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Newly revised guide to Tabriz Rugs

My New Guide to Turkish Kilims after all these years I have finnally gotten around to Anatolian Kilims. It is a work in progress and I will have some major new advances soon.

Sotheby's London: Arts of the Islamic World

Wed, Oct. 7 2009

There are some splendid pieces in this sale from Qurans, arms, porcelain and carpets but to me the most interesting is Lot 276, A SAFAVID SILK, WOOL AND METAL-THREAD PRAYER RUG, ISPHAHAN, CENTRAL PERSIA, 80,000-120,000 GBP. The rug, the inscription, the provenance, and the c-14 data make it one of the most important rugs I have ever seen.

www.RugArt.org has a nice new look. It is the english laguage part of a leading Iranian rug web site.

The vast majority of emails I get about this site are a pleasure to read but now and then the cranks feel the need to heckle me. The worst was a rug world character who is severely mentally ill who claims secret Gnostic rug wisdom. I just delete his mail unread. The other is an odd duck who I used to count as a friend, R. John Howe. Poor old RJohn takes great exception about my stand against CHILD LABOR in ORIENTAL RUGS especially as it applies to his friend Chris Walters of YAYLA TRIBAL RUGS based in Cambridge MA.

Chris Walters of YAYLA TRIBAL RUGS and Child Labor

RJohn sends me long rambling letters where he says things such as: "I do not know, personally, the conditions under which Turkmen children are employed in weaving rugs in Chris’ Ersari projects and it could well be that there is use of them that most of us would consider exploitative...". Then he launches into highly theoretical explanations of how CHILD LABOR can be acceptable. That is at least acceptable to him. I agree that in some cases child labor is OK. For instance in farm families where the children do chores when they are not in school. Or teens working as as lifeguards on their summer vacation. The underlying theme is that children can work in certain non-exploitative conditions while they are attending school on a regular basis. RJohn makes use of the farm family scenario but nothing is ever said about the Yayla weavers being enrolled in school. Chris Walters contributes money for schools, but do his weavers attend? Do the boys go to school while the girls stay home and weave? Are any of the mothers drugging very young children with opium as has been reported in the press? Not to say Chris is involved but I would like to know where he stands on these issues.

RJohn did suggest a few changes in my article on so I have edited the piece and reposted it. As for the nasty, insult laden email from RJohn I will just put it out of my mind until next time. These rants from RJohn serve as a reminder to freshen up the Yayla article which surprisingly has turned out to get a good readership year in and year out. As for Yayla rugs it is a problem because some nice people sell them. So while a number of stores in my Trusted Dealer List carry rugs from Yayla I would sooner have farm animals defecate on my floor then put a rug from Yayla in my living room.

17th C small format medallion Bergama Rug Lot 18

God bless Sotheby's, their carpet department is second to none. However every once in a while I think they are a little too conservative. This is a case in point; They have cataloged this rug as "A WEST ANATOLIAN RUG" and "18th century". It has been suggested elsewhere that this rug is actually 17th century and most likely from the Bergama area. The small squares in the outer guard border are indicative of Bergama see Bergama Rug C. 1900 Sotheby's Doris Leslie Blau lot 66, Bergama prayer rug, West Anatolia, circa 1850, and Bergama Rug ex Bill Price 18th C Lot 47 for other related renditions of the small square element.

Our friend at The National Carpet Center of Iran are running a new ad on European television.

Here are a few of the lots from Sotheby's Spring Carpet Sale NYC that I am adding to the notes; Tekke Ensi Circa 1840 - Bergama Rug ex Bill Price 18th C Lot 47 - Bergama Prayer Rug 3rd Q 19th C Lot 11 I will add more soon.

Sebastian Ghandchi of Hali Magazine www.hali.com
has a birthday May 21. Be sure to wish Sebastian a very happy Birthday!

Sotheby's Spring Carpet Sale in New York Catalog On-line
Carpets Sale: N08563 Wed, 10 Jun 09, 10:00 AM, Lots 1 - 231

Update on the San Francisco Antique Rug & Textile Show October 15-26
Good news - Owen Parry will be attending this October's Capri rug fest. I will let you know if there is word on what he is planning to bring.

Alberto Levi and Textile Museum President Bruce Baganz by noted photographer Philip Shalam

Alberto Levi is featured on the New York Times Art & Design section http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/15/arts/design/15gall.html

Update on the San Francisco Antique Rug & Textile Show October 15-26
Owen Parry will not be exhibiting at the San Francisco show but Andy Lloyd of www.Haliden.com will be. Andy is planning on bringing a very rare Yomut carpet that has marked similarities to the The Dodds Yomut Carpet.

