Melas Prayer Rug

From SW Anatolia, circa 1875, this rug sold at Sotheby's 2 June 2010, with a hammer price of $12,500 including buyer's premium. It is approximately 5'8" x 3'8" (1.73m x 1.12m)

Shirvan Prayer Rug

From the East Caucasus, this rug sold at Sotheby's on 2 Jun 10. The hammer price with Buyer's Premium was $3,750 USD. It is approximately 5ft. 3in. by 3ft. 8in. (1.60 by 1.12m.)

A buying mistake

This Shiraz is one of several rug purchases I made on e-bay a few years ago. It is about 6'7" x 9 and has a knot count of approximately 80 kpsi. It arrived as described and I don't have "a fortune" invested in it. As a matter of fact, until I had a photo of it looked at on the RugRag forum, I was pretty proud of it and the bargain I got. Then the pros over there pointed out what seems almost painfully obvious now - it is missing the guard border on both ends.

Duh. A great learning experience.

Okay, so now I am not quite as proud of it, but it still fills a spot very nicely.

A Bergama Prayer Rug

This Bergama, from West Anatolia circa 1850 was sold by Sotheby's 2 Jun 2010, Hammer Price with Buyer's Premium: 3,750 USD, approximately 4ft. 1in. by 3ft. 9in. (1.24 by 1.14m.)

A well known Prayer Rug

The Ballard rug, named for the American collector James Ballard, is probably the best known prayer rug in the world. This Ottoman court carpet was woven in the late 16th century. (ca. 1580)
This rug is owned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art (not currently on display)



http://www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/collection_database/islamic_art/carpet_with_triple_arch_design//objectview.aspx?OID=140004751&collID=14&dd1=14

Prayer Rugs

I have been "collecting" a little information on some antique Prayer Rugs, particularly if there is genuine provenace. So along the way here I'll post a few of them for your comments.

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First is a silk Heriz.



This was sold by Sotheby's (New York) in November of 1983 for $23,100 (including buyer's premium).

It is approx. 5 ft 7 in x 4 ft 7 in and listed as circa 1875.

Rug Dye

Natural Dye
Natural dyes are derived from plant materials and insects such as indigo, madder, oak, sumac, pomegranate, cochineal and larkspur. Before the 1870s, they were the only source used to dye wool. Since the invention of synthetic dyes, there has been a great deal of debate about which type of dye produces a more beautiful and investment-worthy rug. Natural dyes tend to gently fade with time and therefore produce a sought after patina.

Aniline Dye
Aniline dyes are very acidic and often corrode the fibers in a rug. This type of dye was developed in the mid 1850s and is no longer used.

Acid Dye
Acid dyes are cheap to make, but the colors run.

Chrome Dyes
In the 1920s and 1930s, chrome dyes became a more reliable alternative to aniline. These synthetic dyes are more colorast and have a much wider spectrum of colors to choose from. Chrome dyes bind to the wool with potassium bicarbonate, which resists fading and does not weaken the wool. There are hundreds of chrome colors to choose from so many colors are possible that just cannot happen with natural dye.

Recap, making a hand made rug

Looking at posts can be at least a little confusing when trying to see them in order. So, here is a list of posts so far as they relate to making a hand made rug. This is pretty much the chronological process.

1. To See Rugs Made

2. Yarn for Rugs

3. Hand Knotting

4. Rug Washing Process

5. Washing to Drying

6. Drying and Sretching

7. More to do Before It's Ready

8. Wool and Silk

9. More Finishing

10. Final Finishing

Final finishing

One of these steps is fairly obvious as you can see binding or serging being applied. Note that on many machine made rugs this is a cloth or nylon strip that is sewn on but on a hand made rug, it is sewn one stitch at a time.

And now the fringe (or tassles). First, this is actually a part of the construction. It is the warp that runs from top to bottom. A few years ago it was common to see the fringe left 4 or 5 inches long but these day it is more common to see just an inch or two.

These warp threads are "gathered" into small bundles and tied together, often 3 or 4 at a time. The remaining length is then trimmed.

Now, thru nearly all of this manufacturing, it was men who were working. It was almost rare to find a woman involved in the process. (There were some in back in the pencilling area.) So to almost suddenly find a room with only women working on the rugs was a little bit of a surprise. And then to realize that they were not only finishing the fringe, they were also still clipping small spots over the rug. Incredible attention to the smallest details.

I observed to my host and guide, "I see that here in India it is the same as in the U.S." After his eyes got big I said, "The women clean up after the men."

The lady didn't reply but she sure grinned.

More finishing

A step that many of us haven't thought of before is called "penciling".

This involves carefully separating individual threads so that pattern and color details are more distinct.

Wool and Silk

Perhaps you have seen finely knotted wool and silk rugs where the silk has a deeper/thicker pile. Well, what actually happens is that the wool is trimmed down below the silk. (That can be a lot of trimming.)

More to do before it's ready

This part actually happens before the wash process talked about in the previous post. And, it mostly applies to yet another process to be talked about in future posts. And it also happens as part of the very last part of the manufacturing process. A lot of important steps in making a rug.

First, the rug is trimmed to an even pile height.

To do this, it must be combed

and is then cut with both electric tools and with almost ordinary looking scissors. Brush/sweep the surface, maybe vacuum and trim some more. The electric tool looked a lot like a router with a vacuum attached.

And those scissors have a bent handle that allows the cutting flat to be flat.

Drying and stretching

The cotton used as foundation and wool used as pile doesn’t dry at the same rate and may not retain shape equally so, part of this drying time is having the rug stretched into the original intended shape.

This process includes several adjustments of tension over several days.

Washing to Drying

Well of course, after a wash it must be dried. And Mother Nature provides the best system for that.

Yes that’s a cell phone tower off in the background. Much of India is much more “modern” than you may have expected.