Relative Cost

Small rugs, four by five feet and less, of modern make, of good design and color, may be purchased all the way from ten to fifty dollars. Large rugs and antiques are higher in price, varying according to age, beauty in color and sheen, and fineness of texture. The most expensive rugs sometimes contain 1000 knots to the square inch and represent the work of a lifetime.

Four Principal Classes Of Oriental Ruga

Oriental rugs are usually divided into four principal classes, Caucasian, Turkish, Turkoman, and Persian. Each class is distinguished by some special characteristic in design, and within the classes there are many subdivisions usually easily recognized by the connoisseur, who examines not only the pattern, but the material of the warp, tuft and pile, and the length of the pile. He also counts the number of knots to the square inch, and determines the kind of knot used. After assembling all these points of identification he is usually able to give the rug which is being examined the true name.

Reliable Dealers Should Be Patronized

The average buyer of the more inexpensive oriental rugs has neither the knowledge nor the time for such careful examination, and must rely upon only a few general facts on the subject, and upon the word of a trusted dealer.

Caucasian Rugs

Caucasian rugs come from the Russian Caucasus, once Persian territory, but acquired by Russia in the nineteenth century. These rugs bear designs which are rectilinear and geometrical. There are three principal types, the Daghestans, Shirvans, and Kabistans. Daghestan rugs are very beautiful with their silvered tones of red, blue, green, and yellow, and designs of stars, squares, and hexagons, of the most conventional type. They are suited for use in small reception rooms where dignity is desired. Kabistans are more like Persian rugs, for they are softer in color than the Daghestans or Shirvans. Stiff animal and human forms appear in the designs of Kabistans.

Uses For Rugs Of The Second And Third Class

For living rooms, libraries, and dining rooms, Turkish and Turkoman rugs are especially desirable as they are to be easily found in the larger sizes.

Turkoman Rugs

Turkomans are distinguished by the use of many octagons. Perhaps the best known Turkoman is the Bokhara, named after one of the most remote countries of the world, seven hundred miles east of the Caspian Sea. The rugs which come from this far country have octagons and diamonds in blue and white designs on rich red backgrounds. Long wool fringes and wide selvages prevent fraying. Bokhara rugs are strong in color and should never be used in a dainty room. Baluchistans, another type of the Turkoman class, are also well fringed and selvaged like the Bokharas, but come in softer colors, more like the Persian rugs.

Turkish Rugs

The equilateral triangle can always be traced in a Turkish rug. In Ladik or Anatolian fabrics there are usually borders which are composed of figures which look like flowers, until when traced they are found to be made up of one square or triangle after another, joined to give floral form. Turkish rugs are woven in soft tones of the primary colors, blended with a skill that gives a subdued effect. The designs are apt to be very symmetrical and the center of the field of the rug is often pointed at both ends, except in the case of the prayer rugs. The Kaba-Karaman and Anatolian prayer rugs are seen most often for sale.