Dates appear on the oriental rugs sporadically. Unless forged to deceive buyers, they are meant to commemorate important events; weddings, births, etc.

Such dates require some historical understanding to be properly read.
Firstly, most dates on the oriental rugs are presented in Indian numbers. This may sound strange but in truth it is the Europeans who at a point in history abandoned Roman numerals such as I, II, III, IV, V … X in favor of the Arabic ones 1,2,3,4,5 … 10.

The Arabs, on the other hand, whose trade with the Subcontinent was always of great economic importance, adopted the Indian numerals ١,٢,٣,٤,٥.١٠  which, unlike any other Arabic texts, are are read from the left to to the right.

These dates are almost always presented in Islamic (lunar) calendar and need to be converted to their Gregorian equivalent.

The simplest way to do it is to add 582 years to the date in question, hence, for instance, ١٣٣٣ as on the Yerevan rug in our collection meaning 1333 represents the year 1915 in Gregorian calendar.

However, in 1925 Iran (Afghanistan a few years earlier) abandoned the Lunar calendar and adopted the Solar one.  Therefore, all Persian rugs bearing dates 1925 onward are much younger than the ones with dates from before 1925.

For instance, the Bijar in our collection dated ١٣٣٤ or 1334 is not just a year younger than the Yerevan one but as many as 43 years; it is in fact dated 1958 in Gregorian calendar.

When reading dates on Oriental rug dated ١٣٠٣ or 1303 (1925) onward, one ought to add 624 years to obtain the correct but approximate number.

The main challenge is to identify rugs hand-knotted and dated before or after March 1925 as that is when the calendar was re-set to accommodate 12 28-day months to the 30-day month each 12-month year.

Example: a rug dated 1333 in old lunar calendar is a 1915 antique artifact; a rug that was hand-knotted in 1334 after the 25th of March 1925 is a 1957 semi-antique or vintage rug of a much lesser collectible value.

Here is an elaborate system of accurate reading of dates on Persian (and Caucasian) rugs as recommended in Majid Amini’s  Oriental Rugs Care and Repair A Van Nostrand Reinhold Book p.53

‘a. Divide the woven Persian number by 33 [The Muslim year is lunar and is [/] eleven days (or one thirty-third of a year) shorter than the Christian solar year.

 b. Subtract the result of a from the vowen date

c. Add 622 (the year of Mohamed’ flight [from Mekkah to Medina] to the result of b and this will give you the Christian date.’

Example:

1. 1334 : 33 = 40
2. 1334 – 40 = 1294
3.  1294 + 622 = AD 1916

When assessing the age of a rug, ironically, the dated rugs present the most difficulty as dates may be easily, purposely or inadvertently, misrepresented.
Most scholars and antique rug experts rely on their knowledge of dyes used in a particular artifact which offers reliable but its approximate age. The presence of a date will sometimes confirm the dye-suggested period but more often than not, it may just complicate the matter.

All in all, determining the age of an antique rug is a complex process that always implies a certain margin of error.

A.G.

Understanding of symbols in the oriental rugs is a complex process that requires a thorough ethnographic research. The featured rug, a late 1800s or early 1900s Kazak from the Armenian village of Shusha in Azerbaijan. displays a number of motifs that may be characteristic to baptismal carpets used in Christian ceremonies.

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At first, this carpet appears to be a classic Islamic prayer rug which is owned mainly to the niche (mihrab) and the ‘hands of Fatima’ or simply ‘khamsa‘ (five) motifs.
An in-depth analysis however reveals a very different picture.

While the presence of the ‘Hands of Fatima’ motif renders this rug overtly suggestive of the Islamic prayer rug, other artists opted to use one hand only, perhaps, to prevent such obvious association.

As suggested in our previous article Prayer Design , the roots of the classic Ottoman prayer designs may in fact reflect ancient imagery found in various Christian manuscripts.   However, the symbolic use of the Tree of Life, for instance, predates Christianity or, for that matter, any practiced religion. It is arguably. the Tree of Life image that evolved in Islam to form the classic image in prayer design – the mihrab

The most suggestive symbols of the carpets in question are inscribed into the mihrab (or the crown of the Tree of life) and consist of Hands, an Ewer, and a comb.

