical characteristics that force specimens into trade distinctions coincide almost universally with our own conclusions, we feel it legitimate to trust ourselves to them, comparing what we have ourselves discovered from an Occidental standpoint with that which Orientals in full possession of knowledge of the fabrics themselves consider worthy of emphasis, and we become convinced that local treatment of design may be detected as well as the methods of manufacture. The Oriental rug proves all that is claimed for it to be true when it leads us to look into the history of the world's progress as it does in Asia Minor. Many of the places colonized by the Greeks bear evidence to the fact that the early Dorians were sun-worshippers, and gave symbolic patterns to potters and weavers which have ever since been perpetuated, marking with virility and beauty many forms that had originally been carried into Europe from the Orient. Scholars who are tracing the migration of important symbols from the places of their birth are trying to separate the original thought from that which has been built upon it, and an excellent opportunity is given us to follow their lead in the analysis of Turkish patterns. For example, the handling of all things Persian by the craftsmen of Damascus and Rhodes has given a strictly Rhodian style to which we must attribute many of the textile patterns that are deemed important by native students of Oriental art. Tracing the vicissitudes of the small island of Rhodes, where early sun-worshippers gave to designs the wave, water, and various sun motifs, it is easy to note the changes brought about by the fact that first one and then another conquering power controlled its developing art. Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Venetian, Persian, and Turkish influences made Rhodian art a combination of all others, and yet its mongrel nature assumed an individuality which has so marked its styles that Rhodian designs, copied in the neighbouring seacoast towns of Asia Minor may easily be distinguished as different from any other rendering of distinctive designs that have i:. other ways reached the western shores of Asia. Thus old Rhodian interpretations of Greek classic designs in many of the wave patterns to which we have alluded have been adopted as borders in old Asia Minor rugs, and from these later styles have evolved. It is not claiming too much for the potter's art to assert that without it we should be deprived of many of the most beautiful conceptions of master artists, and of the ability to place designs accurately. Under the familiar names Ghiordes, Kulah, Melhaz (Milassa-Melace), and Ladik we may subdivide the Turkish division of the rug-chart, leaving to later study the less well known styles and types. With rugs in our hands to examine, how may we distinguish between the products of these four important centres? Antique specimens alone avail us as standards, and such only should we consider while our opinions are in a formative condition. As prayer-rugs the most beautiful of antique Ghiordes weavings have come down to us through the years, and a few of their main points are at once noticeable ; as, for example, the prevalence of many borders, the high prayer-niche, the plain colour of the field, and the pliable quality of the fabric itself. There are two ways of approaching a rug for study : one is to look upon it from a distance as it lies on the floor a number of feet away from us or hangs on the opposite wall ; the other is to stand in the centre of the object and look down upon and into the pile, allowing the thought gradually to extend from the centre to its outer limits, studying in turn each of the borders and their relation to the whole make up of the fabric. For proper conception of the plan of old Ghiordes rugs it is essential to follow the latter method and look down upon the design. In the first place, when thus examined the mottled appearance of the plain surface shows rare beauty and a lustrous liquid quality. The borders that surround the central panel should each in turn be seriously considered, as in some of the smaller stripes there are flowing antique designs, while the broad main border, generally speaking, is rectilinear, filling an imaginary square with squarely drawn flower and leaf forms, so that in combination the flowers and leaves form distinct designs that are repeated again and again all around the rug. Though this style of ornamentation is copied in different localities, it is always recognized as a Ghiordes feature. The colours of antique Ghiordes specimens defy description. In the most carefully made rugs the mottled effect Of some of the solid coloured centres is produced by combining three or four strands of fine wool of varying shades of the same colour in each knot tied, and blues, light greens, and hay colours, with reds of gem-like clearness and white of ivory tint, mingle and blend rather than contrast with each other, so that, though there is no confusion, there is not the absolute distinctness that we find in the productions of the more easterly provinces of the Turkish empire. This it is well to note, for oftentimes at first glance this recognition of the distribution of colour will lead to the proper classification of fabrics. The outline divisions of Ghiordes rugs differ in form from other prayer-rugs in that at the base and above the prayer-niche there is commonly a panel into which is crowded an abbreviation of the pattern in the wide border stripe. These panels are generally surrounded by their own special border, which may or may not be like the narrow stripe that immediately surrounds the field. It is in Ghiordes rugs that collectors find their rarest specimens of the mosaic style of weaving so greatly admired, it