Posted by Irwin Kirsch on May 21, 1999 at 11:07:12:
In Reply to: Best Book on Caucasian Rugs posted by Jerry Silverman on May 14, 1999 at 12:47:41:
For beginners, after reading Eiland & Eiland's "Oriental Rugs--A Complete Guide" and determining that you would like to get a better understanding of Caucasian rugs, I highly recommend Ian Bennett's "Oriental Rugs: Volume 1--Caucasian". While the over 300 color plates are just so-so, he gives numerous examples for each weaving region, shows how to distinguish older vs. newer rugs, and describes why some rugs within the same weaving group are better than others. For better color plates, I recommend the "bible" of Caucasian rug books, Ulrich Schermann's "Caucasian Rugs". My third purchase would be Peter Stone's "Rugs Of The Caucasus: Structure And Design". This excellent survey, which contains no color plates, but line drawings and graphs, breaks down the major Caucasian weaving regions by showing the differences in structure. It provides a practical handle for determining Caucasian region attribution. This is critical, since many designs in different regions are similar, this book will help you pinpoint the area by looking at the back of the rug. It should be used in conjuction with the previously listed books. Finally, Ralph Kaffel's "Caucasian Prayer Rugs", written in large format with excellent color plates will further enhance ones knowledge. The fantastic text, particularly the notes and structural details as well as references to similar rugs (many found in the Bennet and Schurmann books) provides extroadinarily great details on these prayer rugs.
Regards,
Irwin