surroundings: nothing looks so out
of place as one of these costly fabrics of the loom in a poor setting.
They are more suitable for decorative purposes and museums than for
service; they should be used as hangings, not for floor coverings. An
exquisite silk rug interwoven with pearls is hung before the famous
Peacock Throne of the Shah at Teheran, Persia.

The most magnificent silk rugs have been woven in China, and these are
interesting from every point of view, especially as regards history,
color, and texture. The silk rugs of Khotan are remarkable for their
beauty and fineness; on important occasions of state and ceremony the
Chinese place them upon the table. Silk carpets of special beauty worked
with gold threads are made in Pekin for the Imperial Palace, although
many of this kind found at the Court are said to be of Central Asiatic
origin.

In making silk rugs, the greatest care is necessary in the shading.
Sometimes the shading of woollen rugs is made more effective by the
addition of silk.

[Illustration: PERSIAN SILK RUG

SIZE, 5.8 x 4.12

_This remarkable rug in some lights suggests the heart of a forest. Some
of its sections indicate Chinese inspiration, and recall, too, the
famous Hunting Rugs. The field is in an unusual shade of reddish bronze,
with a strong metallic lustre. In certain lights the surface looks like
a mass of gleaming gold. In the centre stands the Tree of Life, its
branches rich with foliage, among which birds of bright plumage seem to
flutter. At the base of the tree two wild animals are depicted,
apparently in search of prey. In the corner area at the top of the rug
two serpents are attacking young birds in a nest, which is guarded by an
agitated parent bird. On either side at the base of the rug is a cypress
tree. Across the top is an inscription in Arabic._

OWNED BY MRS. EMMONS BLAINE, CHICAGO.]

As the demand for silk rugs is comparatively small, they are seldom
woven on speculation. When made to order in Persia, they cost from ten
dollars to fifteen dollars per square foot; thus the usual price of a
silk rug of Persian make is from two hundred dollars up to thousands of
dollars. Those made in Turkey can be bought much cheaper.

The Turkoman silk rugs are generally twice the size of the usual sheep's
wool or camel's hair rugs. They are very fine, and often two hundred
dollars is paid for a rug of this kind eight feet square.

Rugs made of raw silk are exported from Sa