New-York tribune., 1877-03-10
ORIENTAL CARPET ART.

The taste for the elaborate carpet-work of
Cashmere Persia, Daghestan and Asia Minor naturally
follows the application Of the principles OF art To mousse
hold furniture and decoration The Oriental sense OF
color driven from painting by the doctrines OF lsa,
finds its chief exercise and delight In the production o
those wooden fabrics, whch-howeyer grotcsque 'hcr
patterns may be-are almost invariably admfaDie co'oi
compositions They grayer and more renheu III
character than the brilliant effects OF the japanese art
lists and hence easily exhaust the charm WHICH
lies in their everchanging and often caprcous comDna
lions of hues Their solid yet soft texture, ana great
durability are necessary qualities; and when u is gent
rally understood how they gain in beauty through
age and use Oriental rugs and carpets may DC as mucn
s0ught after as old furniture and ceramic wares.
Mr. f. b. Nichols, No II WlliaI-st, has been engaged
for two years past in importing varieties OF carpets from
different parts OF the He has at present an exceed
pcly interesting collection, nearly every specimen o
which has come from dwelling OF some wealthy fer
ri H. Turk or Crcassan There Is the large carpet ioI
the stone or tiled floor of the guestroom; the long ana
narrow carpet the raised dvan upon which thc hos
and his friends sit and the smaller rug for prayer oltc
with rude representation m the kaaDa at mecca' oh
tie end wc is always turned toward the Holy o'v'
The difference between the few new carpets ana tDose
which been long f use IL clear to ihe most uPrac
ced eye The tints Of the latter are charmingy deep
ened and blended the sharp corners OF the DzarIe Pa
terms are decaey blurred and over all there Is spreau
"A golden
lures The purer coors brighter, and play into ana
AGAINST each other with full effect II not easy TO see
why any one should not notice the superiority OF the
econdhand article; there ladies IN this city VINO
turn away from rarest old point dAIeneoh on account
OF its yellow hue.
The patterns in Mr. NchOlss collection OF carpets
show wonderful amount of variety, based upon ie"
primitive forms. Not only are no two alike' Out IN
scarcely single instance is the pattern regularly car
ried out The workman always insists on weaving his
own faucies and caprces into his fabric, just as they
drop into his mind He breaks the arabesque cnh Vi
border the lOzenge pattern OF the CENTER III ore W
insert some bit OF color which may possibly represent
his carpetide of lower, jewel, or star SOnetlmes
he keeps figure along the sde and reverses 1t at the
ends sometimes he appears to weave almost at random
seeking tor some design which is not quite completed In
his thought. But he always manages TO reaeem MS
alterations Of form by compensation OF coor Ihe
secret of his art lies in hsthat the fullest harmony OF
color is not be reached by regular system oi con-
trasts or balances as in mathematical pattern, but de-
pends upon the proportion OF each tint In The comDha
ton of ALL Often, without apparent reason, the
groundcolor suddenly becomes lighter darker, car
ried thus through whole breadth o the stuff and Wis
bie the back. Again. design IN the Dorder' staruhe
with two positive cOlOrs, runs into variety OF
shades like simple melody repeated In dherehe Keys
Some Of the most beautiful rugs have SOFT briSht,
deadleaf tint as a base and the other colors are
sprinked over il like berries and late flowers in Autumn
woods.
The Daghestan rugs richer and mellower than the
Persian hut some OF them probably came from Tartar
or Afghan looms In the whole collection there is only
one specimen In which the pattern and color seem to
have been modified t2 suit European taste the Others
are unquesoDably Oriental Some large new pieces OF
Persian carpeng. howeyer-9 by Ia feet-of exceeding
briance we're evidently made specially for foreign
market They indicate the same kind OF decadence In
carpctart as may already De observed in Chinese silks
and porcelans When the machine is substituted for the
hand and the jacquard pattern for tho lndependent
fantasy of tine workman. half the charm is taken away
from the product.