ORIENTAL RUGS, CARPETS + TAPESTRIES
Sale Date: May 18 2009 12:00 Freeman's May 18th auction of Oriental Rugs, Carpets & Textiles will include over 170 lots.

The sale features a very good selection of collectible rugs from Anatolia and the Caucasus, with most originating from a single private collection. Good Anatolian rugs include lot 110, a fine Bergama rug, lot 112, an interesting West Anatolian rug from the Oushak region, lots 142 and 168, two additional fine, classic Bergama rugs, and lot 151, an early Northwest Anatolian rug from the Bergama region. Interesting Caucasian rugs include lot 139, a fine Kasim Ushag rug, lot 149, an unusual Konagkend Kuba runner, lot 156, a cruciform medallion design Shirvan, dated and probably of Armenian origin, Kazak rugs, including lots 159 and 165, a good Shirvan prayer rug, lot 161 as well as a Shirvan overall design rug with a Zejwa variant design, lot 161A, and a good Seychour long rug, lot 170.

Hi Barry!
Just wanted you to know that there is a fully assembled yurt in the Mingei Museum in Escondido, CA and it will be there until July. They also have a collection of textiles too. Its called Nomadic Legacy http://www.mingei.org/exhibitions/detail.php?EID=158
Mingei International Museum (760) 735-3355 155 W Grand Ave Escondido, CA
Thanks for having an informative site,
Cynthia
The 4th Avenue Rug Gallery San Diego, CA

Important New book on Qashqai Weaving

Dr. Lois Beck is the leading scholar on the Qashqai of Iran. You can see my Notes on Dr. Lois Beck. So when she writes to me about a new book on Qashqai weaving it is important

Sunday, May 10, 2009 12:18 AM From: Lois Beck

Dear Barry:
    I wrote to you last summer about a new book related to Qashqa'i weaving. Now that the book is published and available, perhaps you can help in some way to disseminate news about it.   We hope for a paperback edition once the publisher sees that there is interest in the book. Now it is available only in hardback.
    Julia Huang, Tribeswomen of Iran: Weaving Memories among Qashqa'i Nomads. London: I. B. Tauris, 2009.
    The US distributor is Palgrave Macmillan, which indicates that the book is available 12 May 2009. It has been available in Europe for a month or so.
    I am attaching a copy of the cover and a promotional flyer used by the publisher for a UK audience.
    Julia, by the way, is my daughter.
    She has included a long, anthropologically oriented glossary of terms related to weaving, which you may find interesting. I don't know of another list like hers.
    Too bad the carpet convention did not meet in Saint Louis this year.
    Best wishes,
    Lois

Lately I have been drawn to Mamluk and related art. I added a few pages to my notes. Guide to Mamluk Art - Mamluk Sword in the style of the Blessed Sword of the Prophet Mohammed - Mamluk Fountain 15th Century - Mamluk Knee-Guard of the Eirene Arsenal - Mamluk Gilded and Enameled Finger Bowl ex Rothschild - Mamluk Pottery Albarello Damascus Syria Early 15th - Mamluk blue and white Armorial Albarello Damascus Early 15th - Mamluk blue and white Armorial Albarello Damascus Syria Early 15th - Mamluk Raqqa Pottery Jar Ayyubid Syria Early 15th - Mamluk Art: The Minbar of the Karkuk Mosque, Cairo - Egyptian and Syrian Tile in the University Museum Philadelphia - A Rare Syria or Mamluk Egypt ivory inlaid micro mosaic decorated games board - Mamluk Egypt or Ayyubid Syria Purple Marvered Glass 12th-13th C. LOT 118 - Mamluk Carpet Cairo Egypt, Sixteenth Century - A 16th century Mamluk carpet, lot 220 - Hispano-Moresque Pottery - Almohad Green Glazed Alhambra Vase - The Alhambra Vase

SEEN ON FACEBOOK: Sam Coad anyone interested in looking at the new RugRabbit site under beta testing http://beta.RugRabbit.com

A big month for PersianCarpetGuide

www.SpongoBongo.com is my older site and www.PersianCarpetGuide.com is a newer smaller site. For the first time ever PersianCarpetGuide passed SpongoBongo in total number of visitors. My newest effort is www.Baluch-rugs.com. It has rugs at http://www.Baluch-rugs.com/Oriental_Rugs/Oriental_Rugs.htm but it tends to be more content based. I have been adding O'Donovan's The Merv Oasis: Travels and Adventures East of the Caspian During the Years 1879-80-81, Including Five Months' Residence Among the Tekkes of Merv: Chapter 30 - Chapter 31 - Chapter 32 - Chapter 33 - Chapter 34 - Chapter 35 - Chapter 36 - Chapter 37 - Chapter 38 - Chapter 39 - Chapter 40

