The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1877-09-06
TURKISH CARPETS.
How ind where They Are Made--An In-
terestinR Description,


How t,nS where They Are AIade--An In-
teresting Description.
Three small towns-Oushak, Koula,
and Ghiordess, within the boundaries of
Greater Phrygia, in Asia Minor, have
preserved to the present day the carpet
branches Of Turkish industry; and it is
rather an interesting point to note that
This manufacture has not much changed
It's locality from time irnmemorial.
Ohshak, the largest Of the three towns
above mentioned, is situated on an ele-
vated plateau between 1000 and 5000
feet above the level of the sea. 1t has
population of over 5000 inhabitants,
of which only about third are Chris.
tians. The hotises are built of SUM-
dried bricks in the usual style of modern
Turkish towns, and plastered over inside
and out with q sort of dark clay, which
gives the place somber appearance
perfectly in keeping with the character
of its people. Quaint old fountains and
wells, mosques and minarets, overhang-
ing latticed balconies, and dark, narrow,
crooked and dirty streets characterize
the place even more than other towns
nearer the seaboard. Wool in every
stage of progression, from the moment
it is clipped from the sheep to its final
dyed and spun state, fit for the hands of
the manufacturer, meets the eye in every
direction, and indicates the peculiar oc.
cupation of the inhabitants of this busy
little town, which, but for this industry,
would in all probability have shared
the decaying tendency of other Anato-
lian towns.
Almost every household of any i'm
portance carries on the carpet manufac-
ture. The mechanism employed is of
the simplest and rudest description. A
vertical frame supports two horizontal
rollers about five feet apart. The warp,
of any required length, consisting of an
upper and lower thread, is wound round
the upper roller, and the ends fastened
to the lower one, from which the work is
commenced by the women and girls, who
kneel or sit cross-legged in row before
the frame. Each workwoman has cer-
tain width of work allotted to her, and
proceeds to knot the tufts which form
the pile in rows, using different colors
to form the pattern. Each tuft is knot
ted independently of the others to an
upper and a lower thread of the warp.
When row is thus tied the tuft is
passed with the hand between the warp,
and then beaten down with a heavy
wooden comb. The pile is now clipped
smooth with large pair of shears, and
the next row above the first commenced
with. AS the work proceeds upward it
is rolled over the under roller, and cor
responding length of warp unrolled from
the upper one, until the required length
of carpet is made. The tying of the
tufts and the picking out of tile variously
colored woods which hang in balls over
the frame, is carried on with the most
surprising rapidity, the pattern being
meanwhile worked from memory, unless
some new design is to be made. Forty
four rows of pile are thus knotted in the
course of the day, and for this amount
OF labor each workwoman is paid from
six to twelve cents daily. 1t will thus
be seen that the women are the sole man.
ufacturers, that no mechanism or instru-
lnents beyond a frame, shears and comb
are used, and that the design is worked
from memory. Yet, with such limited
means at their disposal, these skillful
workers contrive to produce the most
| huiluouiouoly Coloreu, anu certainly tne
most durable, carpets in the world.
We have so far spoken only of the
women; the mems share of the industry
is to collect and dye the wool for the
manufacturers, and manage the sale OF
the carpets when completed-tasks light
enough, compared to the irksome labor
of the females, but quite consistent with
the Oriental notion of mans superiority
over the less favored sex. The dyes
which by their permanency have given
much of the celebrity to the Turkey
carpet, are mostly produced in the
neighborhood. Madder roots for the
reds, and yellow berries for the yellow
and orange, are grown in the surround.
ing districts, and indigo for the blue is
imported from abroad. The carpets and
rugs of Ghiordess and Koula, the other
two manufacturing towns, are made OIL
precisely the same principle and in the
same primitive manner as those oi
Oushak, but the work is of a finer de.
scription, and the colors hvelier an6
more suitable to the tastes of American
purchasers than the somewhat dark ap
pearance of the Onshak carpets, which
are in almost general use for dining
rooms in England.