The Evening standard. [volume] (Ogden City, Utah) 1910-1913, 1910-11-26

NEW )ORh, saturday.
~ oMANCE. mystery, intrigue are warp and woof
L the Oriental rug. Strange histories are told
b%.o the initiated in their very design and the
b passing of dynnstes and the wreck of king
doms are included in the chapters that they tell.
Is II then any wonder that they hold fascination
which causes these of this Western world TO spend
millions of dollars acquire them as witness Inc re-
markabc exhibition of these Oriental fabrics IN tue
Metropolitan Museum OF ALL composed of products
OF the ancient looms. which their owners have per-
mied 10 be public view until January; Every
precous square there is pcrmeatcd with half for
gotten legends raditions-evcry one conveys vol
umes in its symbolism which translated would reveal
many wonders of The mystic East
The public mind has been directed much recently
TO the Oriental rugs. for they have figured promi-
neny In the customs prosecutions OF the government
for alleged undcryaluatlon. and the story of the ruby
rug which said by some experts TO be worth
many times moro than the sum for which il was valued
on the consular invoice has been told.
Whether a rug be worth 81 600 this sup
posed 70 he or S1OO COO which some merchant in
thusasm of admiration thought it might bring from
some American OF great wealth and artistic
leauings has little to do with the aesthetic and ro-
mantle qualities OF these magic carpets from the East
ern lands.
So great has become the enthusiasm of Americans
for the Eastern rugs. beginning with the Centennial
Exposition Of 1876. that New York city. which is the
clearing house for these fabrics for the entire coun-
try Is now declared by Or William r. NalcniIner
curator of the department Of decorative arts in the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, to he the greatest mart
them known. such centres as ConstantlnopIe
and Paris taking second place.
When prosperity smiles an American one of his
first IDEAS of household adornmeu Is rug which Is
really worth while. Those whose purses are unlimited
as far buying rare textiles are concerned are now
paying thousands of dollars for products of The an
ccnt looms.
Some of the stories which connected with the
rugs are more less fancful, but there Is hardly
really great rug which is associated with deeds of
prowess with of fanatical devotion with long
and dangerous pIgrimages over deserts infested by
maraudnG bands
Men have been slnn for the red ruby which was
idols cye tragedy Is reelected from the brIlliance
the Kohlnoor. and paintings of the great masters
the past have been stained by blood. More beau
lful than rubes diamonds and expressing rs much
the greatest works of the artists Of all time. noa-
lie Oriental rugs are constantly being brought to
shores find place in private gallery the
Ioor of paror or library in some city mansion.
Many Magic Tale.
If the full history OF some Of the world famous
rugs could b@ known there would be stories
plete with mystery intrigue. and strange Incident
any of those that centre about the hne gems of
royal and imperial collections, Rugs Of rbem-
selves human documents. from the life of
their makers. Customs, language religion, all the
Intimate OF the people have direct influence
upon the making of fine rug The personal Osplro-
Mons, hopes and characteristics of Individual
a small group of individuals expressed in the
harmony of color and design Frequently a great
rug has been the work OF three consecutive genera
lions that have put their thought into It's fabric In
almost all Oriental rug comes FROM a home
manufactured In the where parents and
children pass their lives the product of the family
born Of their very flesh and fruit of the best that
Is In them.
No cold crystalline substance dug from the earth
and capable OF being resolved chemical elements
could possess the warm fascination that Is part OF
fine rug No treasure of inorganic derivation could
be surrounded with the close human interest Is
essentially part of rugs substance.
Perhaps an uDrnveller of rug histories would nnd
10 Oriental fabric that possesses sinister past
'r as repclling origin the sacred rug of the
owa Indian tribe. This curiosity Is said TO be
owned by one of the few survivors OF the Iowas In
STROUD. Okln 1T Is one hundred and 1fy years old
ana cost seVenty-seyen lives 1t Is about FIVE feet
Tquare and is OF tho hair from seventy-seveu
'calps in figures of black. white gray brown and
red But it s certain that IT, by some occult means
one might trace the dramas that have surrounded
fcrtain Turkish, Persian and Indian rugs he could
'hroW light upon happenings dark with tragedy
After being finished in the homes throughout the
rural districts where they woven on hand looms
py methods that have probably changed little since
the days of Cyrus. the rugs are carried by thoir
owncrs to local markets baZaars where thew are Of
Tered 10 merchants and dealers that swarm tbrouph
the country These in turn make up their bundles
md travel toward the larger marts notably SMYRNA
ana Constantnople, where they meet the demand OF
Tue outer world Often their ways are lonely and
soundabout and they pass with their rug trains
'''Rh section" whore they exposed rhe depre.