Oriental Rug Talk

Vintage Moroccan Rugs

2011-11-21T07:42:00.000-08:00

Moroccan Rugs

Vintage Moroccan Rug 45304

Style: Moroccan Rug
Origin: Moroccan Rugs
Size: 2 ft 3 in x 2 ft 6 in
(0.69 m x 0.76 m)

Woven in Morocco, this delightful vintage rug features an ivory field decorated with tawny brown symbols and angular glyphs arranged in a lively allover pattern.

Moroccan Rug 45369

Style: Moroccan Rug
Origin: Moroccan Rugs
Size: 2 ft 4 in x 3 ft
(0.71 m x 0.91 m)

Motley flecks of saffron yellow, cerise, ivory and muted blue create a continuous allover pattern that decorates the sumptuous field of this colorful Moroccan rug.

Moroccan Carpet 45431

Style: Moroccan Rug
Origin: Moroccan Rugs
Size: 2 ft 7 in x 3 ft
(0.79 m x 0.91 m)

This charming mid-century rug from Morocco features an abstract lucky coin pattern rendered in a classic combination of walnut brown, orange, ivory and ice blue.

Moroccan Rug 45343

Style: Moroccan Rug
Origin: Moroccan Rugs
Size: 3 ft 3 in x 3 ft 3 in
(0.99 m x 0.99 m)

Robotic checkers comprised of boldly contrasting colors create a charming pattern of acrostic stripes and columns that cross the field laterally and vertically.

Moroccan Rug 45373

Style: Moroccan Rug
Origin: Moroccan Rugs
Size: 3 ft 3 in x 3 ft 3 in
(0.99 m x 0.99 m)

Ovular medallions rendered in a combination of modern colors create an abstract allover pattern that adorns the richly textural field of this vintage Moroccan rug.

Vintage Moroccan Carpet 45374

Style: Moroccan Rug
Origin: Moroccan Rugs
Size: 2 ft x 3 ft 3 in
(0.61 m x 0.99 m)

Decorated with a bold combination of high-chroma colors, this cheerful vintage rug from Morocco features a stacked medallion linked to an evolving latticework grid.

Vintage Moroccan Rug #45001

Style: Moroccan Rug
Origin: Moroccan Rugs
Size: 2 ft 5 in x 3 ft 4 in
(0.74 m x 1.02 m)

Woven in the 20th century, this colorful pink carpet features fantastic saturated colors and shaggy, textural pile.

Vintage Moroccan Rug 45288

Style: Moroccan Rug
Origin: Moroccan Rugs
Size: 3 ft 4 in x 3 ft 4 in
(1.02 m x 1.02 m)

Abstract glyphs and geometric figures woven in navy blue and khaki brown decorate the eggshell white field of this fabulously textured vintage rug from Morocco.

Moroccan Rug 45367

Style: Moroccan Rug
Origin: Moroccan Rugs
Size: 2 ft 4 in x 3 ft 7 in
(0.71 m x 1.09 m)

This modern rug from Morocco features a series of rustic stripes comprised of muted blue-gray checkers that highlight the luxuriously textural ivory field.

Vintage Moroccan Rug 45301

Style: Moroccan Rug
Origin: Moroccan Rugs
Size: 2 ft 9 in x 3 ft 9 in
(0.84 m x 1.14 m)

Minute checkerboard patterns, simplistic stepped medallions and captivating symbols decorate the polychromatic field of this brilliant vintage Moroccan rug.

Georgians Desecrate Armenian Church

2008-12-31T16:22:00.000-08:00

Armenians, Georgians in unholy row over disputed church

by Nina Akhmeteli Nina Akhmeteli – Tue Dec 30, 12:04 pm ET

TBILISI (AFP) – Amidst the rambling homes and cobble-stoned streets of the Georgian capital Tbilisi's old town, two stone churches stand side-by-side, sharing a snow-covered courtyard.

One, the Georgian Orthodox Church of Jvaris Mama, is alive with parishioners and lit candles. Its neighbour, the Norashen Church, sits lonely and locked.

Unused for nearly seven decades, the Norashen Church is at the heart of long-running dispute between the Armenian Apostolic and the Georgian Orthodox Churches.

The dispute has flared again in recent weeks, raising ethnic tensions in Georgia as it is still recovering from an August war with Russia over the South Ossetia region, where ethnic Ossetian separatists broke from Georgian control in the early 1990s.

Ownership disputes between the two churches are common, but the Norashen Church has come to symbolise what some in the local Armenian community say is the "Georgianisation" of traditionally Armenian churches.

