Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1883-07-14
FASHIONS IN FLOOR CovgRs.

AT the commencement of the present
century Turkey carpets were rarities andlu
uries in England but seldom to be seen. and
only to be met with in she houses of noble
men or merchant princes connected with
the Levant and Oriental trades. Within
the last few years the beauty, durability
aud comfort of these carpets have been ap-
preciated, more particularly since what Is
known as the " aesthetic craze" has set IN,
and aided by the fashion OF the day" flor
unless an article does become fashionable,
no matter how intrinsically beautiful or
good it may be, it does not get generally
adopted Oriental floor coverings of all
sorts and sizes, from the cheap cotton India
durrie and the kurd and Beloochistan rugs,
to the sumptuous Persian and Turkey car
pets, have grown immensely in popular ia
vor. The trade in these has rapidly and
wonderfully increased, and the looms OF
Ouchack and Koulba, in Anatolia, prov
ince of Asiatic Turkey, find employment
for many thousands of workmen and work.
women, to cay nothing of children in pro-
ducing the large amount of these beautiful
carpets to supply the markets of Western
Europe and America. The home consump-
ton OF Turkey carpets in Turkey itself and
Egypt is very small in comparison to the
large quantities exported from Smyrna for
the use of the Giaour nations of the West.
England is by far the largest customer,
taking nearly six per cent. of the whole.
Next comes France, to which country
about nefourth of the products of the
Anatol!an looms finds its way, and the re-
nainder is sent to the United States Of
America.
Turkey carpets are always made IN one
single piece, and takes almost as many
months to manufacture az the same guam
tity in superficial extent of ordinary Brus'
sells or tapestry carpet, which are made by
steam machinery, take days, and their du-
rability is in like proportion. Who ever
heard of Turkey carpet being worn out
in one generation Persian carpets are
fine texture and more costly, though we
NAV be permitted to doubt whether any,
thing is woven nowadays IN quite so elao'
crate style as that described in the story
of Schemselnihar and the Persian Prince
IS forming the floor covering of the for
mer's palace. After minute description
of the beauties of the principal chamber,
we are told that the carpet of this splendid
salon was composed of a single piece OF
cloth OF gold, upon which were woven
bunohes of roses in red and white silk. "
The valleys of Khorassan (the scene of
many of the events in g Lallah Rookh' },
Kurdistan, Kesman and the district of Iran
are now the chief places OF manufacture,
those from Kurdistan being esteemed the
best.
The Indian carpets are various in stJ lie
and texture, and come from ali parts of
that collection of countries and States
classed together under the one word India.
Cashmere, celebrated also for its unrivaled
shawls Afghanistan and the Punjsub on
the extreme north Scinde and the Be-
loochistan on the north and west and all the
countries of Central India, including the
dominions of the Nissan and the districts
of the Malabar coast, each produce their
specialities in carpets. Rugs is the more
correct term, for unlike the productions Of
Persia and Turkey, which are made as
large as thirty feet square, they are com.
parativeiy small size.
1t may be remembered that the en-
chanted carpet purchased at Bishagar by
Prince Houssain for forty purses ID men
toned as being "about six feet square.
on which the three brothers are described
as sitting together when they were trans.
ported to their fathers palace. The use OF
these rug.sized carpets is now becoming
very general, and few houses are to be
found, possessing any pretensions to COM
fort, where one or more of these Oriental
floor coverings are not to be met with in
hall, library or bed.room.-[Building and
Engineering Times.