‘A motif stylized in the form of a water container, symbolizes purity and purification and [is] used also as a symbol of pregnancy.’, while ‘The Hand motif is used against a spell or evil eye, where the comb motif is related to the protection of birth and marriage.’ (-) Yashar Bish Rugs&Kilims

Small, whimsical accents are sometimes added to the design in village and tribal rugs. More often than not, these may appear as flaws and/or distractions, e.g. a wisp of wool of different color, a small motif breaking the overall symmetry of the rug, etc.

These motifs, despite appearing in various and often distant  parts of the rug world, are part of the shared myriad of symbols rooted in primeval times.

The entire design of the rug is set within a light brown field; ‘ Colors play a major role in conveying the story of a rug (…) [and] Brown [represents] fertility, according to Esmaili Rugs&Antiques.

The roots of symbols appearing in village rugs from around the world are set in myths and archetypes; they have existed for ever, as long as man and woman walked the Earth. .

A.G.

Note on Shusha: Susha or Shushi is an Armenian village offered to Azerbaijan by Josef Stalin as a divide-and-conquer strategy in the early 20th century. Armenia regained the village during the many consecutive conflicts.

Quotations from Yashar Bish Rugs&Kilims  and Esmaili Rugs&Antiques

The evolution of the oriental rug design is likely more complex than one may expect. When studied, most carpet designs appear to have evolved out of their primeval forms which transformed in time to fit their historical and religious context.

What may appear as a fundamentally Islamic objet d’art, the prayer rug for instance, consists of elements which are a fusion of several motifs transcending their historical and religious contexts.

In fact, what is referred today as ‘an Ottoman niche motif’ arguably evolved out the symbol of the tree of life which predates the Islamic traditions.

Below, are examples of tree of life rugs forming a niche (mihrab), a motif that prevails in Islamic arts.

The so-called ‘head and shoulders’ prayer rug design also inscribes the symbol of the ‘Tree of Life’ as seen in the beautiful Beluch work, and it may be argued that the niche motif (mihrab) evolved as a matter of coincidence rather than a planned idea.

What is typically viewed as a classic Ottoman ‘columns and niche prayer design’ is, with all likelihood, an Anatolian invention but it dates to a period when Asia Minor was in part also home to a large Christian population.

Below, are ancient Armenian prints from Christian manuscripts juxtaposed with what are evidently echoed in Ottoman prayer rugs.

The origins of rug designs are often rooted in ancient mythologies and reflect the long-forgotten symbols.  Over millennia, the boundaries of religions had become blurred and motifs  transformed and merged  into new political and religious environments.

A.G.

‘… art transcends religions; there are rugs where Islamic symbols appear next to Christian crosses …’  read more

Special thanks to Mr Arto Tavukciyan for his guidance and invaluable help in writing of this humble article

Read more about Prayer Rug from TurkoTek

Oriental carpets and tribal rugs have fascinated world consumers for centuries. Whether this meant curvilinear arabesques of the Safavid or Ottoman court carpets, or geometric patterns of rugs from Anatolia or the Caucasus, the appeal of the magic effect of these wool coverings that are art weathered time and fashions.

Tribal rugs appeared in Europe and soon after in European art as early as the Renaissance. They are on display as background in paintings by court painters throughout the continent. 

Jazzy and abstract rugs from the Caucasus reached America in the late 19^th and early 20^th century; they were unrefined and inexpensive. Soon, however, they proved to be the foremost choice among art lovers and intellectuals.

Gabbeh, tribal rugs from Iran reached the consumer market later in the century, perhaps at the same time as Berber rugs from the Moroccan Atlas Mountains popularized by Le Corbusier, the Swiss-born French architect of the world fame.

