The Present Position of Carpet Studies

When scholars initiated the discipline of Islamic studies they opened up a new field, rich in research material. Architectural monuments, dated and datable artefacts, and literary allusions soon provided a broad general chronology. An ever increasing number of precious objects came to light, and the brilliance of colour and elegance of line of the decorative arts of Islam - the miniatures, the ceramics, the glass, the textiles - had a peculiar fascination for discrimination connoisseurs interested in these hitherto little known art forms.

Among the decorative arts of Islam the Oriental carpet undoubtedly has the widest popular appeal, but carpets are notorious for the lack of datable material and this is one of the obstacles to progress in this particular branch of Islamic art. A magnificent piece of craftsmanship, however, particularly if it is in a museum collection, cannot fail to be exhibited and discussed, even if little is known about it. The result is that extensive literature on carpets is rich in splendid descriptions but somewhat lacking in hard facts. Had the travellers of the 17th century, whose eyes were attracted by the lustre of silk and the glitter of gold, said even a little about designs and colour and added just a few precise details on production and provenance of the woollen pile carpets which they saw in so many places, the study of Oriental rugs might have progressed farther and faster.
19th century travellers were hardly more informative than their predecessors. Most of the men who were to contribute much to Islamic studies had such an abundance of absorbing research material with which to work that they had neither interest in, nor time to devote to, the contemporary rugs which they saw about them on their travels. Some, however, were fascinated by the beauty of the colours and designs of antique rugs. Their increasing understanding of Islamic art as a whole, the comparisons which they made with other artefacts, the information which they culled from literary sources, the evidence of rugs depicted in early paintings and miniatures and the deductions which they drew from their researches provided the foundation on which the study of carpets is based.

In the fullness of time the greater availability of books dealing with the arts and architecture of Islam created a widespread interest in the subject. Inquiring minds began to express new ideas and to question long accepted attributions and dates. Even before the war, a group of finely woven rugs, regarded as classical Persian, and much admired by collectors in the late 19th century, aroused suspicion. Some had animals in the designs, others were in the form of prayer rugs. At times, the colours appeared too fresh for their attributed antiquity and when found to relate to rugs in eclectic designs of apparently Anatolian workmanship their dating became later and later. In the Hamburg exhibition of 1950 the traditional rugs of Anatolia were, for the first time, given precedence over the magnificent Court carpets of Persia, which, till then, had dominated the great non-specialised carpet exhibitions. More recently even the long held view that the Ardabil carpets were brought from the shrine of Sheikh Safi in Ardabil has been questioned.

The changed attitude to rugs did not immediately follow the interruption caused by the Second World War, since assessment of war losses, the resumption of research and the formation of nuclei of new collections all required time. The period was one for developing interest and groping for more facts. The late Louisa Bellinger, working in the Textile Museum in Washington DC during the 1950s reopened a field of practical research to which little more than lip service had been paid for more than half century. Her aim was to provide methods of determining provenance by means other than those of style and design. The under surface, the edges and the ends of a rug now received a measure of attention to which they had not been subjected since the weaver cut the carpet from its loom. Such endeavours might not have gone much farther than previous attempts had it not been for technological advances in the post-war world, by which travel became both rapid and easy. Anyone handling large numbers of modern or semi-antique rugs inevitably becomes aware almost subconsciously, of different types of weaves peculiar to various groups, but by comparison, early rugs are relatively rare and widely scattered. Now, however, the world's antique rugs, and not just accessible pieces, can be reached and examined without undue difficulty.
Just how far classification of rugs, on the basis of structure can be carried is still uncertain, but one thing is sure, and that is that the method of assessing rugs almost exclusively on the basis of monochrome photographs, which was, of necessity, the practice of most authorities before and to some extent after the War, cannot now be regarded as sufficient. Characteristics of structure as well as of designs should reinforce arguments in favour of or against a specific provenance.