Armenian experts say the Norashen Church was built in the 15th century for the local Armenian community and continued to operate until it was shut down during the Soviet Union's anti-religion drive in the 1930s.

The Georgian church says there is no conclusive evidence that Norashen was Armenian and that its origins are open to debate. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, ownership of the church fell to the Georgian government and the dispute has yet to be resolved.

The latest flare-up occurred when local Armenians claimed that the priest of the Georgian church next to Norashen, Father Tariel Sikinchelashvili, tried to remove Armenian tombstones from its graveyard.

Alexander Ohanian, the head of the head of Armenian Cooperation Centre of Georgia, said that in mid-November he saw a bulldozer working in the church yard and that two Armenian tombstones had been removed.

Local Armenians gathered in the yard and confronted Father Tariel, accusing him of seeking to remove evidence that the church is Armenian. The tombstones were later returned, but Ohanian said local Armenians don't believe their removal was an accident.

IIt is too naive to think that he acted alone, without permission from his superiors," Ohanian said.

A senior Armenian priest in Tbilisi, Father Narek Kushian, said the Georgian church has been trying to convert the building since 1989.

"Father Tariel is trying to seize the church and add Orthodox attributes to raise questions about its origin," Kushian said. "The inscription on the cupola of the church was erased by him and the main attributes showing this church is Armenian, such as the altar, have also been destroyed."

Approached in his church, Father Tariel refused to comment on the allegations.

"I am just too tired of it all," he said. "I've done as much as I can and all I can do now is pray."

A spokesman for the Georgian Orthodox Church, Davit Sharashenidze, said a commission is to resolve ownership disputes between the two churches.

"We can't say unambiguously that it is an Armenian church, as there is also evidence backing opposite claims," he said. "The Georgian side has similar claims regarding Georgian churches in Armenia and these issues need study and research by scientists."

But the dispute has already become political as well as religious.

In recent weeks, hundreds of Armenians have participated in rallies in Yerevan to protest against the alleged destruction of Armenian cultural monuments in Georgia.

The dispute was also raised during a December visit by Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian to Georgia.

Georgian Prime Minister Grigol Mgaloblishvili said after meeting his Armenian counterpart that he hoped no issues would be "politically exploited" to drive a wedge between the two peoples.

The issue is especially sensitive in Georgia, where interethnic conflicts in South Ossetia and another separatist region, Abkhazia, have left thousands dead.

After the Abkhaz and Ossetians, Armenians are the third-largest ethnic minority in Georgia, with nearly 250,000 Armenians in the country of 4.3 million.

My First Blue Jeans in 20 Years

2008-12-07T19:14:00.000-08:00

I did something today that I haven't done in 20 years. I bought blue jeans. The biggest reason for not buying them was I felt I was too fat. But I have lost so much weight since coming to Seattle that now it is time. A long time ago I got hurt mountain climbing and it did not heal quickly. My knees and ankles could not take the strain of training like I used to and I gained weight very quickly. While walking my knee would just give out and I would lose my footing and then is when I started carrying a walking stick .

From there it was all downhill. With the switch to a very sedentary life style I developed diabetes and high blood pressure. Not terribly high but enough that it was a concern with the diabetes. Not particularly caring how long I lived I never took it seriously. Finally a marked degradation in my vision provided a wakeup call. They can stave off my blindness with surgery but I have to get my blood sugar under control. As I battle to control the blood sugar I am loosing weight. I have dropped 40 pounds just since I got to Seattle.

As I try to balance the blood sugar levels I get incredibly cold and tired but I hope with time things will work out OK. Still I get a kick out of my blue jeans and I look forward to winning this fight.

I have started shooting Oriental Rug Videos

2008-11-29T21:56:00.000-08:00

I have started shooting videos and I am getting hooked. For years I have been frustrated by the limitations of web pages and images. I have tried to explain Oriental Rugs and until now I have been hitting a brick wall. periodically I would reer people to my site while I have them on the phone and I would walk them through something as basic as What is a Turkish Knot. far too often they would never get what I was trying to say. Now with the videos I have a fighting chance. I have posted 26 videos o far and the reaction is positive.

My dear friend Thea Sand is a great help. She has been giving me free reign of her business Emmanuel's Rug & Upholstery Cleaning in Seattle Wa., as well a her inventory and her extensive collection. This weekend I got into her patch barrels. To be able to take a fragment and take it apart makes it much easier to understand how rugs are made.

To take a look at the videos please visit http://www.spongobongo.com/
Best wishes,
Barry

Can Modern Weavers Revive The Classical Carpets Of The Ottomans?

