Island Life Magazine Ltd August/September 2011 | Page 36

ANTIQUES ANTIQUES & COLLECTABLES with Philip Hoare F.T.V.I Flying carpets Having recently sold on behalf of a client a very fine Kashan carpet my interest in these pieces has been quite stimulated and I had to carry out the necessary research and found that good pieces of 19th/last half of the 20th Century (earlier pieces are quite rare) are very much sought after as it is a truly international market and prices fo r the best and in good condition exceedingly high. Hand knitted oriental rugs, have an almost continuous recorded history from the 13th/14th Century and techniques employed to make these then were almost exactly the same as used today. The only difference being, all the dyes used were obviously of vegetable or animal origin. Even today there are nomadic tribes using the horizontal looms hand spun yarns and tools (vertical looms are more common today). So very little has changed in 700 years. During the 20th Century new techniques were introduced as the demand grew not in the actual weaving which is still traditional but in the preparatory processes. The yarn is now machine spun, the dyes are synthetic and most rugs are chemically washed which artificially mellows or changes harsh colours. Designs have changed little over the years so modern rugs are in reality only copies of an original design. The main regions for producing carpets and rugs are Persia, Turkey and the Caucasus. In most inventories during the 16th, 17th and 18th Centuries oriental carpets and rugs were referred to as ‘TURKEY CARPETTES’ this was probably because Constantinople (Istanbul) was the main market for export to Europe. The most interesting rugs are prayer rugs. These are made and used by all Antiques - find out what they're really worth VALUATIONS • COMMISSION SALES • RESEARCH 36 www.visitislandlife.com who profess the Muslim faith. Their function was to cover the unclean ground during prayer. Prayer rugs have an arch design or Mihrab which represents the direction of Mecca. Few from the 18th/19th Century have survived in good condition as they were functional and used five times daily for prayer so inevitably they became thin and worn. Other rugs and carpets were used as floor coverings and wall hangings so received much less wear and most of the finer Persian carpets and rugs were only used on special occasions so have survived in better condition. When buying an antique carpet or rug one should avoid uneven wear and threadbare at all costs. Even wear is acceptable as long as it is not worn to the knots; the finer the weave and tighter the knot generally the better the quality. Damaged rugs can be repaired but this can be very expensive. As it is a very skilled task, restorers un-weave old Kelims (flat weave without a pile) and use the old wool where the yarn is long enough to tie the knots. PHILIP HOARE 71 Union Street, Ryde, IW. PO33 2LN TEL: [phone] MOBILE: [phone] EMAIL: [email protected] www.philiphoare.com