However, what gabbeh is and what is its origin maybe quite unclear. While commonly known and sold at the Vakil Bazaar in Shiraz as Qashqai gabbeh, the popularity of these ‘primitive, spontaneous and utterly unpredictable’ [i]  works of tribal art has led many nomadic and settled peoples of the Iranian south-west to produce them in a wide range of styles.

Gabebeh, a rough unclipped tribal rug is often attributed to the Qashqai tribes of the Fars province. This according to P.R.J. Ford is misleading as ‘The Luri style predominates …’[ii]

Pictorial gabbeh rugs seem to be in fashion of late; they can be beautiful, intricate and quite expensive, but the main appeal of the traditional, unrefined rugs may be their simplicity.

The Shuli tribe of the Zagros Mountains have for centuries produced simple gabbeh tent rugs executed entirely in undyed yarn and goat’s hair. They are not intended to last or be hard-wearing; they are meant to be used n the tents for everyday use.

These rugs are becoming increasingly popular among collectors but their subtle colours and the ease with which they blend with contemporary home décor affords them some level of popularity among interior designers as well.

A.G.

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[i] P.R.J. Ford Oriental Carpet Design

[ii] Ibid.

Antique Kazaks, as well as other rugs from the Caucasus, are perhaps among the most coveted collectible rugs in the world; they are rare, beautiful and expensive.

Caucasian rugs appeared on the western market at the end of the 19^th century. They were, it is said, an inexpensive alterative to other more elaborate oriental carpets. However, their beauty and the creative originality soon attracted the attention of savvier consumers;

For some time, Caucasian rugs rode on, speaking colloquially, what was left the tidal wave of Orientalism that swept the West earlier in the century.

After all, the abstract geometric patterns of the Caucasian rugs reflected those immortalized in the Renaissance paintings by Lotto, Holbein and others.

Sadly, however, around 1920-30s, their quality began to deteriorate. While the designs continued to stun the world consumers, the introduction of synthetic dyes had a very detrimental effect on the rugs’ overall colour harmony. 

Furthermore, with the idea of improving sustainability of the rural Soviet Caucasus, efforts were undertaken to increase the production output of the indigenous rug industry.

Transcaucasian State Import and Export Trading Office, operating under the patronage of Josef Stalin, was set up facilitating mass production and distribution of both Caucasian (Georgia, Azejberjan) and Turkoman (Turkmenistan) rugs with critical consequences to creativity and quality of the former traditions.

When discussing Kazaks, or nearly all Caucasian rugs, therefore, world scholars tend to focus on the period between 1880 and 1920-30s.

Arguably, Kazaks play the most vital role within the spectrum of scholarly discussions centered on the rugs from the Caucasus; however, what distinguishes a Kazak from the rest of the Caucasian rugs remains in the sphere of fog and confusion. 

Geographically, Kazak rugs production is limited to a triangle in the Lower Caucasus encompassing Kars in Turkey, Tbilisi in Georgia and Erivan in Armenia. Rugs from the adjacent Lake Sewan are also considered Kazaks, and so are rugs from Genje and Krabagh further east. 

Some rugs from Kuba, closer to the Caspian sea, such as Gymyl village dragon rugs, display Kazak patterns as well.

All rugs produced in these areas share some characteristics in design but are specific to their category, and to a lesser degree origin. They are defined as follows: Karachov, Bordjalou, Akstafa and Lori Pamback.

It is not clear why Karachov Kazaks bear such a name. Bordajalou is a village, Akstafa is both a village and a river; and Lori-Pamback is a mountain range.

Up until the early 20th, the Armenian village of Shusha in Azerbaijan produced ‘nazmalyk‘ Kazak rugs resembling classic Islamic prayer rugs.
Yet, nazmalyks feature Christian motifs, and are referred to as baptismal rugs.

It may be concluded, in the face of such a range of references, that the naming of Kazaks was a matter entrusted likely to merchants rather than scholars, but the latter accepted the existing denominations a priori.

Many villages in the Caucasus produce however other lesser known Kazaks such as Tovuz Kazaks (Kazak rayon) or dragon Kazaks from the village of Gymyl in the Kuba district.

