Posted by Steve Price on February 05, 1999 at 07:18:52:
In Reply to: nude figures posted by Christoph Huber on February 03, 1999 at 17:15:54:
Dear Christoph and Friends,
The thread on nudity and genital representations in rugs reminds me that there is at least one school of thought that takes the position that sexual imagery is a central element in many oriental rugs. John and Susan Douglas' book (I believe the title is THE HIDDEN LANGUAGE, although I'm not positive about that) argues this perspective. For example, they believe that the arch on many "prayer design" rugs actually represents an erect penis, and that much of the other iconography is encoded instructions for sexual practices.
This, to understate matters, is not a very widely accepted view. But that doesn't prove it wrong (and, I hasten to add, it isn't evidence that it's right, either).
Steve Price