THE NATURAL SCIENCE JOURNAL. 
0 
it is safe to assume that the ancients 
labored at their looms more from an 
actual love of the art itself than for the 
intrinsic value of what it produced. 
How then, could aught but the most 
beautiful examples of weaver’s skill be 
included among those rightly prized 
“gems of the antique loom?” Wherever 
there is sympathy and enthusiasm, there 
too, may be found the perfect, well- 
rounded and finished product of the arti¬ 
san’s handiwork; this is a truth peculi¬ 
arly poignant as applied to the industry 
now under consideration. 
The originators of a loom could not 
have had that most valuable of appurten¬ 
ances, the shuttle, for old and authentic 
writings allude to the weaver’s habit of 
drawing the weft through the warp with 
the fingers; some utilized an instrument 
closely resembling a hooked knitting- 
needle, or a Shepard’s crook. This 
marked crudity of working materials ma¬ 
terially abolished all thought of rapid 
construction and inexpressive results. 
From the earliest ages the Oriental 
carpet has been Asia’s chief luxury; the 
origin of their use as floor coverings has 
never been definitely ascertained, but 
historical records show them to have been 
in general use in the palaces of kings 
and the homes of wealth. Homer counts 
a carpet as one of the wonders with 
which Menelaus amazed Telemachus when 
that prince was received by him in the 
palace of Sparta. The Persian nobility 
made luxurious use of carpets, covering 
every visible portion of floor space, and 
frequently placing one, two and three 
choice specimens of warp and woof over 
the same article of furniture, even though 
it were elaborately carved or of solid 
gold. 
This is luxuriousness indeed! We are 
further told that the tomb of Cyrus, at 
Pasai’gada, was hung with a magnificent 
Babylonian carpet, richly coloi-ed with a 
purple that most likely came from the 
renowned Tyrians, whose skill in dying 
has made their name famous. No weaver 
of ancient days equalled those of Baby¬ 
lon for fineness and richness of coloring. 
As for that, the principal productions of 
Babylonian looms were shawls and car¬ 
pets, the latter being especially remark¬ 
able because of certain representations 
of strange and unnatural animals and 
varied forms with which they were orna¬ 
mented. 
From Biblical narration it is learned 
that the woven stuffs of Babylon were 
exported and not used for domestic pur¬ 
poses alone ; it is probable for this rea¬ 
son more than any other, that the West¬ 
ern world became acquainted with the 
singular conceits used for designs in 
these wonderful weaves. 
At the present time, the rarest and 
kingliest products of the loom come from 
Persia, and from this same source they 
have been coming for centuries. Not¬ 
withstanding the innumerable political 
convulsions from which it has suffered, 
Persia has maintained the position of the 
leading carpet weaving country, and 
boasts of a vast population whose sole 
occupation is that of weaving. To-day 
the Kashkais, Turkomans, Arabs, Shak- 
seavans, Garous, Gains and Kurdistans, 
are weaving what are truly wonderful 
and beautiful specimens of the Persian 
carpet. 
While the antique Persian pieces are 
quite costly, their longevity fully war¬ 
rants the price demanded. d’hey are 
peculiarly soft, rich and silky, and the 
