316 CARPET MANUFACTURE IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 



rugs of harmonious designs, is very rich, while the cost is actually less 

 than if one large carpet were employed instead. 



The varieties or distinct classes of Persian rugs are numerous. In 

 some classes, like the Turkowan, there is general similarity of design, 

 although no two rugs are altogether identical. But in other classes, 

 such as the rugs of Kerwan, Dyochegan, or Kurdistan, there is endless 

 variety in design and texture. 



A point to be considered in this connection is the* fact that while 

 the small carpets of Persia go under the general designation of rugs it 

 would be a serious mistake to consider them all as merely carpets of 

 small size intended to be trod on by heavy shoes. In the first place, 

 Persians when at home take off their shoes, and thus a carpet of fine, 

 delicate woof and design will last for ages and actually improve with 

 use such as this. In the second place, a large proportion of the rugs 

 of Persia, and especially tiie finer grades, are never intended to be laid 

 on the floor, but to cover divans or tables, or to hang as tapestries and 

 portieres. 



This explains the extreme fineness of texture and velvety surface 

 which many of these rugs display, and also accounts for the fringe at 

 the ends. Some of the rugs of Kerwan are almost as fine as cashmere 

 shawls. The designs of these rugs were formerly of a large pattern 

 with a general ground of red, white, or some other uniform tint, with 

 borders and details of minute tracery harmonizing with rather than 

 disturbing the general effect. These patterns are unquestionably of 

 higher artistic importance, exhibiting a quality designated by artists as 

 breadth. 



At present, while there is apparently no difference in texture, there 

 is an evident tendency towards smaller designs, which lose much of the 

 effect unless seen with close inspection. Perhaps this is only the result 

 of a reaction from long-established custom, and it must be conceded 

 that the modern designs of Persian rugs are more popular with the 

 average European and American buyer. 



The colors formerly employed in the rags of Persia were imperish- 

 able. Bugs one hundred years old show no deterioration in tint, but 

 rather a softness such as old paintings assume. The introduction of 

 aniline dyes art one time threatened to ruin the manufacture of textile 

 fabrics in Persia, but the law against the employment of aniline dyes 

 enacted by the Persian Government is enforced with some rigor. The 

 Turkoman rugs, in some respects unsurpassed for texture and pecul- 

 iar beauty of design, are unfortunately not made within the Shah's 

 dominions, but over the border, although they are 4ucl tided among the 

 classes of Persian rugs, because the Turkomans were until recently 

 subject to Persia. The Turkoman carpet weavers show a serious dis- 

 position to use aniline dyes, as the prevailing color of the Turkoman 

 rugs is red. This is especially to *be deplored. The fraud, tor it can 

 be hardly called by a lesser term in connection with elegant fabrics, 



