Border.—Generally six or more border stripes; the wider one usually carries flowers in profile.
Prevailing Colors.—The antiques are noted for their rich golden yellow combined with blues, reds, and greens.
Dyes.—Generally good. Some of the modern pieces are dyed with brilliant chemical dyes.
Designs.—Mostly Caucasian in character. The latch hook is prominent. Besides the usual prayer designs, perpendicular stripes of yellow, red, and blue, with zigzag lines running through them, are characteristic designs of the Meles. Many small detached figures.
Sizes.—Usually small and almost square. Three to four by four to five feet.
Prices.—Antiques are rare and few of the modern pieces reach the United States. From $1.50 to $3.00 per square foot.
Remarks.—They are similar to the so-called Anatolian, but are lighter in color and woven better. In some respects they resemble the Bergama. Getting scarce as few new ones are woven.
Owner's Description.—This rug comes from a city of great antiquity in Southwestern Asia Minor, near the coast, opposite the island of Rhodes.
The design and coloring are archaic in simplicity and suggest the interests of a people dwelling by the sea. Observe the turtle figures interspersed between the curves of vine in the panels; also the fin-like appearance of the leaf-forms attached to the vine, the line of fish-hook heads bordering the panels and wave design on either side of same. The striped character of the field is a feature to be noted in this rug, also the introduction of an exceptional design in the fourth stripe.
The border is seen to be very inconspicuous and of remarkably few stripes for a product of the Anatolian country. The simple nature of the small detached floral forms indicates an early origin, before the enriching influence of the Persian invasion.
Brilliant colors were chosen for use in the rug, though of such mellow tone as to be in excellent, subdued harmony. The predominating colors are golden canary-yellow, madder red, and green, with blue, violet and white as secondary tones.
The shades in which these colors appear are quite indescribable, doubtless on account of careless methods of dyeing or the chances of home-made mixtures. Thus the green is of a bluish cast, the blue is mottled with lighter shades (a well-known characteristic of this variety of rug) and the violet, which, as the most typical and exclusive of Meles colors, should be pure in tone, is of dingy look, apparently having succeeded brown in the dye-pot.
All the colors have remained absolutely fast, despite the long exposure of time. The kaleidoscopic effect which has been noted as a quality in many old Meles rug patterns, may be easily detected in this specimen.
Stanton Rug.—A much finer weave than the average rug of this class and a very attractive design. Note the peculiar shape of the field which is notched in instead of out, as in the majority of hearth rugs. The yellow and the plum colors in the main border stripe are seldom found in any other class of rugs.
Synonym.—Megri.
Why So Named.—After the Gulf of Makri.
Where Made.—On the islands in the Gulf of Makri and in the towns along its coast.
Knot.—Always the Ghiordes. Number vertically four to eight; number horizontally four to eight; number to the square inch sixteen to sixty-four.
Weave.—Quite similar to that of the Meles, but a trifle coarser.
Warp.—White or gray wool.
Woof.—White or gray wool.
Nap.—Of long wool, usually from 3/8 to 3/4 of an inch long.
Sides.—Usually finished with a three or four corded selvage.
Ends.—A wide web through which generally run blue and red stripes with or without a knotted mesh and loose warp ends.
Borders.—Usually three stripes, the designs of which are, as a rule, less floral in character than are those of the Meles.
Prevailing Colors.—Quite similar to those employed in the Meles, especially the yellows, reds, blues and plum color. Unlike the Meles, they usually carry green.
Designs.—A sort of a mixture of the Meles and Caucasian designs. The field is most frequently composed of two or three panels which very much resemble those of cathedral windows.
Sizes.—From three and a half to four and a half feet wide by five to seven feet long.
Prices.—As they are seldom found in the market it is difficult to place any stated value on them.
Remarks.—One of the rarest rugs in existence.
The weave, the tawny yellow and the motives in the right hand panel are typically Meles; the motives in the left hand panel are more like those found in the Bergama products; and the cross panel at the upper end of the field is a Kulah or Ghiordes feature. The wide web at either end with the varicolored stripes is a feature quite foreign to the Anatolian products.
Why So Named.—Because they are marketed at Smyrna. Smyrna itself is not a centre of rug weaving, but these rugs come from the towns of the western provinces of Turkey in Asia, namely, Aidin and Brousa.
Knot.—Ghiordes. Number vertically four to eight; number horizontally four to ten; number to square inch sixteen to eighty.
