The New York herald., 1921-03-15
Rug Display Here
Gives Illusion of
StambOuL Bazaar
Great Collection From Orient
on View at American Art
Association.

The American Art Association has
been metamorphoeed over night into
what the Orientals call souk--a rug
solilx The enormous establishment Is
filled through all OF It's length with ORR
entail rugs. It eelipses In rug interest
any OF the showings ever made In the
famed fair of NiJni-Novgorod. or pos
sibiy any OF the great Oriental fairs.
Thers are reasons why people from here
cannot go to Nijni-Novgorod in these
days, and SO Nijni-cIovgorod has come to
US. II In truly great rug exhibition.
The explanation why the Ali Ashraff
Soultanoff rug collection Of Constan.
tinople now is here Is that II Is to be
sold on account OF the American Foreign
Trade Corporation. a corporation that is
the European agent of the American To-
bacco Company. The American Tobacco
Company. like many other big concerns.
occasionally finds idle ships upon It's
hands and Is obliged to branch out into
side businesses. Finding itself one fine
day the owner of this enormous collec-
ton Of Oriental rugs. 1t decided TO sell
them in America. The occasion is un-
usual as well as interesting and will be
sure TO excite rug connoisseurs to a
special degree.
The rugs are probably better shown
than they could have been at Mini
Novgorod. A few are placed flat upon
The floors, but the great majority are
hung at full length like pictures upon
the walls, so that all their qualities may
Ae easily studied. Yesterday there was
an army OF coffee complexioned women
IN the rooms busily engaged in sewing
metal rings to the rugs so that they
might be suspended on the walls. This
added TO the visitors illusion that he
might be in Stamboul-though it is not
promised that this effect will be con-
tinued throughout the days of the exhi-
bition. The sale will take place Thurs
day Friday and Saturday.
The rugs are remarkably even In quail
ity. They conform to all the we'll known
types. such as Karabagh. Tabriz, Khoras-
san, saraband. Bakhshis, Kurdistan.
Cabistan. Soumak. He.at. Bokhara,
Daghestan. Hamadan. Kermanshah,
huba, &c. There are prayer rugs, run
ners' and great carpets that are called
palace" rugs. There is an infinite va
riety in the symbols and ornaments that
the ingenious weavers OF the East have
used. for each of these workers is. per-
force. an individualist. and duplicates
are impossible.
One OF the carpets that attracted most
attention yesterday from the experts was
an antique Kahn Karabagh rug which
came from the collection OF the Prince
Bekhmem Mira Kadjar. 1t is fine
production of the type often recorded as
Persian. the ornament being an Iran de-
sign, with short, compact pile. and both
coiers and l,fstre delicate.
A soft and silky Khorassan rug has an
ivory field with a design in herati lattice.
chiefly In rose, orange and turquoise
tones. A Kashan rug is intricately
adorned in It's central panel with trees
and flowers in imitation of the Shah's
garden. An antique Jooshaghan run
ner'' is in lustrious tones upon dark
iapis blue ground. Another carpet, a SIX
teenth century Joosha CHAN rug. was pur-
chased from the collection OF the Shah OF
Persia in 1908, upon the flight of the
Shah's family.
There are two striking Genehis rugs
with bold. geometrical ornaments and an
antique KaZak that looks as though II
might have served as inspiration to some
of the Indian weavers of Western Amer
lea.