being a time-honoured custom among the weavers to cut the knot-ends closely, and thus to preserve the semblance of well-worn fabrics that have been handed down as copies. In old Ghiordes rugs the warp and woof were fine in quality, and the materials were carefully spun and dyed, the selvages being so well and evenly completed that the rugs were symmetrical and shapely to a degree. The number of knots to the square inch varied from 36 to 81, and in the great majority of cases might be easily counted on the face of the rug on account of the close cut pile, which exposed the knot. In some old rugs intended for sacred purposes, use is made of the colour green allowed only to those in high office in direct line from the Prophet. Such green as seems to have borrowed its translucency from the deep sea, and its shadings from mosses and grasses, is seen to perfection in some of the old Ghiordes weaves, though a tendency to surface fading has softened the colours so that the sea shades obtain where the leaf tints disappear, and an aquamarine of unusual beauty is the result. There is adherence to the three primary shades, red, yellow, and blue, in all Ghiordes rugs ; but so soft are they that, while reds remain red and do not favour the crimson hues of other localities, they are so held in abeyance by the other tints employed that they are prized for their superior merit. So with the blues and yellows : the former a blue heavily laden with a whitish quality that, though it lightens, at the same time it preserves the primary tone; and the yellows do not assume the shades of hay, tan, and sun colour that some Kulah rugs affect. Altogether the rugs of Ghiordes name and make easily take rank among the finest of Asia Minor products, and as such may serve as standards of both merit and style. Kulah rugs differ in a few minor points from Ghiordes and yet their peculiarities make it easy to distinguish between the products of the two places so near each other that it is surprising that any individuality at all has been preserved. Ancient traditions in weave and design are in Kulah rugs, as in the Ghiordes products, best preserved in prayer-rugs in which the prayer-niche is not as high as in the Ghiordes and is often serrated in a way that bears no resemblance to the zigzag outline around the field and prayer-niche in Ghiordes rugs, which is distinctly a water motif. In place of the wide central stripe a number of very narrow ones make up Kulah borders. Where these features are not noticeable it generally follows that neighbouring devices have been borrowed, and that in describing specimens the prayer-niche is spoken of as having " tall and modified angles like the Ghiordes " or as showing some characteristic feature of Ladik or Konieh weave. The careful cataloguing of Oriental rugs for auction sales and trade purposes has familiarized even those least interested with a vernacular which even five years ago did not exist, and the main points of interest are now known to all who care to make use of them for the furtherance of their studies. It is difficult to keep types firmly and definitely in mind when individual rugs present such mixtures and adaptations that it is hopeless to try to find for them any more definite name than the general one of the main division. Discouragement need not attend study and effort if one will only be content with ability to classify broadly until details make themselves evident and paramount. The most perplexing of old Kulahs are those which were made in close imitation of antique productions which in both form and design are strongly indicative of pre-Mohammedan and Persian influences. From these old so-called Kulahs certain motifs have been adopted by all Asia Minor weavers. Great effort is now being made by Orientals to obtain rare old specimens of these weaves which, judged by design, would be classed as " Kulah," " Ghiordes," or " Ladik." It is because of the great difficulties attendant upon all effort to say positively that certain things were made in certain places at definite times that the more conservative of judges group under the comprehensive heading of " Asia Minor " these rare old rugs which bear the same relation to Turkish productions as " Iran " rugs to the output of the Persian looms. In colour the reds in old Kulah rags are far from primary, and yet are not of the deep crimson so offensive in the modern products of the dyer's ingenuity and experiment. A test of the beautiful red best known to those who care for Melhaz and Rhodian products is one that may be carefully applied by novices in their analytical study. If the thought of " magenta " comes to mind at first glance when examining a specimen, immediately class the rug as moderately modern, certainly not as an antique. There is something so convincing about the quality of red which as " crimson " or " rose " traces its ancestry back to a time prior to the " magenta " period, that one soon becomes susceptible to slight variations that make all the difference in the world between artistic and crude results. In the most south-westerly province of Asia Minor, Caria or Karia, many rugs are made which bear the general name of Melez (Melhaz or Melace) because in the town of Melassa the productions of neighbouring villages are sold, and as is often the case, the name of the market is given to all things brought there for disposal. It has become quite customary to look for good effects in the colouring of old Melhaz rugs, and, while the weavings are not indicative of the refinement displayed by the craftsmen of the Kulah and Ghiordes districts, there is a certain virility and strength about the handling of materials, colours, and designs which appeal very strongly to one in search of these increasingly scarce qualities.