Warp.—Coarse wool.
Woof.—Coarse wool, generally dyed.
Nap.—Loosely woven.
Weave.—Loosely woven and carelessly tied.
Sides.—No rule, most frequently short web with loose warp ends.
Border.—No rule; generally three border stripes, one wide one with a narrow one on each side.
Prevailing Colors.—No rule. Bright reds, blues, and greens are commonly employed.
Dyes.—Generally chemical.
Designs.—Anything and everything, largely European and seldom artistic.
Sizes.—Carpet sizes only.
Prices.—From $1.00 to $1.50 per square foot.
Remarks.—No antiques. The modern ones are purely commercial creations.
Synonyms.—Mousoul, Moussoul.
Why So Named.—After the town of that name in Mesopotamia, where they are marketed. They are made by the Kurds who inhabit the mountainous districts north of Mosul around Lake Van.
Knot.—Ghiordes. Number vertically six to eight; number horizontally six to ten; number to square inch thirty-six to eighty.
Warp.—Usually coarse, dark wool or goats' hair. Occasionally cotton.
Woof.—Usually coarse, dyed wool.
Nap.—Excellent, long, lustrous wool, camels' or goats' hair.
Weave.—Some closely and tightly woven, but the majority are rather loosely woven.
Sides.—Corded edges overcast with dark wool. Frequently overcast with wool of different colors after the Kurdish fashion. Occasionally selvaged.
Ends.—At each end a narrow selvage with one or more stripes of colored yarn running through, usually red and blue. As a rule one of these selvages is turned over and hemmed, while the other is finished with braided warp threads which are knotted at the ends.
Border.—From three to six border stripes, usually three, which are separated by lines of dark blue or brown. Frequently there is considerable camels' hair in the border. The Saraband pattern is sometimes copied.
Prevailing Colors.—Usually dark, rich blues, yellows, greens, reds, and browns. The browns and yellows predominate as a rule. These colors are shaded as only the Kurds know how.
Dyes.—As a rule excellent except in a small proportion of the modern pieces.
Designs.—A multitude of designs which are usually rather striking in character. Probably patterned more after the Persian designs than any others. The Saraband and the Herati patterns are frequently used. Medallions filled with the pear or other small designs.
Sizes.—Usually three to four by four to seven feet, runners from two to four by eight to twenty feet. Saddle bags.
Prices.—Among the best moderate priced rugs. From $1.00 to $2.00 per square foot.
Remarks.—Best in the market for very hard service. Quite thick and heavy and generally lie well.
Owner's Description.—This type of rug comes from the largest rug-producing centre of Eastern Asia Minor. The specimen shown illustrates the Mosul at its best, as to closeness of weave, length of pile, symmetry of design and richness of coloring.
The superb lustre of the wool, comparable only to a silk plush, and the great softness of the long pile—features which have made famous the rugs from this region—are here conspicuous.
In shape and design also the specimen is typical. The field is composed of diamond-shaped sections outlined in black and decorated with the conventionalized tarantula. By placing these sections diagonally a latticed effect is produced.
The usual border plan of three stripes, two narrow ones separated by a broader, appears here. The narrow stripes are in the familiar flower-and-vine design, the broad stripe in a formal arrangement of rosette and hour-glass, all conforming to the geometrical and rectangular lines of Turkish design.
The color scheme of the piece is remarkable for its harmony. The dominant color is wine, introduced in many beautifully blended shades, and relieved with correspondingly soft tones of old blue and green, the whole illuminated with well-arranged bands of white.
Knot: Ghiordes. Seven to the inch horizontally and nine vertically, making sixty-three to the square inch.
A splendid specimen of Caucasian weaving, being a perfect gem for color, quality and sheen, although in design it differs somewhat from the ordinary Shirvan.
The field is covered with octagons each of which contains an eight-petaled flower, no two of which are alike in color. Upon close inspection it is noticeable that the ends of some of the petals are finished in a color entirely different from that of the rest of the petal.
Between the octagons are strewn various floral, pear and goat forms and the weaver has indulged in the Kurdish trick of shading the background, which shows no less than three distinct shades of green.
The main border stripe consists of a meandering vine with a leaf form at each turn and on each side of this is a narrow stripe carrying the Greek meander, the outer one on a field of yellow and the inner one on a field of red.
This is a very old piece with dyes equal to those found in any part of the Orient, even in olden times, and although the colors are rather pronounced they are very pleasing to the eye.
(See page 265)