How I bought a rug and met a kami

I'm pretty much in the dark here about rug manufacture. Before the 'modern age' of electricity there were machines which made clothing and rugs. Using machines goes back before the 'industrial revolution' into various wooden devices which could 'spin and weave'.


So, Andrew Taylor and other informed beings, when you say the rug took a family a month to weave, what were they using?

I think one of my neighbors has some antique weaving devices. I'll ask her.


munk
 
I've heard that rugs made by more nomadic, tribal makers will often be have cruder appearance or inconsistent colors than city or workshop rugs. They'll also tend to be smaller. Larger looms needed for larger rugs don't lend themselves to a nomadic lifestyle. Despite that, some apparently cruder nomadic rugs might be more highly valued to collectors than a more sophisticated rug.

I don't know what the difference would be, though. Best bet is to stick with what you like.
 
Makes sense. Collectors are going to know how the rugs and other materials are made. They must value human labor with less sophisticated devices.

I've seen some terrible stuff South of the US that was neither well made nor 'stitched by hand'. I think I'll do some net research on this and learn something later today. This forum is so knowledgeable and well versed, I have to think some forumite is going to know what Spectre has there.

'Weaving loom' just brought up a lot of hits.



munk
 
The loom is just part of the process. That lets you make a piece of cloth, like a Mexican blanket. That could be called a "kilim" or a rug without a pile. Not too different from what we call "backing" in our American wall-to-wall carpeting, but better. In fact, it's common to have a couple of inches of kilim at the ends of the rug, before the fringe.

Another part of carpet weaving is knotting in the pile itself. I suspect this is done as you weave the kilim, one row at a time.
 
Very cool, John.

And part of its value is the neat story, so thanks for sharing.


Mike
 
That was a really fun read John. I wonder what kinda steel they use in rockets?
 
Great story, John. The vendors must have attended the same school as the folks down in TJ.

And a nice-lookin' rug! I associate those colors with "Afghan Rugs."
 
munk said:
I'm pretty much in the dark here about rug manufacture. Before the 'modern age' of electricity there were machines which made clothing and rugs. Using machines goes back before the 'industrial revolution' into various wooden devices which could 'spin and weave'.


So, Andrew Taylor and other informed beings, when you say the rug took a family a month to weave, what were they using?

I think one of my neighbors has some antique weaving devices. I'll ask her.

munk
Click to expand...

From a programme on UK television about 'child labour', it showed a backing which was stretched over a frame. Two boys worked on the rug sitting on the left and right of one side, inserting wool from one side and knotting it through on the other. The thread was inserted one at a time, each thread insertion gave two tufts. The other members of the family took turns. Once the tufting was finished, the fringes were added and father trimmed the tufts on the rug with a large pair of sheep shearing scissors.

It isn't the type of weaving that you would do on a loom, with 'wefts' and 'warps' to make cloth.
 
Usually the Persian/Oriental rugs were made in "factories" by women, but overseen by men. These "factories" were very crude often having no electricity.

The rugs are still styled by the cities they came from. Nain, Tabriz, Moog, Kerman Lavar are some of my favorites. Each distinct.

Sometimes colors would begin a slight shift from the beginning to the end as dyes became hard to match, this was not considered a problem.

I have loved these carpets for a long time. One of the things I like in quality pieces is that every day I see different things in them. Designs and shapes that I never saw before.

When we built our warehouse home, I made space for my favorite rugs so that I did not have any furniture on them. I also set up my lighting to highlight the central medallions.

And yes, the "Tribal" rugs from Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and the Caucasus, are smaller because the nomads had to be able to pack the looms and move on. The deisgns are less elaborate, but just as sophisticated.
 
munk said:
It would be neat to sit in a room of rugs such as these.




munk
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The first is from the city of Kerman Lavar. It has a distinctive medallion with a wide dark red center. A few have the field in dark blue, but for these, I like the red better.

The second is an Isfahan. These are two of my very favorite artifacts. If there was a fire, I would save Anne first, our dogs second and these carpets third.
 
I very much appreciate Isfahans/Isphahans with 600+ knots per sqare inch especially those made by Serafian. Stunning... :cool: I prefer the 100% silk Isfahan, although it doesn't wear as well as wool...
 
Kismet said:
VERY classy room, Bill.
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Agreed! I would feel that one would need to sport a monocle and a barreled chest to gain admittance. Swaggering around and sipping on the best brandy and talking about the many exploits and adventures that had been undertaken to fill the room with such treasures.

"Oh, do mind the rug, Sir Hubert. Nine of my best men at arms were lost securing it for Her Majesty. It is said to have belonged to a ruffian tribal king of some sort >herumph!< in deed!" :D

In all seriousness, that a wonderful collection and beautiful room. I envision my next house to be wall to wall hardwood/hardwoodish floors with area rugs and runners placed for tread. There is something so elementally pleasing about a floor covered with a nice selection of fine rugs and not wall to wall carpet, because you didn't just pick out the color...you picked out that rug for that spot as a functional piece of art.

As a funny side note, when my mother bought her last house the basement was finished not unlike Bill's beautiful room. However, instead of such worldy things it was filled with tracklighting and shadow-boxes to highlight a very impressive collection of NASCAR collectables:foot: Clocks that went VROOM on the hour, blankets, throw rugs of Dale Earnhardt, little stock car Christmas lights hanging around the bar, even a hand painted portrait of "The Intimidator" himself on the way to the bathroom. It took Mom and I a week just to clear it all out so that basement would look "normal". I guess we are all fanatical about something;) We just don't know why the good folks in the house before us LEFT it there.:confused:

Jake
 
Absolutely gorgeous room in which those equally beautiful rugs are displayed in! :)

It definitely fits into my likings, I'd be willing to move in at a moments notice (and yes, I'll do windows).............LOL! ;)
 
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