The Wilton Carpet Industry. 243 
priests of Heliopolis, “the City of the Sun,” used carpets in their 
religious ceremonies, and in the palaces of the Pharoahs recent 
discoveries have shown they were employed for the purposes of 
decoration. The carpets of the Homeric age (about 900 B.C.) are 
described as being generally plain white or coloured cloths, but having 
sometimes handsome designs embroidered in colours on them. But 
their use as floor-coverings in the modern sense of the word dates 
from a much later period, for to the Oriental and early Greek a 
carpet was a work of art handed down from one generation to 
another, and used for sitting or reclining upon, for decoration, 
covering, or even for gorgeous funeral palls. Thus Arrian tells us 
that purple Babylonish carpets were spread over the body and tomb 
of. Cyrus at Pasargadae, and it may be safely concluded that the 
carpets of these early times were really nothing more than beauti- 
fully-woven tapestries. Both the Egyptian and Babylonian carpets 
were probably woven in large pieces, composed chiefly of linen, the 
ornamentation being produced by sewing on bright pieces of cloth 
cut into various shapes and figures. One writer tells us that it was 
the custom of the ancient Egyptians to compel each daughter before 
marriage to furnish at least one carpet for her future home, and it 
was considered that the production of an inferior tapestry by the 
bride was derogatory to her reputation asa good housewife. Truly, 
customs have changed since then. The manufacture of carpets has 
happily been transferred from domestic establishments to commercial 
undertakings, and the husband-elect enjoys the privilege of bearing 
the cost. This appears to be not an isolated instance at such seasons 
of transfers of ancient bridal duties to masculine responsibilities. 
INTRODUCTION OF CARPETS INTO EvRopE. 
The introduction of carpets into Europe is probably due to the 
Moors when they held possession of Spain,and to the great merchants. . 
of the Venetian Republic who for centuries retained a monopoly of 
the trade with Turkey. By this time, however, the carpet had become 
a floor-covering, for we read of a Bishop of Toledo in 1255 having 
tapestry laid down on the floors of his palace ; but, for a long while 
