Oriental rugs, antique and modern . of the colour is always severe; butwhen the field is covered with innumerable small figures, it is greatlysoftened. As kilims are much less durable than rugs that have a pile toprotect the warp and weft, it is not surprising that few of great ageremain. The oldest piece of which we have any knowledge is afragment obtained by Dr. M. A. Stein, the archaeological explorer,from the ruins near Kliotan, in Eastern Turkestan, of an ancientsettlement, which was buried by sand drifts about the fourth orfifth century anno domini. The weave is almost identical with tha
Oriental rugs, antique and modern . of the colour is always severe; butwhen the field is covered with innumerable small figures, it is greatlysoftened. As kilims are much less durable than rugs that have a pile toprotect the warp and weft, it is not surprising that few of great ageremain. The oldest piece of which we have any knowledge is afragment obtained by Dr. M. A. Stein, the archaeological explorer,from the ruins near Kliotan, in Eastern Turkestan, of an ancientsettlement, which was buried by sand drifts about the fourth orfifth century anno domini. The weave is almost identical with thatof modern kilims, and has about fourteen threads of warp and sixteenthreads of weft to the inch. The pattern consists of narrow stripesof blue, green, brownish yellow, and red, containing very smallgeometric designs. With this one exception, so peculiarly preserved,there are probably very few over a century old. Though kilims are now made in most of the districts wherepiled carpets are woven, very few classes are recognised. This. Plate 62. Srinagar Rug KILIMS 279 is because it is difficult to distinguish between most of them, andsuch differences as exist are with few exceptions unimportant. Thebest known classes are the Sehna, Shirvan, Karaman, Kurdish,Turkish, and Merv. The Sehna kilims are usually of small size, and rarely exceed abreadth of four and a half feet and a length of seven. They arefar superior to all others in the delicacy of colour, daintiness ofdesign, quality of material, and character of workmanship. Theirpatterns, including border, are identical with those of the piledrugs; and the colours, to which at a short distance the small figuresof the Herati design give the effect of blending, are the same. Asis not the case with other kilims, the warp is of cotton or linenand there are generally from fourteen to sixteen threads to theinch. The weft is of wool, and to an inch there are often nearlyfifty threads encircling a thread of warp as they cross and
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, bookpublishernewyo, bookyear1922