A very careful distinction is sometimes made between the products of Asia Minor woven and used by the Greeks, and those made by workers of Hebrew ancestry. These fine points, which are to be respected when we grasp the fact that they exist, are most valuable in analytical study of pattern. While yet it is not too late to do so, it would be most helpful to have gathered together in some place where they could be carefully studied, rugs and carpets that educated Orientals themselves will vouch for. European judgment is often based upon the verdict of some absolutely uneducated Turk, Persian, or Chinese of the lowest class, who, knowing nothing about the folklore or traditions of their countries, simply testify to the local habits of their own isolated home. Under the ban, oftentimes, of some proselyting religion which has made them afraid to express inherited beliefs, their testimony is not to be relied upon. There is much distress among those Orientals in Europe and America who are willing to sacrifice even opportunity to increase their wealth if they may in some way gather together objects made by their own people which will establish truths that seem destined to oblivion. From Asia Minor across the entire continent to Japan in the far East, the truth is departing from real native art because of false Occidental opinions concerning it ; and it is for this reason that it seems important for us to study objects themselves analytically, ascertaining what they are like, and how they appear as they come to us like flotsam and jetsam after the great migration of other people to our land. Well may we protect the traditions that are all too swiftly passing away. In Turkish carpets of large size many styles are grouped under the trade name " Ouchak " in which modern methods are observable. Often the wool used in the warp threads resembles worsted rather than yarn, while large surfaces are left plain, both to suit European ideas of preserving single-colour effects in furnishing, and because it requires less manual labour to make solid fields than to introduce ornament. Almost without recourse to our maps we might locate the weavers of a great number of the rugs which come to us as Turkish, but which do not resemble, save in points of weaving, the productions of western Asia Minor. Nomadic influence is so evident in design that we should naturally attribute them to the rude mountaineers and villagers. As " Yuruck," as " Mohair," and as " Kurdish," we meet these rugs in classifications, and, while differing in certain ways from each other and from textiles made further west, there are many points which mark them as Turkish ; while rigid adherence to tradition and the manifestation of belief, in pattern, shows the weavers to have been beyond the limits of the influences that have produced so much that is mongrel in design. One can readily tell, when studying the rugs made by Mohammedans, to which sect the patriarch of the tribe belonged, by the choice made between patterns which exclude, and those which retain, animal forms ; it being clearly understood that if one makes an image of any living creature he will be called upon at the judgment-day to endow the same with a soul. Geometric and naturalistic ornament without addition of human or animal forms may safely be considered as shiak or orthodox Mohammedan. We have yet to learn more of the rugs of Syria and Arabia, which are often made in the purest tribal styles. At the great fairs held on feast-days, in various places in the district known best to us as the scene of Biblical events, many rugs are disposed of, and agents from trade centres secure the best of them, which are packed in bales and sent to Constantinople, whence, with rugs of better grade, they find their way to Occidental countries. Occasionally these odd bits may be picked up, and they rarely fail to interest those who are ever on the alert for traces of individuality in rug-weaving. The patterns that distinguish these crude specimens are called " memory designs," as they are handed down from one weaver to another, from mother to child. Frequently some definite patch or pattern testifies to the fact that the weaver, fearing the evil eye, has taken pains to provide some charm against disastrous consequences, for, if the object were too beautiful, the eye of envy might be turned upon it, and so the spot is arranged to avert that evil eye. There are certain chosen emblems that, worn as charms, are supposed to be most efficacious as talismans ; among these are trinkets made in the shape of horns, human hands with the fingers in special positions, faces of animals, small pieces of metal and stone, and even cotton cloth,—these are cut into significant geometric forms which have had origin in ancient belief and have been copied again and again in patterns woven or embroidered in Syria. In the products of the seacoast towns on the east of the Mediterranean one meets a mingling of Egyptian motifs in the ornamentation of fabrics. We find bird, beetle, and flower designs of extreme interest, and all sorts of sun, star, and moon emblems which are skilfully wrought by weavers and embroiderers who have not the faintest idea of the legendary art they are perpetuating. Occasionally an " Arab rug " finds its way to us as we are pursuing our analytical study of objects in this land so far away from the desert where the Arab cameldriver founded the religion that has made the name of Mohammed of world-wide import. Though puzzled by its crude workmanship, our interest is whetted when we are finally led by it into more critical study of Arabia as the home of tent-dwelling people, now as always; and memories of our childish imaginations accentuate our interest in the caravan-traversed peninsula where once the