Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1911-04-30
DISTINCTION OF ORIENTAL RUGS
Fringe IL One of the Marks and the
Back of the Rug IL AM
nthRR-

Back of the Rug is An
other.
To tell an oriental rug from a machine
rug look at the back and at the fringe,
says a writer in Country Life in America.
The pattern of oriental rugs shows dis
tinctly through on the back, for the same
knots whose cut ends stand up to form the
pile on the face OF the rug show on the
back as tink loops around the warp threads,
almost concealing both warp and welt.
or course oriental rugs can be and have
been woven with double pile, on back as
we'll as on face. like the domestic Smyrnas,
but these are as rare as May flowers in
November. The back of most oriental rugs
is flat and hard, and the pattern that on
the face is softened by the myriad ways
in which the pile reflects the light is stiff
as that of q domestic Brussels rug on the
back.
BY way OF comparison, turn over a Win
ton or a Brussels rug. The back is barren.
The wool is too precious to be wasted there.
The construction is such that the WOODEN
pile loops gingerly into the upper part OF
the web only, leaving cheaper yarns to
meet the floor. Exceptions to this rule
among domestics are rag carpets and
smyrnas. whose warp is thing and tenuous
and does not count in the design.
! Just as there are domestic rugs without
pile so there are orientals The two types
are Kellms and Cashmeres (also called
Soumaks). Kelims are tapestries in weave,
like the more Intricate gobelin and Aubus-
son tapestries or the stu coarser Navajo
blankets and Mexican serapes. Face and
back are exactly alike, both fiat and with
out pile except for the loose threads
(sometimes clipped smooth) that on the
back show where the welt has wandered
from block TO block Of the same color.
Where colors meet parallel with the
warp. Melims. like most other tapestries.
show open Sits left by the tapestry weave
and often sewed up afterward. Kelims are
much THINNER than other rugs and are
often used as portieres. Where they are
! TO be used on the floor they should be
lined. They are comparatively inexpensive
heavier rug without pile is the cash
mere. The weave is curious. II consists
in the wrapping twisting in such a way
as to bind them indissolubly together. The
loose threads that mark the passage OF
the welt from block to block of color can
be clearly seen on the back of the rug
Cashmeres are exceedingly durable, but not
as interesting in texture as pile rugs. The
oolors are apt to be sharp, there being nc
pile to dull them.
! Oriental rugs as a rule wear their own
hair or fringe-in other words, are self
fringed with fringe made of the extended
warp In all oriental rugs that have a
wooden warp the fringe is an important
and exceedingly interesting feature. The
fringe of the cashmere is never heavy.
Especially interesting is the fringe OF
Beloches and BokhaTas, 1t is usually ae-
eompanied by a wide band of flat wei
, commonly called seivage). This band is
often ornamepted with bright-colored, tiny
figures in broche or tapestry weave OF
embroidery. Such band has decided use.
fulness. II guards the pile at the lines
OF greatest tenderness, for the web thai
closes naturally at the sides is open At tn,
ends when special means are not taker
to close it.
In rugs with a wooden warp the ends ar,
more beautiful and the whole structure 1,
mere flexible and more sympathetic to tn,
touch. But the greater elasticity Of
Woollen warps produces rugs that ar,
seldom straight, even when first woven
This Is pardonable. almost a desirabl
fault in small rugs, but II ruins large ones
This Is undoubtedly the reason why tn,
warps OF large rugs are almost withou
exception OF the sitter material.
Most domestic rugs have either no fringe.
or sewed-on ones. Rag carpets are self
fringed, but the fringes are decidedly un
interesting. So the fringes are one Of IN
most important helps In quickly distin
gushing rugs OF oriental hand weave from
rugs woven by machine In oriental par
tern.