2008-11-10T10:58:00.000-08:00

7 November 2008

Can Modern Weavers Revive The Classical Carpets Of The Ottomans?

SAN FRANCISCO, November 7, 2008 -- There is one question that probably has occurred to everyone who ever paged through a picture-book of antique carpets

That is: “Why aren’t these beautiful designs produced anymore?”

But only a few people ever take the next step of actually trying to get antique carpets woven again.

One person who has tried is Christopher Robin Andrews, an architect in the San Francisco Bay area. He fell in love with carpets while a student and now, half a lifetime later, devotes his spare time to reviving classical Ottoman designs.

Deylaman A Green Vein in Iran Tats in Iran

2008-08-13T07:57:00.000-07:00

Deylaman A Green Vein in Iran

By Hamed Hosseini

Deylaman is located in the northern foot of the mountain ranges that stretch from Gilan to the Shahroud Valley.
The region takes its name from the Deylam tribe which once inhabited these mountains.
Its temperate climate, like much of Iran’s northern regions, is a welcome exception to the mostly arid climate across Iran. The area receives so much rainfall that the mountains slumber beneath a green velveteen blanket.
Local women usually use two colors of fabric - black and white - to create their head coverings, which are made of about three meters of white cloth and one meter of black fabric. The women tie the black scarf around their forehead and the white one behind their neck.

Their skirts, made mostly of cotton or silk, are full of folds and creases which reach down to cover their ankles. The women also wear colorful pajamas.
A short vest with a tiny side pocket usually accompanies the long wrinkled skirt. The vests are typically decorated with intricate patterns of needlework. To complete the look, the feet are covered with galosh.
The local men wear jackets and pajama-like trousers. This basic wardrobe doesn’t change much throughout the year except in terms of woolen fabrics during the cold winters. The men also often wear a felt hat with broad ear-coverings. Men’s woolen clothing is called lebas-e-velayati, which literally means ’national clothes’. Springtime and summer outfits are called lebas-e-narm, or ’soft clothes.’

Farmers used to wear a kind of overcoat called shoala which was woven from wool to make it waterproof. These days, however, no matter how functional the coat is for the region’s rainy climate, shoalas are rarely sported by Deylamani men.
Herbal medicine is commonly practiced in this mountainous village. The locals make use of a wide range of plants for their herbal remedies, including cowslip, violets, turmeric, quince seed, hollyhock and chicory.
The local communities also use simple traditional tools and instruments for their households. A doushan, for example, is a jar used in making yogurt or churning butter. A kheek is a sheep’s hide used for storing cotton and a keyl is a brass container traditionally used to scoop milk.
The people living here speak Deylamani, one of many language varieties spoken in the mountainous northern regions of Iran.
Some believe that the local dialect is a member of the Tatic languages, which in turn descended from the now-extinct Median language once spoken in ancient Persia.

Although Farsi is Iran’s official language, over 100 language varieties are spoken today in this multi-cultural nation.
Towns and villages like Deylaman are also winning increased attention from a burgeoning generation of Iranian ethnologists and anthropologists. Iran’s cultural and ethnic diversity is a haven for researchers, whose work can help increase the awareness of ’cultural tourism’ in Iran.

Safavid Coins Donated

2008-06-27T08:21:00.001-07:00

Safavid Coins Donated

Head of the Treasures Directorate of Astan-e Qods Organization for Libraries, Museums and Documents said that 64 Iranian silver coins dating back to the Safavid era have been donated to the organization’s museum.
According to IRNA, Mohammad Baqer Kafshdar Tousi added, “The coins pertain to the reigns of Shah Abbass II, Shah Soleiman I and Shah Sultan Hussein. They were minted in the big cities of the Safavid era, such as Tbilisi, Yerevan, Nakhichevan, Tabriz, Ganjeh and Isfahan.“
He pointed out that the oldest coin is 350 years old and was minted in Tabriz.
The official emphasized that Astan-e Qods Museum is one of the richest museums in Iran in terms of coins.

Iran’s eastern city of Ferdows

2008-06-26T07:58:00.000-07:00

Ferdows an Eastern Heaven

Iran’s eastern city of Ferdows is one of the numerous historical and natural attractions of the country’s South Khorasan Province.
Famous for its high-quality saffron and pomegranates, Ferdows attracts a large number of domestic and international tourists each year, Presstv reported.
The Ferdows mineral spring is located 20 kilometers north of the city near an inactive volcano. Residents believe the water is useful in healing skin disease and rheumatism.
Ferdows Madrasa, located to the southwest, is an historic octagon monument dating to the Safavid era.
The Madrasa (school) has a library, two eastern and western covered porches, a mosque, a yard and four terraces located on the entrance axis to the north and south sides.
Ferdows Grand Mosque is a historic building believed to have been built during the Seljuk era.
The word Ferdows means heaven in Persian.