Children of Israel wandered for forty years. We turn with renewed interest to Old Testament accounts of tents and tabernacles, and to our amazement find much which, critically read, carries us along to a comprehensive realization that the ancient Hebrews preserved for modern art more than is commonly supposed, and we learn from orthodox descendants of the Patriarchs that in Talmudic and Kabbalistic traditions we may find explanations which the student of art has long been seeking. Such, for example, is the six-pointed star, known as the shield of David worn as a talisman by many who have not even questioned its meaning. This has furnished a whole system of religious belief for peoples who have migrated into Europe, and in various places have dwelt and are dwelling as gypsies and wanderers who profess to read in geometric forms the fates that control human lives. In magic squares, magic circles, magic star-forms built on the equilateral triangle, are many designs that show a belief in the Divine answer to Man's thought when under the silent sky he erects his rude altar and awaits the recognition of Deity. Of modern Asia Minor carpets we find it safe to say very little, as they defy the purposes of the student who wishes to analyse patterns, for weavers are catering to the demand of the present day for " Turkish carpets warranted to fit any space in Occidental homes." However good such are,—and many of them are thoroughly well made and sold by reliable firms,— they do not come within the limits of our avowed purpose of studying rugs as things of sentiment and for their art value. Until we have made ourselves thoroughly acquainted with all that we can discover in the study of types in which are the authentic renderings of historic design of symbolic significance, we should not trust ourselves to do more with the productions of modern human machines than to buy them for utilitarian purposes as most desirable floor-coverings. To those who handle and dispose of such either in the Orient where they are made, or in any of the great markets of the world, we may safely look for much information concerning trade classifications, and we may unreservedly admire the well-organized effort to secure the best work from weavers who, if not backed by capital and controlled by intelligence, would be unable to supply the demands of Western buyers. But we cannot, however, hope to study ornament in its purity in these modern rugs, however beautiful they may be, unless we are so familiar with types in their purity that we can distinguish for ourselves how faithfully they have been adhered to in the textile designs of to-day. When we know for a certainty that designs are being furnished by young men and women in London and New York, which are sold to agents and distributed freely to Asiatic weavers, we may well hesitate to base an opinion on rugs as manifestations of thought. Among the most interesting of Mohammedan observances is the annual pilgrimage from Cairo to Mecca for the purpose of carrying there the covering for the " Kaaba," or " House of the Sacred Black Stone." In the centre of the court-yard of the mosque at Mecca stands the sacred building, which is so revered by the followers of the Prophet that each loyal soul desires to accomplish the pilgrimage to the Holy Place once during a life time. One who has made this journey is allowed to call himself henceforth " Hadji," and the performance is one for which the pilgrim is revered. Abraham and Adam share the honour of having received from the angel Gabriel the small sacred stone, as a gift from Paradise, to contain which the original temple was luilt. Traditions are attached to the rebuilding, once in so often, of this holy edifice, and every detail of its history is treasured and has been immortalized in the ornamental art of Islam. The stone, about 6 X 8 inches, which was originally white, is now black because of the stain of sin imposed upon it through centuries of touch of unworthy hands, and the pilgrims make it a duty to circumambulate it on account of its magic power to remove all taint of sin. The outline form and the various features of the mosque at Mecca, the " Kaaba," the sacred well, etc., furnish now, as they always have done popular designs for textiles. Anything and everything about that which happens within the precincts of the Holy Place is of moment to those whose whole lives have been spent in anticipation of the journey thither, and whose future will be blessed by its accomplishment. The covering for the Kaaba is renewed every year. It is made of a heavy black silk damask lined with cotton, as it is contrary to the laws of the Koran to use anything which is made entirely of silk. About the covering, which is called the " Kiswah ", is a broad band decorated with inscriptions in gold and green, and this highly ornamented fabric is carried in state from one part of Cairo, where it is made by the same family year after year, to another part of the city, where it remains until entirely completed, and thence it is transported on the back of a sacred camel to the Holy City. The old covering, which is each year removed to make place for the new one, is cut into scraps by those who have the matter in charge, and these are sold or given away to the pilgrims, who so highly esteem the treasures that they carry the bits back to their homes, where they serve as markers for their Korans or as ornaments in their turbans. Many votive offerings are sent by dignitaries to the mosque at Mecca—carpets of rare beauty, and mosque panels of various sorts. The designs in some of these beautiful rugs and embroideries have been copied and reproduced through the years, and some of the choicest relics have, from time to time„ been sold at a price. The commercial opportunities afforded by the pilgrimage to Mecca have always been most highly prized, and large revenues have been gathered from the pilgrims by those in charge of the mosque and sacred objects, as well as by those who go to meet the enthusiasts at different points along the route, where they may buy and sell to their own great profit. All through the Orient, pilgrimages are made to one or another of the various holy cities made sacred because of the presence of the tomb of some saint, or on account of some great happening in the past. There are seven places considered sacred to the pious Mohammedan, and to them pilgrims journey at all times. " In the order of their sanctity
