Posted by Erol Abit on February 16, 1999 at 02:47:25:
In Reply to: Rug #1 posted by Wendel Swan on February 15, 1999 at 16:48:52:
: The colors are very unpleasant and I find it difficult to believe that they are all natural. The yellow is very strong and may be from weld, which is common in Anatolia and is not light sensitive as is yellow from saffron. The yellow may suggest a Central Anatolian origin rather than Western Anatolia. Rugs from around Konya frequently have pronounced yellows that are not sensitive to light. Those from Western Anatolia, particularly northwest, generally have yellows that will fade upon prolonged exposure to light. (By the way, Konya is considered to be in Central Anatolia even though it is in the West, just as Ohio is considered Midwest even though it is in the East. Go figure.)
: The gray wool wefts are yet another indication that this was a cheaply made product. Traditionally, the wefts from northwest Turkey are red, although certainly other colors can be found, but gray is not among them.
: It is difficult to make some judgments without seeing the rug, but it probably has indigo sulfonic for the blue. Some abrash suggests that the red may also have been made with dyes in the fuchsine group, but my experience is that indigo sulfonic is generally not found in the same rugs with fuchsine. What Daniel has described as an "unusual bluish green" with tip fading is most likely indigo sulfonic. Indigo itself, although it may wear off, basically doesn't fade much at all.
: It is also possible that the rug may have been chemically treated to soften the colors. Regardless of how it came to be what it now is, it holds little appeal for me. If this is a mystery rug, it is because it is of a commercial type that has never been cherished and therefore has not researched, collected or documented. In essence, except to know what to avoid, there is little purpose in knowing what this is.
: I can see no relationship between Mystery rug #1 and the other two Turkish rugs shown. Admittedly, the 13th Century Seljuk rug bears a remote general resemblance (essentially red octagonal motifs on a cream ground) to Rug #1 (essentially red hexagonal motifs on a cream ground) and both were probably made in Anatolia, but there the similarities end. The rug detail from Hali has even less relevance......
: Wendel
Dear Wendel,
I want to ask a question. You are relating the colors to the areas. How do you do that? I mean are you (rug experts) using your experiences about common colors of each region or are your these color&area relations based on some facts? For example, you said that "the yellow may suggest a Central Anatolian origin rather than Western Anatolia". Why may the yellow suggest this area?
Regards,
Erol
ps. Sorry about interrupting the discussion by an irrelevant post to current topic.