TurkoTek Discussion Forums - Bukhara Beshir

2008-02-29T14:25:00.000-08:00

Posted by James Blanchard on 06-20-2006 08:07 AM:

Bonjour Louis,

Thanks for the feedback. You are offering some important criteria for distinguishing between "Sovietic" and true "Beshir" production, which I haven't heard or read about before.

I have a few questions based on some of my own reading and a bit of internet surfing to look at other examples of what have been called "Beshir" rugs.

1. Design crowded and well-drawn - I have seen several published examples of this particular design (the "Beshir Herati" design), and they all look quite crowded to me. Have you seen more "open" examples that would mark them as true Beshir? As to the quality of the drawing, it was my understanding that there was long-standing "city" production of such rugs and carpets in controlled circumstances prior to the Soviet era. Many of them were very large and elaborate, so I expect that well-drawn rugs were being produced before the Soviet era.

2. Structure - I was not aware that Beshir production in the pre-Soviet era was so crude. Mine is around 80-90 kpsi. Would that disqualify it from being pre-Soviet?

3. Palette - Perhaps it is difficult to make colour comparisons of computerized images of rugs, but I have seen a few examples that seem to have similar palettes. Here are some from links on Barry O'Connell's Oriental Rug Notes site (http://www.spongobongo.com/her9997.htm).

Stephen Louw's "Cloudband Beshir": This looks to have a "brown-green" that is very similar to mine. As I have mentioned previously, mine has sections where green wool has been plied with brown wool to create this effect. I wonder if Stephen Louw is looking in and could confirm whether these green patches are created in the same way. (By the way, the drawing of the edging of the field looks very much like on mine).

"Thompson Ersari Beshir" - The "yellow" on this looks very similar to mine.

"Dodds Beshir" - This has a darker yellow that looks similar, and also has a light blue that is similar to mine.

Please know that I am not trying to be defensive of my own rug, but rather trying to learn a bit more about rugs in general, and in this case, about Beshir rugs in particular. So I welcome frank feedback and critiques of my rug(s) and observations.

Merci bien.

James.

TurkoTek Discussion Forums - MAD Ersari?

2008-02-29T14:19:00.000-08:00

Posted by James Blanchard on 05-18-2007 01:38 AM:
http://www.turkotek.com/misc_00068/mad_sersari.htm

Hi all,

Although I haven't found any other examples with a similar design to my rug, there are some analogies that might be related.

There was a nice discussion on Turkotek about the lattice initiated by David Hunt a while back (found here... http://www.turkotek.com/salon_00111/s111_t3.htm). Among the examples are the following.

I find the last one of the ikat coat particularly interesting as it seems to put the lattice on a "pole" structure, which is somewhat analagous (with considerable abstraction) to the design on my rug.

Steve Price mentioned the asmalyk as another design that is somewhat analagous. Here is an example from Barry O'Connell's site (http://www.spongobongo.com/dddr61.htm).

In this example, there is a "pole" upon which the ashik-type guls are arranged. So far, those are the closest design analogies I have come up with.

James.

John Collins on split-arabesque Bijar Rugs

2008-02-29T14:05:00.001-08:00

Posted by John Collins on 02-04-2003 03:49 PM:

Dear Tracy,

That is precisely what I mean.

See:
http://www.spongobongo.com/her9792.htm

for an even larger wagireh with a "split-arabesque" field in full scale which is surrounded by the same Garrous guard border on three sides. It is only a short step (and a much more aesthetically pleasing one) to the Fell example.

Cheers, John Collins

Not taking JBOC to task at all

2008-02-29T13:58:00.000-08:00

Not taking JBOC to task at all

http://www.turkotek.com/misc_00065/aimaq.htm

Barry,

i wasn't taking you to task. ...I greatly treasure the site you've put together; what a resource it is..and I always refer new rugophiles here in Afghanistan, who want to learn something, to that site..

As for the article, its the best on the Timuri available that I've found. And I didn't even think that the article I was referring to was was written by you; I thought you had just posted it on your site and weren't responsible for the content at all.

I should have but the link in but out here, sometimes that's hard to do. here it is:

www.spongobongo.com/em/em9751.htm

Anyway, Its really nice to see a post from you. Hope you'll share your observations on rugs with us.

Gene