are Mecca, where Mohammed was born; Medina, the burial place of the Prophet
; Nejef, on the Euphrates, where Ali was martyred ; Kerbela, on the banks
of the same great river, where the earth is so sacred that bodies are
brought by caravans for burial there in hundreds every year ; Kazemein,
the village close to Bagdad, where stands one of the loveliest of all
mosques; Meshed, the holiest of all the cities of Persia, with its glorious
golden-domed mosque ; Samara, in southeast Russia, reckoned sacred by
the western Tartars ; and Kum, a village in Persia, near Teheran, revered
by all Persians, but little-known to the outside world."* At the present day, modern methods of travel and changes of one kind and another have made it less possible than formerly to speak with confidence about that which occurs, for it is not now true that one year but repeats and perpetuates the past. Very few Europeans are supposed to have ever gone on the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, and one of these Sir Richard Burton has given us the most interesting account of what he witnessed after the arrival of the caravan at the end of its long journey. Robertson, the royal historiographer, in the following words, describes the caravan travel of a century ago : " I will now enter into a detailed description of the caravans which visit Mecca. The first is the caravan which takes its departure from Cairo in Egypt, and the other from Damascus in Syria, and I select these both because they are the most considerable and because they are described by authors of undoubted credit who had the best opportunities of receiving full information concerning them. The former is composed not only of pilgrims from every part of Egypt, but of those which arrive from all the small Mohammedan states on the African coast of the Mediterranean, from the Empire of Morocco, and even from the Negro kingdoms. When assembled, the caravan consists of at least 50,000 persons, and the number of camels employed in carrying water, provisions, and merchandise is still greater. The journey, which in going from Cairo and returning thither is not completed in less than a hundred days, is performed wholly by land ; and, as the route lies mostly through sandy deserts or barren uninhabited wilds which seldom afford any subsistence, and where often no sources of water can be found, the pilgrims always undergo much fatigue, and sometimes must endure incredible hardships. " The caravan from Damascus, composed of pilgrims from almost every province of the Turkish empire, is little inferior to the former in number, and the commerce which it carries is hardly less valuable. This pilgrimage was performed in the year 1741 by Khojeh Abdulkurreem. He gives the usual route from Damascus to Mecca, computed by hours, the common mode of reckoning a journey in the East through countries little frequented. It is a singular proof of the predatory spirit of the Arabs, that, although all their independent tribes are zealous Mohammedans, yet they make no scruple of plundering the caravans of pilgrims while engaged in performing one of the most indispensable duties of their religion. " Great as these caravans are, we must not suppose that all the pilgrims who visit Mecca belong to them ; such considerable additions are received from Persia, from every province of Indostan and the countries to the east of it, from Abyssinia and from various states on the southern coast of Africa, and from all parts of Arabia, that when the whole are assembled they have been computed to amount to 200,000. In some years the number is farther increased by small bands of pilgrims from several interior provinces of Africa, the names and situations of which are just beginning to be known in Europe. " Besides the great caravan which proceeds to Cairo, and is joined by pilgrims from every part of Africa, there are caravans which have no object but commerce, which set out from Fez, Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli, and other states on the sea-coast, and penetrate far into the interior country. Some of them take no less than fifty days to reach the place of their destination. As both the time of their outset and their route are known, they are met by the people of all the countries through which they travel, who trade with them. Indian goods of every kind form a considerable article in this traffic. " As the journeys of the caravans which are purely commercial do not commence at stated seasons, and their routes vary accord.. ing to the convenience or fancy of the merchants of whom they are composed, a description cannot be given of them with the same degree of accuracy as of the great caravans that visit Mecca. But by attending to the accounts of some authors, and the occasional hints of others, sufficient information may be gathered to satisfy us that the circulation of Eastern goods by these caravans is very extensive. " The same intercourse was kept by the provinces in northeastern Asia with Indostan and China ; and among the numerous tribes of Tartars, even those which retain their pastoral