A much more scientific approach comes from the collaboration of the organic chemist. The analysis of carpet dyes, which goes much farther than the occasional test to detect synthetic pigments for the purpose of determining late production, is opening a new field of research. The dates of synthesis of the various artificial dyes, developed since 1856 are precisely known, and in the case of certain rare rug groups such as Turcomans, few of which are much earlier than the 19th century, the comparisons of designs of rugs containing datable dyes combined with information on the spread of such dyes in Central Asia must ultimately lead to a useful chronology. The farther application of such tests, while a sufficiency of tribal and village rugs of the 19th and early 20th century still exists, will no doubt be as to welcome to future generations as to our own. The identification of dyes in one group of antique rugs has already been undertaken and an extension of such work, combined with the study of rug structure and traditional methods of comparing designs, may ultimately provide answers to some of the tantalising questions which make the whole study of rugs so fascinating.

In complete contrast to the precise observations of physical characteristics and the deductions which can be drawn from scientific tests, a new and hitherto little considered measure has been introduced into carpet studies. It is concerned neither with provenance nor date, but seeks to interpret the meaning of designs on the basis of symbolism, much of which rests on ancient religious beliefs. This is a field of great interest and the ideas put forward often seem to explain the hitherto inexplicable, but throughout human history man has had to be persuaded of the truth, rather than confronted with the proof, of such ideas.

Rugs with known histories still abound and many bear witness to the undoubted appeal of the Oriental rug in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but interest in carpets appears to be far more widespread and more searching today than it was in the past. The famous Hajji Baba Club of New York, founded in 1932 developed from the common interest in carpets of a number of collectors. It still flourishes, but is no longer unique of its type; rather. It is the first of many rug clubs which in recent years have blossomed al over the United States, and also, a lesser degree, elsewhere. Members of these societies vary from those well-grounded in Islamic studies to others, who are "just interested", but most, to some extent, are collectors, and when simple pride in a well-preserved 20th century rug is seen to yield to an interests in antique fragments it is apparent that the devotee of today may be the learned connoisseur of tomorrow.

Some notable collections of antique rugs are still being formed. Long lost carpets emerge from storage and previously unknown pieces come to light; but soaring prices put great rugs beyond the reach of many of the younger generations of collectors. The fascination of rugs and the desire to collect are not, however, easily put aside. Well-dyed and well-preserved rugs, such as those seen but neglected by 19th century travellers, are now the treasures sought by many collectors. Innumerable small woven objects, sometimes mainly of ethnographic interest, also have an appeal, and now the flat-woven rug has come into its own. Such pieces, tapestry-woven or brocaded, are best known from a group of famous silk kilims of Court quality which date mainly from the late 16th and early 17th centuries, but hard-wearing woollen kilims are in use throughout the rug-weaving world, and in India cotton durries, suited to the local climate, fill the same role. The majority of surviving pieces are 19th century or later. They are economical to make, both in time and material, and can be put to innumerable uses, and the magnificent colours and abstract designs of the best pieces have recently opened the eyes of collectors to this long neglected field. Kilim designs are still largely traditional and are relatively unaffected by the commercial enterprises which today dictate the patters of so many pile carpets, and it follows, as with carpets, that some of the motifs can be traced back to earlier and purer forms.

The desire to collect is not far removed from the desire to exhibit. Most early exhibitions contained rugs from different areas and periods, but now emphasis is more often on specialised exhibitions. On both sides of the Atlantic, museums and rug societies, alone, or in collaboration, other groups of interested individuals, and private collectors have collaborated to mount notable and stimulating exhibitions. Those dealing with tribal and village rugs naturally appeal to the many collectors of such pieces. Special exhibitions in the Textile Museum in Washington to some extent bridge the gap between early and late rugs. The Museum's great antique carpets, with some notable additions from elsewhere, form the main exhibition which is complemented by rugs from the same area but later in date, selected by rug societies from the collections of their members. This type of combined exhibition has been a feature of an autumn rug convention which attracts a large attendance from the United States and other countries. Such a gathering of rug enthusiasts with the possibility of actual participation and the opportunities for discussion is a constant stimulus to widely scattered rug societies. In addition, tours ranging from Anatolia to Central Asia, designed to see rug-weaving at first-hand and to give a brief glimpse of the Oriental way of life are by no means the least enjoyable of the Museum's activities. Travel in provincial districts of rug-weaving lands has become easier and pleasanter in recent years, and reports from a number of travellers show that, while most of the great antique rugs may have vanished from mosque floors, there is still useful first-hand information to be found and recorded.