Oriental rugs

the long version

A comprehensive guide to the history, design and construction of oriental rugs. Oriental Rugs is a comprehensive handbook of 19th- and 20-th century Persian, Turkish, Turkoman, and Caucasian rugs. Carefully designed to serve both the beginner and the veteran rug fancier, it has been call 'superior in its coverage of old and new rugs to any other general publication in recent years.' It is now in print again in this substantially revised and expanded edition. Readers and collectors will welcome the new features, which include many more color and black-and-white illustrations, much updated and rewritten text, redrawn maps, an enlarged glossary, and an index. One of the most valuable additions is Murray Eiland's expanded discussion of Baluchi and Caucasian rugs, based on his recent trip to central Asian. Here he spent several months traveling to villages and areas that few if any rug dealers have visited, examining rugs unknown in the West. From firsthand experience he describes the present state of rugmaking in this region and corrects common misconceptions about its old and new rugs. Oriental Rugs reviews the history of the art of weaving and describes basic rug-making materials, tools, and techniques, including latter-day innovations such as the use of synthetic dyes. Dozens of line illustrations portray the various kinds of knotting techniques and basic design motifs. Detailed captions for illustrations of over 200 rugs -- each one selected to be of maximum aid to the reader in identifying other rugs in the same category -- give the essentials about warp and weft; type of knot; side, end and border treatment; colors and overall design. The text draws upon the most accurate information found in past literature and adds to it new information gained fro Dr. Eiland's long and profound study of hundreds of rugs during his travels in the United States and his numerous journeys through the Middle East." -- Book jacket