rjhowe@erols.com
My first piece is the Met animal carpet. (ORR, cover, June/July, 92) I
like its simplicity and I'm a sucker for compartment (or seeming
compartment) designs. As a Turkmen collector, it has too many borders for
me. Perhaps it's only late 11th or 12th century.  My second piece is just one of
the wonderful "yellow ground" rugs from the Konya area. (Look at the
entire Orient Stars yellow ground Konya section, it's in there.) Again, a
primitive simplicity of design, wonderful colors, and some medallions to
warm the heart of a Turkomaniac. The border in this piece is not at the
level of some of the other pieces in the yellow ground group and the end
treatment only average. Still, it's a rug that seems to me to have real
punch.  My third piece is
Mughal. (Flower Underfoot, page 111) Only a fragment, it is one of the
most gloriously sumptuous designs I have seen (and to think that Cecil
Edwards liked mere Kermans). One wonders how a person could take the
complete piece in. Wonderfully complex drawing, vibrant colors, and
sophisticated color use. And pashima wool that permits a thousand or two
knots per square inch (I didn't check) and must have been addictive under
bare or slippered feet. A very urban red ground rug that a Turkmen
collector can truly love. 
I'm sure there are seven more I could dig out but I need to catch a plane
- to London. Regards, R. John Howe |