The daily gazette., 1880-12-16
From the N. Y. World.
A WONDERFUL ORIENTAL RUG

A WONDERFUL ORIENTAL RUG.
The manager of the Japanese Manu-
featuring and Trading Company has
returned recently to New York, bring
ing with him many rare and beautiful
objects. Among these is rug for
which very high price is asked, and
which is unique. All that is absolute
ly known of it is that until within
recent perIoad it was in the temple of
Iii Yei Zan, in the city of Kioto, in Ja-
pan. The tradition concerning it was
that it had been the temple about four
hundred years, and had Originally come
from China as a present. But all who
care about rugs and have any knowl-
edge of the subject are agreed upon
one point-that 1T is not of Chinese
manufacture, and that it is Japanese
is not even mooted. 1t presents a
number of anomalies which render a
decision upon its place of fabrication
exceedingly difficult. 1t is in the first
place about II feet 2 inches in length
and about feet inches in breadth,
and this is undoubtedly one Of the
sizes of Persian and Armenian rugs.
In the next place, the general idea of
fabrication is a centre with a broad
border, the latter having two light
bands, one on the edge of the rug, the
other next to the centre is reproduced
in the body of the border. This also
is distinctive of the rugs called generi-
cally Persian, wherever manufactured.
But there the resemblance to Pers-
ian rug ends. The woofor warp is of
wool and the web is of silk, and the
colors are such as have been used in
Hindostan for centuries. The design,
moreover, is a conventional diaper of
the leaves, flowers and buds of the
lotus. This shuts out at once all idea
Of Persian fabrication, for their pat
terms are based entirely upon geome-
trio forms, as the Mahometan religion
strictly forbids the making of any
thing that resembles any form of ma
ture, on the plea of its tendency to
idolatry. And as this form of deco
ration was either invented by the
Arabs or at least produced under their
auspices during the Khalifat of Bag
dad, it received from Europeans when
they first became acquainted with it
the name of "Arabesque.
1t must be remembered that the lotus
is sacred both to Buddhists and Brah-
minis, aud therefore is common to Hin
docs, Chinese, Japanesee and Malays.
The groundwork between the diapers OF
lotus forms is not of silk, but of silver
wires of considerable thickness. These
are doubled and plated through the
woof of wool In three plait that re-
sembles sennit, which is five plait OF
the same kind. The principle of the
piait is to make flat braid, and this is
done by crossing the outside stands al
ternately first from the left to the CEN
tire and then from the right to the cen
ire. AS each strand in this case consists
of two stout wires. the rug is so very
heavy that it could never have been in
tended for praying carpet, and indeed
in all essentials corresponds more to the
carpet which is placed before the mus
mud when Mahometan prince holds a
durbar, and upon which supplIants pros
trate. But the pattern of the lotus lea
makes this explanation impossible.
Although the colors used are Hindoo
or rather Of Hindostan, for they spec
tally belong to the region north of thu
junction of the Jumna and the Ganges
which alone is entitled to the name o
|
is not Hindostanic In character; nor i
it Persian, but, strange to say, it exhib
its certain peculiaritIes which are de
very beautiful aud rich green tippe,
with delicate salmon color, and th'
open flowers are alternately of indig,
blue with salmor-colored edgings ant
centre dot Of yellow, and of green will
blue edgtngs and yellow centre. Th
leaves are alternately Of green accented
with rich yellow, and pale salmon
color hit up with delicate cream,
white.
The leaves, flowers and buds are al
united by stems so as to form one pat
tern rather than a genuine diaper, whel
the forms would be placed at equal dis
tances and disconnected, but the effeC
is that of diaper. This joining b.
means of stems is distinctly Europeal
in thought, and the blues, greens an
yellows are arranged in such way a
to recall to the mind the early tapes
tries of Arras. But what is disinctl
European in thought is the uss Of
partial edglng of black to everything a
a shadow and to heighten the effect @
the colors. This is a refinement G
thought purely European. So tn
colors are Hindostanlc, the form i
Partisan and the pattern aud ideas ar
European. The materials are uncom
mon, the age is undoubtedly great an,
the locality where 1t was found gives n,
, possible clue to the solution of tn
problems presented. Under such cir
cumstances the only course left to th'
critic who wishes to explain what hi
sees before him is to frame some by
pothesis that shall take in all the fact
and harmoniZe them.
The key to the situation is undoubt
edly in the fact that the fabrication wa
Hindostanic. The colors of the silk;
tell that much, and also the use of &
precious metal, although the method Of
employing the silver wires in this way
is as far as known unique. Accepting
the fact that it was manufactured in Hin
dostan, accepting the story that it had
been 400 years in the temple of Hi-Yei-
Zan as true-and there is no reason for
doubling tive find ourselves in that
peculiar epoch when the descendants OF
Tamerane virtually possessed the north
of India, though Baber did not estab-
lish his Mogul empire at Dalhi until the
| first ~, a arta or of tba OF v oanIuru