j From: Tom C. Could you talk about orange dye. John and Suzan Wertime are selling a Shahsavan bag on www.Cloudband.com with orange in it. Isn't orange a synthetic dye that dates to the 20th century. The Wertimes call this bag "19th century : third quarter" . Is there a natural orange and what do you think of Wertime's Shahsavan? Tom C. |
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John T. Wertime, Sumak Bags of Northeast Persia and Transcaucasia. 1998
Hello Tom, Well if John Wertime says it's 3rd quarter 19th c that that is good enough for me. John is author of SUMAK BAGS OF NORTHWEST PERSIA AND TRANSCAUCASIA. He is one of the most knowledgeable people in the world on Shahsavan Bags. I called John about this piece and he told me that me feels comfortable in his attribution and that he feels the orange dye is a natural madder orange. As one matures in rug connoisseurship they get to recognize dyes. That process is known as having an "educated eye". I respect John's "educated eye" more than most because many time we have discussed dyes and he refers to lab reports that he has commissioned. John is the only dealer I know (besides me when I was in the business) that sends samples out for laboratory analyses. So John feels it is madder and I believe him. As for Wertime's suggestion that the dye is madder this is completely in keeping with the research of such people as Dr. Harald Bohmer at Marmara Univ. in Turkey. My dear friend Harold Keshishian has mentioned to me more than once that the great Ulrich Schurmann discussed a natural orange dye in Caucasian and Northwest Persian rugs in a lecture at the Textile Museum here in Washington DC. years ago. Schurmann is the man who really defined Caucasian rugs to the Western World. John's attribution is based on more than just the dyes. John spent a considerable period of time in Iran and as a member of the Teheran rug society he was influential in the study of these bags. The pioneering work of John Wertime, Parviz Tanavoli, Jenny Housego and Ambassador Amadeo DeFranchi gives us most of what is known today about Shahsavan weaving. Now as a dealer, author, writer, lecturer and Contributing Editor of Hali magazine he has examined such a large number of this type of bag so that when he attributes a bag to 3rd quarter 19th it means that he has compared it to a wide range of examples before he makes his attribution. (John describes the bag as, "Tough as leather due to the structure in which it is woven, this "reverse sumak" bag is related to pls. 52-54 in my "SUMAK BAGS OF NORTHWEST PERSIA AND TRANSCAUCASIA," published in London in 1998.") So in summary let me say; there is a natural madder orange,and this is a museum quality example of it. Best wishes, Barry |
