Archaeology Magazine - June 1971 - 94

THE
ARCHAEOLOGISTS
BOOKSHELF

Islamic Rugs
by KUDRETH. TURKHAN.Edited by
LYNNETHORNTON.
112 pages, 50 black and white photographs, 18 colorphotographs, 12 figures,
4 maps.Praeger, NewYork 1969$10.00
In the light of the current crop of rug
books, including Mr. Turkhan's effort,
H. G. Dwighs appraisal of the rug
literature of fifty years ago (Persian
Miniatures,New York 1918) seemsnot
onlyan astute evaluationof his own time,
but prophetic. "Wheneverwe are hard
up for amusement..." he begins, "we
turn over our rug books... I must confess that we find it impossibleto take
these volumesvery seriously; not even
the fattest and most expensive . .
(pages 196-197).He goeson to mention
the debt the other rug authors owed to
John Kimberly Mumford ( Oriental
Rugs, New York 1902): ". . . one recognizes. . . Mr. Mumford'sgeneralplan,
Mr. Mumford'sfacts . . . Mr. Mumford's
mistakes, down to his very quotations
and turns of phrase . . ." (page 198).
Finally he explores folk tales promulgated by the rug authors, concluding
that it would be difficultto catalog all
the misinformation". . . which the rug
fraternity hand on from one to another
a
If the romantic tradition were not so
tenacious,one might not be so critical
of the attractive little volume presently
under review. Certainly, of itself, it is
no more deserving of harsh treatment
than its predecessors.In fact, by its brevity and lack of pretensionto comprehensiveness,it avoidsmany of the errors of
other rug books,while the author adds
much warmth and charm by his obviouslypersonalinvolvementand long experiencein the rug world. But in recent
rug literature, one still finds Mr. Mumford's approach very much in evidence,
embellishedperhaps with fresh hearsay,
new twists to the old rug yarns. Like
rumorsonce started, these tales may not
be recognizable when they complete
their circuits and return home, but they
286

shouldnot be mistakenfor freshresearch
or new information.
Dr. May H. Beattie ( Oriental Art,
London, Winter 1968) made a central
point in her reviewof Robert de Calatchi's Oriental Carpets, finding the notion that "... a rug can be assessedon
design alone (is) a view no longer tenable." (page 315). Yet identificationand
dating of rugs in most of the literature
has been on the speculativebasis of design and "feel." Dr. Beattie speaks of
"... a gropingfor hard facts . . ." (page
315), and wants to know, for example,
the spin and ply of the yarns; data one
can sink one's teeth into. The future
researcheris going to have to be trained
to analyze rugs and record the findings
accurately.He is also going to have to
be honest about what he does not know.
Not until observabledata about the rugs
themselvescan be correlated with ascertainable information on tribal and
geographicproduction, will he be able
to make reliableattributions.
In this context, much of the information Mr. Turkhan disseminatesis not
entirely accurate. The primary fault lies
in oversimplification.It is difficult to
sift the useful informationfrom the use-

less, and the errors one knows about
forceone to take the positionDr. Beattie
did concerningde Galatchi, that ". . .
such examplesshake one's confidencein
the reliability of statements on matters
with which one is not personallyfamiliar." (page 315).
The first chapter of Islamic Rugs is
entitled General Backgroundand contains a capsulizedrug history, information on weaving,prayer rugs, color symbolism, etc. The other three chapters,
Persia, Turkey, and Caucasia and Armenia are subdivided into rug types,
often inaccuratelynamed.
Mr. Turkhan is the son-in-lawof the
late Elia Perez, renownedrug trader of
Amsterdam and London, whose collection was published in a handsomevolume by F. Lewisin London, 1953.As a
Turk from the Caucasus whose family
has been involved in rug collectingfor
generationshe seemsto be richly versed
in the traditional rug lore. He loveshis
subject,and perhaps the best parts of his
volume are personal and anecdotal.His
adviceon practical matters, such as purchasingrugs, is undoubtedlyuseful.
Anthony N. Landreau
The TextileMuseum

47-Day Archaeological
EAST -WESTERN
NEAR

Tour
ASIA

Departs: Istanbul Sept. 13, 1971
Returns: Istanbul Oct. 29, 1971
Cost: $2,350.00per person
museums of Turkey, Iran, Afand
sites
Visit the archaeological
ghanistan, India and Nepal. This unique tour will be accompanied by Dr. Andreina L. B. Colonna, Professor of Classics at
San Francisco State College and Lecturer at the University of
California Extension in San Francisco, who will provide expert
to
guidance and extensive explanations. The group will be limited
16 persons with educational qualifications. A reading list is available upon request. For general information and folders contact:
Mr. Joseph Bagnatori
Fugazi/Dana Giusti Travel Agency, Inc.
1 Columbus Ave., San Francisco, Cal. 94111
Telephone: (415) 397-7111

Archaeology Magazine - June 1971

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Archaeology Magazine - June 1971