Iuka reporter. (Iuka, Miss.) 1888-1894, 1890-02-06
THE ORIENTAL RUG.
A Product of Eastern Life, and How
It is Made,

The Oriental rug is the product OF
Eastern life. The mountain sheep sup
Piled its material, nature taught the
design and gave the coloring, and the
religion of the people became the i'm
pulse and guiding spirit of the deft
woman fingers that through many centu-
rles spread the l2notted mystic covers
IN the homes and shrines of the Orient.
In the PRAYER of the Islam centre vari-
Gus sacred ideas. He bows down before
his Maker, and the material ON which he
rests his hands must be susceptible to
spotless cleanliness; he wants to find
himself i'll an atmosphere of high
thoughts and sacred suggestions, and
as he looks down in kneeling he secs the
living green and crimson-symbols of
life and power-mingled in all mystic
figures with blue and gold that carry to
him faint ideas of love and glory. At
home III the rooms where the morning
sun looks in the pious Turk finds in
his prayer-rug the associations of the
mosques in his native city, or of the
hottest OF holles where he prayed in his
pllgramage to Mecca, in the form of
domes and panels and the designs of
encaustic tiles, and peculiar arrange
ments of stone and brick in the walls !;
SO that wherever the worshiping Turk
may be found, kneeling upon II prayer.
rug against the eastern sky, the soul
finds itself in the midst of sacred asso-
Citations and breathes the holy atmos.
phere of the temple where it has prayed
with the faithful.
Thus dignifed, the Oriental rug be-
came great institution among the
peoples Of the Orient, both Moslem and
Christian, and industry and talent have
been devoted to it for centuries. BY
reason of the high value thus put upon
q good rug, the mothers and daughters
OF the people who set themselves to the
arduous task of "tying up" rug
spared no pains in procuring the best
materials, and their zeal developed the
highest talent. In many cases they
were made for votive offerings to
mosques and shrines; then nothing
was to be spared. The finest wool, the
best Of dyes and the highest talent were
put upon the altar and some of these
old KAYAK and Daghistan rugs that
stray out of O Turkish mosque or shrine
VIC oPAoHoau Wins u tr1, Will ail eA-
1pefance Oh rlch soft coloring and bold
design that delight the eyes and call
torth the admiration OF appreclatlve
minds md,
;, lhere Is no complicated machinery IN
the manufacture of an Oriental rug, the
warp being stretched on simple frame,
and all the rest of the work done by
tying the colored yarn across the warp
IN line, IN peculiar strong knot,
comblng 1t down hard and cutting 1T
the necessary length. Where each
particular tu1t OF yarn had thus to be
tel IN knot by the sk1llful fingers OF
the artlss weaver, o medium sized rug
OF good quahty required the labor OF
months OF years, according to the simple
OF elaborate design which the artist
carried IN mind.
Considering the TACT that there was
no machinery to save labor, no cheml-
Gals, no shadow OF an art school. an
antique Oriental rug OF fair quality, that
IN color and texture has detied the
tread OF centuries, IS no mean proof OF
the patient industry aud consummate
artistic skill OF the daughters OF the
Orent.
The peculiar charm and characteristic
OF the antique Oriental rug is its per-
feet naturalness. The soft yet deep
colors, the. strength OF texture and the
charming irregularity of the most per-
feet signs suggest the beauty of natural
scenery and are equally unmistakable.
No limitations are offered as Oriental
rugs. 10 initiate color ana texture OF
the antique rugs would cost more than
to purchase the rugs, and as for the
designs-the most perfect machine made
imitation would at once reveal very
regular irregullarity.
Turkish rugs are still make on the