The following is an article that appeared in the Cape Cod Times on Sunday, March 11, 2001
Book on Oriental Rugs tells stories to armchair adventurers
by Thom Aldert, contributing writer
We are locked in the dreary time of the year. February has become March, but the days are still short and wan, nights still long and cold, and spring remains an act of faith, if not hope. If you can't buy a plane ticket and escape it, then escapism becomes a virtue.
Enter John B. Gregorian of Chatham and Wayland, and his new book, Oriental Rugs of the Silk Route. If that's not a title to stir the soul of any armchair adventurer in these wintry times, then none exists.
Gregorian's object in writing the book was to share his passion. "I wanted to infect people with a love for Oriental rugs - for what they are, where they come from, who makes them, the culture that's behind them," he says during a recent interview in his family's summer home in Chatham.
Gregorian's is a passion born of a lifetime of involvement with the rugs. His family has been in the business since 1934, when his father Arthur founded one of the country's oldest and largest Oriental rug companies, Arthur T. Gregorian, Inc., of Newton Lower Falls.
Choosing rugs for 40 years
Since the age of 17, when he began traveling regularly to Middle Eastern
bazaars with his father seeking stock in trade, John, now 59, has gathered
a deep understanding of the culture, customs and aesthetic values of the
Middle East.
The book is a distillation of his experiences. "The book just really flowed. I sort of sat down and wrote it," he says. "The difficult time was in putting it together with everything," such as the photos and editing. Part coffee table book, part art book, Oriental Rugs of the Silk Route is handsomely produced, with 160 illustrations, practically all of them in color, and has numerous full-page illustrations of oriental rugs. By Oriental rugs, Gregorian means handmade rugs. A machine-made Oriental, he says, is like linoleum. "It happens to be decorative and pretty, but it's perfect - it doesn't have a soul. A handmade Oriental rug has a soul. It's warm and inviting."
Suspend the idea of perfect rug
The first key to understanding Oriental rugs, according to Gregorian,
is to suspend western notions of what the rugs are. "It's not just
something beautiful that you put on the wall or on the floor and look
at every day," he says. "It's deeper than that." For instance,
many of the rugs shown in the book are, by western standards, 'imperfect'.
They seem crudely made, with wide variations in color and symmetry.
"Why is that design a little bigger than the one on the opposite side," he asks. "That's all part of their culture, that's part of handwork," he says, answering his own question. "In our culture, we strive for perfection," he says. "In the Middle East, there's no such thing. They don't understand that. What difference does it make...if the colors are different? What difference does it make if something is not 'perfect'? Only Allah is perfect. So they don't strive for that." Nevertheless, the roots go much deeper than can be explained by the differences between Christian and Islamic cultures. "Where the roots are, I don't know. They're both beautiful trees, but they are very different trees," he says with a hint of a smile.
Book offers history
In the book, Gregorian takes up more practical matters as well. He notes
that Oriental rugs used to be called Persian rugs. Persia changed its
name to Iran in 1927, but the two names do not describe the exact same
boundaries. For example, antique rugs from Agra and Mirzapur in India,
once dominated by Persia, can be as valuable as any from Iran.
"When the Shah of Iran was deposed in 1978 and US access to rugs woven in Iran was cut off, many Americans began to attribute a value to Iranian that was not deserved," he says. "Any poor quality Iranian rugs commanded premium prices because dealers could truthfully claim the rugs were from the city or village from which they derived their names - Keshan, Kerman, Bidjar and Tabriz - the heart of Iran's rug weaving trade."
Nowadays, he says, Turkey and India produce the bulk of Oriental rugs for the US and European markets, and these rugs can be of extremely high quality in materials used, craftsmanship, and aesthetics. "Turkey is preserving its unique designs and traditions with a passion that borders on national policy. There are even college degree programs on rug art and rugmaking management," Gregorian says in the book.
India's involvemont with the production of Oriental rugs runs deep too. Gregorian says in the book that rug-weaving there began as an export industry during the takeover by Mughal (Mogul) emperors from Persia in the early 16th Century. Initially, the export was back th Persia, but by 1611, the records of the East India Company show the beginnings of British trade in these rugs.
Color crucial in picking rugs
While such matters of history and politics are important, they are not
central to the purpose of the book, which is to make the aesthetics of
the Oriental rug accessible, particularly for someone coming to Oriental
rugs for the first time. If you are considering a machine made rug, "you
owe it to yourself to go out and look at handmade, and see if you get
that (warm and inviting) feeling. If you do, then you need this book,"
Gregorian says. So should you use the book to pick an Oriental rug on
your trip to the Middle East? Gregorian's answer is a quick "no,"
just as quickly followed by an explanation.
He points out first of all that whether or not you intend to buy a rug in the Middle East, you're going to be tempted by the merchants anyway. So go ahead and buy a small rug as a memento of the trip, he says, but don't buy your living room rug. There are three reasons, he says. "Color, color, and color. The colors have to be what people want and what they use, and (rugmakers) are very aware of the colors that are desirable in the United States, which is their biggest market, but they are also savvy about what colors are in Europe - and they are not the same."
Usually, the carpets found in the bazaars are carpets that did not make it for export, he says. Since the buyer has no way of knowing what market the carpet in the bazaar was intended for, you will probably end up with a carpet that doesn't fit with your American home color palette.
Sniff, wiggle toes before buying
Gregorian offers these tips on evaluating an Oriental rug:
Take a good look
Knot count, whether the rug was dyed with aniline of vegetable dyes, and
the country and city of origin are important factors to consider when
making a rug purchase. But what matters most is how the design and construction
all work together to create a feeling that makes the rug come alive and
have a soul. A tribal rug with a bold pattern will not have the same knots-per
inch as an elaborate piece, but that does not mean the tribal rug is less
aesthetically pleasing or less valuable. Likewise, aniline-dyed oriental
rugs are no less "genuine" than rugs using vegetable dyes.
Feel the rug
Take off your shoes and walk all over the rug to feel it under foot. Stroke
the rug with your hand, first one way to raise the nap, then go the other
way to go with the grain. When going in the direction of the nap, the
rug should feel supple: when going against the nap, the rug should have
some resistance to it. The rug should not be dry or brittle, but have
a certain smoothness, an almost creamy feeling. Overall, there should
be a sensuousness to the whole process.
Smell the rug
It should have a rich, pleasant aroma, a combination of wool and lanolin,
perhaps with a hint of salt water, if the rug is new. Avoid rugs with
an acrid aroma, as this may only intensify after you bring it home.
Use your heart and head
Buying an Oriental rug requires both emotion and intellect. A rug should
appeal to you on an emotional level. Don't be rushed into making your
decision; work only with dealers who allow you to bring a rug home for
several days before making a decision. Don't be taken in by going-out-of-business
sales, either. After all, if you buy a rug from someone who is going out
of business, where will you go if you have a problem?
Be daring
Don't be afraid to suspend all of the design rules when it comes to mixing
patterns and colors. Mix boldly patterned window treatments and upholstery
with an intricate rug. Try a tribal rug with big geometric shapes in a
formal living room.
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This Canakkeli rug, from a village south of Istanbul, is one of dozens pictured in Oriental Rugs of the Silk Route by John B. Grgeorian
Path of the caravans recalled...
Weaving an intricate rug requires a full palette of colors and a cartoon close at hand.
Shoppers at the Kolesksiyon Auction House in Istanbul