| |  This book shows the vast range and quality of carpets woven in Persia from about 1850 to 1980. In addition, there is a discussion of rugs woven in countries or areas adjacent to Persia itself, particularly those rugs that either fell or fall into the Persian geographical or cultural orbit, Caucasian weavings, Turkish and Hereke silk rugs and certain weavings that have strong Persian and Islamic influences. The book is divided into sections dealing with each distinct generic type of rug: Nineteenth and early twentieth century city rugs, covering the major centres - Tabriz, Kashan, Kerman Esfahan, Mashad etc. The same from early twentieth century to the present day and including discussions of the major master-weavers such as Mohtasham of Kashan, the semi-mythical Haji Jalili of Tabriz, Amoghli of Mashad and the well-known later masters such as Sairafian, Haghighi, Mamouri and Hekmatnejad. The rugs and woven artefacts of the settled villages in the major weavings areas from west to east concentrating in particular on the many distinctive weaving areas of western Persia from late nineteenth century to the present day. The rugs and woven artefacts of the nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes of Persia from the late nineteenth century to the present day, with particular emphasis on the north western tribes of Kurds, Shahsavan and Lori; the south western tribes of the Lori-Bakhtiari, Lori, Qashqai, Khamseh and Afshari; the eastern tribes of Kurds, Baluchi and (related groups) and Afshari. A general chapter on the market place, buying and maintenance, display, and a section on structure, dyes etc. with diagrams. Essie Sakhai is a much respected expert and dealer in oriental carpets based in Central London. His first book The Story of Carpets was translated into many languages as was his second book Oriental Carpets: The Buyer’s Guide. The Editor, Ian Bennett, is himself author of numerous books on the subject including Caucasian in the Antique ! Collectors’ Club Oriental Rugs series. |
