The Beluch

Ralph,

Your introduction said:
Sharing is one of the joys of collecting.
I would like to thank you and Linda for sharing part of your collection with those who were able to see them in person at ACOR7 and also with us here on Turkotek. It takes a lot of time and energy to do this and there are many of us who appreciate it a lot.
And the variety that you have shared with us here gives us a chance to compare what we have with what you have shared with us here.

The first piece you have shown is the Beluch (also spelled Belouch and when it was in the Amstey collection, Baluch. Three rugs for the price of one!)
The border almost looks as though the weaver dropped the camel-colored mihrab onto the top of the red-colored field. It is as though there is no border. I wonder if there is a rug with this rosette-and-geometric-form as a field design? The rosettes almost appear like SW Persian designs. Baluch rugs usually have a carnation, serrated-edge rosette instead. Was there a tribe of wandering Lurs that got lost in Afghanistan? Maybe they were visiting Mashad and dropped off a few rugs.
Was this rug woven from "the top down"? It almost appears that way, with the motif at the top of the arch properly placed, yet the top of the field is a bit haphazard. And like many Kurdish rugs, the designs at the edges of the field are quite varied. Even the rectangles at the junctions of the lattice have many different interior designs.
If you only brought one Baluch, this was a good, unusual one!

Patrick Weiler

Hi Patrick,
I don't know if Ralph will see this, so I'll answer the one question: it was woven from the bottom up; just as it hangs. Probably was a mistake selling that rug, but I'm glad that Ralph got it at a Skinner auction.
mMarvin

Darn!

Marvin,

There is only one rug I regret selling, a mid 19th century Aydin kilim about 10 feet long.
But I have a whole pile of rugs I would gladly part with!

Patrick Weiler

Patrick,

Interesting observations. While this is not a typical Beluch border
design, a nearly identical border appeared on this similar, secular Beluch offered on E-Bay in October 2002.