manners in greatest purity, the demand for the productions of India and China is very considerable. In order to supply them with these productions, caravans set out annually from Boghar, Samarcand, and several other places, and return with large cargoes of Indian and Chinese goods." It is recorded that Mohammed, becoming jealous of the progress of Christianity, was anxious to outdo the older religion in every way possible. In order to secure a large number of converts, he determined to attack the various caravans as they approached Mecca, where he dwelt, and where, all through the centuries, pilgrims had gathered. At the point of the sword he demanded allegiance, and threatened death to any who refused. In this way he terrorized many who avowed their purpose to yield to his claims, and thus he added to his followers, and finally sent converts everywhere to spread his teachings. From time to time certain rugs find their way into collections, which are called " Mecca " rugs, and there are various reasons for the use of this name. A " Mecca " rug is one that has been made for or by an individual for his own pilgrimage, and it is customarily of the finest materials and bears the choicest of tribal and national designs. Such are handed down in families as heirlooms, and are sometimes cut up in small pieces and distributed to different members of the family of the pilgrim at his death. Vast numbers of Shiraz rugs have been used for pilgrimages which have in this way obtained the right to be called " Mecca " rugs. Besides the rug, which is personal property, each pilgrim who performs the journey to the Sacred City, is apt to take with him choice specimens of family or tribal weavings to sell for the high prices obtained there, or at seaport towns east and west of the city itself. These rugs are also called by purchasers " Mecca " rugs, and they were apt to be very beautiful before the spirit of commercialism seized the people of the Orient. In still another way the name is applied by connoisseurs who wish to describe the great beauty of a bit of antique weaving. They say "The rug is a gem, and a genuine Mecca,"— just as Orientals will speak of a valuable Persian weave as an " old Iran " without attempting to say when and where it was made. This careless use of the word has given erroneous impressions to many who have supposed that genuine " Meccas" were made in the Holy City. This, however, is not the case. A consideration of the reasons for certain forms of present-day worship invariably carries the student of ornament back to a period prior to all that is customary to-day, and specialists everywhere are devoting themselves to the task of making connections between that which is and that which was and no more valuable contributions can be found to serve as repositories for silent unintentional testimony than antique Oriental rugs in which remain designs which were originally based on symbols. In their accounts of pilgrimages to Mecca, travellers lay special stress on the fact that the worshipper must go around the Sacredstone, and this harks back to the old sun-worship of people in that part of the world, and to various forms instituted by them. The circular movements practised by devotees of all religious systems from Arabia to China have given easily recognized forms based on the primary symbolic representations of the sun, the solar disc, the circle, the wheel, etc. The old Assyrian winged globe and the Buddhist praying-wheel both testify to early belief in the movement of the great god-sphere through the heavens, and are closely copied in both ancient and modern textile designs. The wheel has two distinct forms of expression in ornament,—one the evolution of the floral, and the other of the geometric style. Buddhist handling of the thought has given us lotus forms, and western Asian methods the various star forms which have found fullest development in Caucasian designs, and which have now, it is needless to say, become but empty pattern. In sun symbols, showing the intention of the designer to indicate revolution, are found, painted upon pottery and woven into textiles, the swastika inside the circle, and sometimes the cross with equal arms. The circle vies with the scroll and “S” form for popularity in representing the sun. Winged circles, both Egyptian and Assyrian, sometimes show flame motifs, either within the circle or emanating from it, and modern pattern-makers constantly revert to these old classic and archaic designs in the present-day reproductions. In Scandinavian and Norse ornament are found borders which are full of significance, "and which unite the theories about several distinct variants of the best known sun motifs. Through this most interesting use of pattern, and in designs that at first do not plainly manifest their origin, we are led to a recognition of features indicative of secondary as well as primary symbols. The human intention to assist the great hero in his journey, and to provide sun chariots and sun boats, is demonstrated in the art of Asia Minor and eastern Europe wherever Turkish rule has been established. By the skilful use of colour the outline forms in many fabrics are entirely concealed, and in this way the rare ability of the Oriental weaver is evinced. The boldest patterns are softened and blended by changing the background from time to time, so that all thought of stiff design is eliminated, and the marvel of beauty confounds our Occidental senses. It is perchance because the art of Asia is so old that it is possible for it to embrace both the most remote and realistic expression of man's mind, and at the same time every fantastic dream that has delighted medixval and modern interpretation of design.
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