markand, and silk rugs of old
Persian designs are copied and woven at Caesarea. Some weavers of the
modern silk rug, however, do not have recourse to established designs;
they give play to their imagination, as do the weavers of wool rugs.
Other weavers copy chiefly designs from chintz, and still others work
from designs introduced from Europe.

Mrs. Bishop tells us that silk produced at Resht is brought to Kashan to
be spun and dyed. Then it is sent to Sultanabad to be woven into rugs.
It is next returned to Resht to have the pile cut by the sharp
instruments used for cutting the velvet pile. After the rugs are
finished, they are sent to Teheran to be sold.

FELT RUGS

In the Orient a large and heavy rug is made of felt. This is used
extensively by the natives, but is too heavy to export. Even the
shepherds of the Kotan-Daria and of the Keriya-Daria use it in their
primitive and isolated abodes. Sometimes an old felt rug is propped up
by poles and becomes a tent, in which dwell the shepherds of Central
Asia.

This felt rug is made of the hair of the camel, goat, or sheep, or by a
mixture of all these kinds. It is matted together by heavy and constant
pounding, moistened with water, turned and beaten again and again until
it becomes compact and solid. Sometimes the felts are decorated with
colored threads and often the name of the weaver is woven in. Among the
best felts are those made at Astrabad and Yezd.

In color felts are gray, brown, or white. The last named are woven at
Khotan. No dye is used; the hue is that of the hair of the animal, or
the composite hue resulting from the mixture of the hair of different
animals.

[Illustration: DERBENT RUG

SIZE, 7.2 x 4.6

As a representative Derbent rug, this is an excellent example. It has
the soft thick texture and long pile characterizing this product of the
Caucasus. The entire dark blue field is covered with well-proportioned
lozenge-shaped forms, distinctly outlined with serrated lines. Every
centre has a cross of a color contrasting with the form containing it.
The main border stripe is geometrical, with a variety of the hook
design. Several floral devices are arranged in the maroon stripes on
either side the wide one. There is a good deal of lustre to the rug, and
the coloring is particularly charming in fine blues, soft rose, fawn,
copper brown, subdued yellows, ivory, and rich green.

OWNED BY MRS. ARTHUR DANE WHEELER, CHICAGO.]

The felts ha