There are a number of factor that differentiate all Kazaks: weaving techniques, design patterns, colour schemes. They all however display a most unpredictable variety of ideas and seemingly unlimited imagination while being constrained by the specificity or origin.

The typical Kazak patterns have been imitated all over the rug world; Turkey, Morocco and elsewhere; but it has been suggested that the bold geometric designs typical to Kazaks from the Caucasus originated many centuries before further east, in Central Asia; in Khotan and Yarkand.

Kazaks as well as well as other Caucasian rugs are collectible artifacts of the bygone times; though still in production, the geopolitical changes that occurred in the Caucasus following Russia’s annexation of the greater part of the Persian Caucasus, and later the Bolshevik revolution put effectively an end to the weaving arts of unrestrained imagination that flourished throughout the region for centuries before.

A.G.

Yagcebedir  or “Yagci Bedir” rugs are made in Sindirgi village near the town of Balikesir in the Eagean region of Anatolia.
Sindirgi is well-known for producing excellent quality rugs, mainly in prayer design.

While almost unheard of today,  Yagcebedir rugs  play an important role in the 20^th century British home décor history.

Yagcebedir rugs appeared in Britain commercially i.e. on a larger scale, in the mid 20th century.

Most British rug aficionados had long appreciated Yagcebedir rugs; all made in fine Ghiordes knot, bold colours (almost exclusively dark red and blue) and shiny pile cropped short enough to resemble kilims. As such, they might have been perfect as both floor and wall coverings. So at least thought and hoped the importers.

The discerning British public did not share their hopes, and Yagcebedir rugs sold only sporadically. 

In a way similar to Persian Sarouqs in America, for years Anatolian Yagcebedir rugs clattered the darkest corners of London storerooms collecting dust, at times, devoured by moths.

At one point however, an unexpected change, and a complete reversal of fortunes took place. It was brought about by a small and inconspicuous London-based (long gone) carpet cleaning shop London Wash. 

London Wash  specialists used a concoction of chemicals to treat the commercially unappealing combination of deep burgundy red and ultramarine blue bringing out a completely new appearance: rusty brick red and shiny silver.

The effect proved very pleasing to consumers at large and though ‘adulterated’, Yagcebedir rugs became a very popular home décor accessory across the nation.

A.G.  

In the next Blog, we will be exploring the complex symbolism of the Yagcidebir rugs.

What is an America Sarouq

Sarouq is village in north-western Iran. It is renowned for producing good (and sometimes great) carpets typically in all-over floral design and, on occasion, animal motifs. What distinguishes Sarouqs from other Persian rugs is that their variation became part of the American heritage.

In the 1920s, between WWI and WWII, a number of Sarouq rugs reached the shores of America. They were made the way people in Sarouq made them for generations: naturally dyed peach-rose coloured fields, blue borders and busy floral patterns.

The American consumers did not fall in love with the colour and  stocks of Sarouqs began piling up and collecting dust in showrooms across the country.

Then, a New York-based company came to the rescue; Rug Renovating was commissioned to hand re-dye several samples of the ‘sitting ducks’, and change the light pink into deep burgundy red. It was a desperate experiment that worked a miracle.

It was love at first sight this time, and hundreds of hundreds of Sarouq rugs were re-painted by Rug Renovating  firm over the following  decades. The new, re-invented rug was named the American Sarouq.  

The ‘painted Sarouq’, as it is also called, survived as fashion nearly up to the second half of the 20^th century, but its story does not end there.

In the 1970s, some American, or ‘painted’ Sarouqs appeared in Germany. Again, they were not too popular at first.  

Then some German importers decided to chemically strip them of the burgundy paint which resulted in yet another colour change;  American Sarouqs that appealed to the German consumers had a lively brick red and silver shine.  Sales in high volume continued for years

For more stories on rug colouring  experiments wait for our upcoming  article  London Wash

If fluent in Italian, read La ritintura del “Saruq americano” in Vaghireh Pubblication 

A.G.

