| Kilim : The Complete Guide : History
Pattern Technique Identification I need one book that provides a comprehensive sampling of all Kilims and related flatweaves. Down deep I am a barbarian so I don't have the sensibilities to confine my interest in Kilims to Turkish Kilims. In any given week I deal in flatweaves from the High Atlas to the Hindu Kush so that means many of the classic books are of little use to me. There is one simple easy to use book that is invaluable to my work: Kilim : The Complete Guide : History Pattern Technique
Identification One thing I really like about this book is the way it is laid out. When I am looking to identify a rug I will often scan through the pictures looking for similar rugs. If I can find something that looks like what I have then I check the descriptions. "Kilim : The Complete Guide" has very useful little boxes that contain pertinent structural descriptions. You simply can not count on a visual comparison of design. How ever "Kilim : The Complete Guide" allows you you match design with structural clues. This becomes a very easy way to identify a piece. Recently I received a bale of various flatweaves. The mafrashes (box bags) were easy to identify as North\west Persian Shahsavan but the 6 by 10 Kilims were more of a problem. Two of them were a type generally called Kuba Kilims but frankly if they were Kubas they were not top quality Kuba Kilims. Using "Kilim : The Complete Guide" I was able to identify them as Persian Ardabil Kilims. This sort of distinction is where the potential for profit is. A top quality Ardabil kilim is worth more in the market place than a lower quality Kuba. Of course a top quality Kuba is worth more than a top quality than Ardabil but by propperly identifying the piece we can maximize profit.
I am sure many of you do not need a book to know the distinctions between a Kuba and an Ardabil.kilim but what about the truly obscure flatwoven textiles. War is bad for (most) humans but great for rug pickers. Every bout of war seems to unearth new and different rugs. When the Taliban took, the Northern Capital in Afghanistan, Mazar Sheriff the carpet dealers cleaned out their warehouses ahead of the murdering hordes. As a result I came across a large cache of older Afghan Kilims that no one seemed to be able to identify. With dust flying we flipped mountains of dirty old kelims looking for ones that combined age, color, rarity, and condition. I bought dozens of the best I could find. The price I paid was strictly for the value in the rug. I often speak of the value in the rug but let us review the concept. One of the pieces was 7 by 14. The size gives it a certain value, someone needs a 7 by 14. That it is a sturdy utilitarian kilim has a value. The colors and patterns give it a certain value. All those factors dictate the value in the rug. But this value is offset by the fact they are Afghan Kilims of unknown provenance. By using "Kilim : The Complete Guide" I was able to combine a comparison of pattern with structural detail and establish an attribution of what I believe the Kilims to be. Once I had a good estimate of what the rugs were then it was much easier to identify other sources that allow me to be more certain in my attributions. Without "Kilim : The Complete Guide" I would have had a great difficulty in identifying the rugs but by using it I was able to identify a previously undocumented type of rug. So by research based on "Kilim : The Complete Guide" I was able to attribute rugs in my buy to the Uzbek, Hazara, and the Kutchi. So what? What possible difference does an esoteric discussion of attributing Kilims to obscure weaving groups have to do with the day to day cares of a rug dealer? One word, MONEY. I bought those rugs for almost nothing. By judiciously doling them out to my customers interest and prices are building. By knowing that some of the Kilims are attributable to the Hazara I have been able to educate buyers to the fine points of this obscure weaving group. Now I see "collectors" biding against each other for the better pieces. I make money, they get rare and irreplaceable treasures combined with a greater appreciation of a small embattled culture high in the Hindu Kush.
Trust me "Kilim : The Complete Guide" works just as well or better for mainstream Kilims as well. If you want to have one general reference book on Kilims there is no better book than "Kilim : The Complete Guide". It certainly belongs on every rug dealers indispensable book shelf. |
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