The Washington herald., 1922-06-04
Romance and Mystery of
East Brought to Homes
sss;Of American Cities.
CAN BE COPIED
Crpdeness of Texture Often
Intentioned to Add
- More Beauty.


the fair princess or brave prince Is
i spirited away to fair realms. But
the old legends Of the spicy Orient
have their rugs. There Is aoso-
lutely no limit to what these rugs
Of age-old lore could do. They ~
like q Bird talk like a human. re-
veal hidden treasure and bring
happiness ever after.
There Is reason for all this.
The rug has always had some part
on every happening OF the Orien-
tzfs life 1t plays its part In his
domestic, religious and state life.
The uncouth barbarian nomad
N,ove his rug in his mountain tent.
Hs spoke the story of his whole
life through its glowing warp and
W9ol Often he would arise from
his weaving to peer over the craggy
ledge for an enemy. and returning
to his work he wove within his pat
tern his vision of the enemy wait
i1S among the rocks below.
THE Persian in his abode hut told
the story of his fighting ancestors,
Of mythical winged horses and
gardens of golden fruit.
The Turkish girl wove a rug as
d9yry for her husband. Her pattern
tdyd of her girlhood and her fears
aRd dreams for the life before her.
tAnd all the Orientals, Persian.
Chinese. TuEkish. Kurd or nomad,
vsove their prayer rugs. They put
vtthin them alls the glowing colors
ala rich threads that they could
fhd or money could procure. Deep
est srief was II for one to take TO
tas sacred prayer niche a rug put
teishame by all the others.
Prayers shaped Rugs.
THE shape of the various Oriental
prayer inches accounts for many
differences or shapes in the rugs.
TIE buyer OF the Oriental prayer
rfF can know from just which part
OF the Orient his rug comes by
Comparing its outer corners with
the prayer niche architure of the
s1ripes TO Buddha or Mohammed.
1--we beauty of color and design of
the--tEue Oriental rugs justifies any
one who can do so to buy one for
his home. But a. knowledge of some
kpf- the real meaning Of the rugs
makes II much greater. treasure.
For instance. did you ever hesi-
tate to buy rug guaranteed as an
Oriental because of some imperfec-
ton in the weaving of the design!
The imperfection was Intentional.
1t was the voice of the one who
wovs IL ages ago speaking down
through all the centuries to say,
Nothing but Allah is perfect.
Did you wonder why the Arabian
rugs were so full of AoIveIs-lotus
iris. lily, poppy. and rose? 1t is be-
cause to the MohamTnedaa paradise
was a place of flowers and his rug
spoke Of his. future dream.
- Did you note the gorgeous birds
and animals Of the Persian and
Thf-aa. nrfn
the Turkish designs we're so bas
okcfving designs? 1t is because the
Turks religion barred him from
milking any production Of a living
cHeature. That was .idolatry.
Las yusEe In Color.
There is a verX language in the
c4or Green meant Immortality to
All good MohGmue edans Red is JOY.
Ehie countCraGts evil Even today
sttinya of blue beads are seen hung
about the necks OF dOnkeys IN the
marrow streets of Ba<dad.
dSlue abounds in Persian and Chi
nese rugs. To the Chinese 1t means
truth. To the Persian, air; to the
Mongol. power, also. =
Chinese rugs glow with yellow
and golden tints. That means roy
atty.
A(lN lIt OuN Ol vi rental russ
shbuld know other things besides
how to interpret the meaning of
design and color. In the first place.
he should know that a real Oriental
antique is a very rara avis. and
more than worth it's weight in gold.
The nouveaux riches of the war
m m1lionaire period were easy marks
for the fraudulent antique rug
dealer. 1t was only necessary to
dip a newly-made Oriental into a
chloride of lime wash. and ask a
mrlionaire's price for an antique"
Sipce the war II has become sur
prisingly difficult to find even many
m4dern Orientals. The mother source
has almost dried up. temporarily. at
least. Certain American factories
have gone into the making of ORR
2 entals. II the color and designs are
copied accurately. there Is no rea-
son. barring one Of sentiment, why
thkse rugs should not have a great
success
How to Pick Genuine.
in buying the Oriental there are
certain earmarks to look for. First
Of all. remember that good material
comes first, dying second. and good
workmanship third.
See that the rug lies straight and
nat. that II Is not moth eaten. that
thu nap is not badly worn. that the
wsrp and wool threads are not
brpken, that the foundation threads
Nart intact. that the warp Is heaviest
and tishtest. the pile next In texture
ana the wool lightest.
Do not be overly afraid of the
bl4ck or dark areas that are worn
low This very often determines a
real antique. as IT is a quality hard
to kake.
The real value of the, oriental is
gauged according to the number of
knbts to the square inch. detail OF
.deStgn. age. scarcity and quality OF
material and dyes
Ske Of rooms should determine
81, which rugs are seisctsd. II
S-Ihn rugs are used In a bedroom.
fr9n' three-eighths to one-half Of
the hocr space should be covered. In
other rooms. small rugs should
cover from one-half to fve-eighths.
a barge rug should cover from flve-
sighths to three-fourths Of the
.sp3ee.
fhe true Oriental, either antique
or podern. is generally a good in
gestment in spite of its price. Its
wearing qualities are unsurpassed
rha wool Is so prepared that little
anfhal fat Is destroyed and the
'eStable dyes preserve the rugs
slaiticity.
l, How to Press Ties.