42
Central Design 42
Four Characteristic Caucasian Designs 42
Fylfot, or Swastika 42
Guli Hinnai 43
Lotus 43
Medallion 43

RUGS

I

HISTORY AND DETAILS OF RUG-WEAVING

_Fair warp and fitting woof
Weave a web that bideth proof._

MOTTO OF THE CANTERBURY WEAVERS.

RUGS

ORIENTAL AND OCCIDENTAL ANTIQUE AND MODERN

I

THE HISTORY AND DETAILS OF RUG-WEAVING

The History

Rugs, in the house beautiful, impart richness and represent refinement.
Their manufacture was one of the earliest incentives for the blending of
colors in such harmony as to please the eye and satisfy the mind;
consequently, it is one of the most important of the industrial arts.
Since the days when ancient peoples first lay down to sleep wrapped in
the skins of animals, the human intelligence has quickened, and as the
race has become more civilized, rugs have gradually taken the place of
skins. Thus began the industry of rug-weaving, and it has grown to such
an extent that it is now of world-wide importance.

The word _Rug_ is used in this volume in the following sense: "A
covering for the floor; a mat, usually oblong or square, and woven in
one piece. Rugs, especially those of Oriental make, often show rich
designs and elaborate workmanship, and are hence sometimes used for
hangings," In several books rugs and carpets are referred to as
identical. In fact most written information on rugs has been catalogued
under the term _carpets_; and there seems to be good reason for assuming
that the terms _tapestries_ and _carpets_, as used in ancient times,
were synonymous with the word _rugs_ of the present day, for these were
spread loosely on the floor without the aid of fastenings.

Historical references to spinning and to the weaving of tapestries date
back to a very early period. An ancient Jewish legend states that
Naamah, daughter of Lamech and sister of Tubal-Cain, was the inventor of
the spinning of wool and of the weaving of thread into cloth.

On at least two of the wonderful rock-cut tombs at Beni-Hassan, in
Egypt,--2800-2600 B.C.,--there are pictures of weavers at work. I