From High Atlas to High Street

Many different home décor trends have come and gone since the acclaimed Swiss-born French architect Le Courbousier launched a unique fashion by accessorizing his ultra-modern designs with minimalist and seemingly unrefined carpets hand-made by the Berber tribes of the Moroccan Atlas Mountains.  Berber carpets weathered many home decor fashions over the years and are certainly here to stay.

For many decades beautiful yet somewhat simplistic carpets made on primitive looms by peoples of the Beni Ouarain (Middles Atlas) and Azilal (High Atlas) appeared in some of the most sophisticated living-rooms around the world.

In contrast to colorful and opulent Persian carpets, or fine Turkish rugs meticulously hand-knotted in millions of knots, Azilal and Beni Ouarain tribal rugs show little care for finesse; the designs are simple and nonuniform, almost childish; but it is precisely their limited colour-scheme consisting of mostly undyed cream-color field with zig-zags in black or brown patterns forming often uneven lozenges that make them fashionably attractive and most suitable for modern homes.

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Both Beni Ouarain and Azilal carpets feature original patterns rooted in ancient Berber mythology; their undeniable charm rests in their simplicity.  From the designer’s perspective they lend themselves to most modern interiors  providing warmth to otherwise cold and austere home décor ideas.

Read more on Michigan-born Wendy Haworth’s successful career in LA

Wendy Haworth’s Luminous Spaces Epitomize L.A. Ease

A.G.

Berbers – the Masters of Abstraction

The fascination with oriental carpets in the western world may go as far back as the 15^th-16^th century. Rugs from Anatolia and the Caucasus appeared in paintings by Holbein, Lotto and other notable painters of the Renaissance period.  

Moroccan rugs did not make it onto the European market until much later; it was Le Corbusier who first used the works of Berber nomads in some of his most prestigious designs. Today, Berber rugs are again the latest fashion in home décor.

There are in very generic terms, two types of Moroccan rug: Rabat rugs coming out of ateliers and small shops in Moroccan urban centres; and tribal rugs which are made by various Berber and Arab tribes scattered across the large territory of the Atlas and Siroua Mountains.

The first bear the marks of heavy Anatolian and Mamluk influence; they typically made and Ghiordes knot and feature geometric designs; the latter are nearly always executed in a unique  Berber knot and display a rich array of abstract designs and often very limited range of colors.

It is Berber rugs however that appealed to Le Courbousier more and that are now so often the choice of contemporary interior decorators.

The works of the Zeomour tribe of High Atlas nomads are often a common feature in more conservative home décor design; they are characterized by bold colours and more often than not, deep burgundy red obtained from the concheal.

Boujaad carpets made by Berber women in a small region in Haouz between the Middle Atlas and the Atlantic ocean have also been popular in modern homes. Inspired by geometric patterns rooted in Anatolian weaving arts, Boujaad rugs display bolder colours (rich sunset reds, golden yellows) utilizing solely organic dyes obtained from a handful of regionally available plants.

Minimalistic in design and rather mono-chromatic carpets made by the Middle Atlas peoples Beni Ouarain seem however to be the number one choice of floor covering for most moder and ultra-modern home décor designers.

Also, the High Atlas Azilal carpet are often used as a foundation for modern living space design. Azilal carpets too tend to be simplistic and based solely on black (sometimes brown) primitive drawings against the off-white natural wool colour.

When it comes to the knowledge of the Moroccan rugs, and particularly the tribal ones; much is owed to the United States Naval Forces admiral named Albert Parker Niblack. Niblac collected some of the most interesting Moroccan tribal artefacts and donated his entire collection to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Museum upon his death.

Studies of the unique textile art of the north African tribes would not be possible without Niblack’s contribution and the role played since by Indianapolis Metropolitan Museum.

All Moroccan rugs are a great investment; they continue to retain excellent value and are both attractive, aesthetically  pleasing and very fashionable.

A.G.

Our recommendations:
Berber Margoum (kilim)
Berber Zemmour Carpet 
Beni Mguild Margoum (kilim)
Berber Bouchrouite Runner 
Ouaouzquite Berber Rug