Antique Rug & Textile Show October 15-26

The Antique Rug & Textile Show is a new venture between antique rug and textile dealers. The show will be held in San Francisco October 15-26, 2009 at the Motel Capri, 2015 Greenwich Street, San Francisco, California. There will be a broad range of antique rugs and textiles on display and special events for rug and textile enthusiasts. Top exhibitors including: Michael Craycraft, Galerie ArabesQue, Stuttgart, Germany, www.gallery-arabesque.com Ulrike Montigel, gallery-arabesque.com - Bertram Frauenknecht, Istanbul, Turkey, www.Frauenknecht.com Casey Waller, Caravanserai, Ltd., Dallas, TX, www.caravanserairugs.com - Seref Ozen, Cocoon, Sultanahmet Istanbul, www.cocoontr.com - Alberto Levi, www.albertolevi.com - John Terry, johnterrygallery.com - Davoud Mizrahi, Mizrahi@utanet.at - Owen Parry, owenparryrugs.com - Reyn Staffel, www.reynstaffel.com

Textile Museum News:

The Textile Museum Elects Paul N. Schwartz to Board of Trustees
May 9th Rug & Textile Appreciation Morning: “Afshar Rugs and Textiles” with International Hajji Baba Society President Austin Doyle Saturday, 10:30 am
May 30th Rug & Textile Appreciation Morning: “Oriental Rugs and Textiles 101” with Wendel Swan Saturday, 10:30 am
At RTAMs you are invited to bring clean, well-vacuumed examples related to the title of the program. Seating is limited, so please arrive early. FREE; no reservations required.

A Shirvan Rug that I saw at Emmanuel's Rug Cleaning in Seattle

Shirvan Rug with floral Botehs It has a date using the old Persian lunar corrected date that was discontinued in the 1920s. No repairs, even wear, full borders, it is in amazing condition. It was purchased by the owner's grandmother on a road trip through Persia in the early 1900s.

Grogan & Company Dedham Mass. Sale #119 Sunday, April 19th, 2009 at 12:00 p.m.
To include American and European Paintings, Prints and Drawings, 18th and 19th century
Furniture and Decorations, Silver and Oriental Rugs and Carpets
Fully Illustrated On-line Catalog Inquiries: Michael B. Grogan @ 781.461.9500

Oriental Rugs: Danny Shaffer of Hali Slams Sotheby's Auction in the Financial Times

Tibetan Tiger Rug from Galerie Arabesque formerly in Mimi Lipton's book

A Kia Sar Flatweave from Udo Langauer on Facebook

My Top 10 Videos 3/21/2009

SeattleRugCleaning1

Seref Ozen Tribal Arts Show 2009

Hagop Manoyan Tribal Arts SF 2009

Shahsavan Bird Bag from Alberto Levi

Mark Keshishian & Sons Oriental Carpets Chevy Chase Md.

Seattle Rug Cleaning Part 2

Michael Craycraft Gallerie Arabesque

Bijar Carpet Salt Pepper Knots

Kazak Rug with Red Wefts

Senneh Kilim from Peter Pap

Kars, Adrahan, and Erzurum rugs from the Russian period.

Harold Keshishian teaches me about rugs from 1878 to W.W.I from Czarist occupied Eastern Anatolia. Attribution clues are the black ground with a Caucasian design. Also catch prominent California Scholar/Dealer Ed Krayer in the discussion.

Ali Aydin at Tribal Arts in San Francisco 2009

One of my favorite Istanbul dealers Seref Ozen at Tribal Arts in San Francisco 2009

Alberto Levi is in NYC for the Pacific Asia Show

Nineteenth Pacific Asia Show
NEW LOCATION!!! March 14th through March 18th, 2009
7 West 34th St @ 5th Ave Across from the Empire State Building.

My Top 5 Videos This Week	% of the total
SeattleRugCleaning1	10.3
Kazak Rug with Red Wefts	7.6
Bijar Carpet Salt Pepper Knots	6.7
Senneh Kilim from Peter Pap	6.4
Tekke Rug Hair Wefts	5.1

8.9
6.1
5.8
4.9
4.8
4.6
4.2
3.8
7.6

My old friend Richard Rothstein has a excellent video on how his rugs are woven. Weaving Oriental Rugs I was going to put it here but the format is a little large.

Guide to the Best Oriental Rug and Carpet Cleaners and Restorers

The Best Oriental Rug Carpet Cleaning and Restoration