The Salon du Tapis d'Orient is a moderated discussion group in the manner of the 19th century salon devoted to oriental rugs and textiles and all aspects of their appreciation. Please include your full name and e-mail address in your posting.
by R. John Howe and Filiberto Boncompagni
Page 3
Do weavers today still weave wagirehs? I couldn’t conveniently ask those in the rug producing areas of Asia for their current practice in this respect but I am a lurker on a practicing weavers’ board called Rugtalk.
I imposed on
them by describing and providing images of the sort of
samplers we are interested in here and asked whether any of them were
weaving
the “wagireh” types for any reason at all.
“Yes I
definitely weave samplers. I have an old Structo Art
Craft 8 harness loom--really
small maybe a foot across
if that but very capable of weaving up anything.
Great
thing is I can just throw
the warp on without a cross set it up and weave a few
inches
to get an idea of the
pattern. I also "weave" samples on the computer
with the
Paint Program, which is
more than adequate for the kind of block weaves I do.
With the computer I can
change the color and pattern quickly but it's just a
general
overview. Actually
weaving the sample--and the whole process only takes a short
time--is extremely
useful. I don't document the results much because I tend to
do one of kind stuff so
it changes every time plus I usually more or less
remember.
“Meredith
Bennett in Virginia which is now as dry as the
Sahara
Weaver
2:
“When weaving rags, often color and stripe combinations
occur by (lucky) chance. When I see something I particularly want to
remember
I'll weave a scrap at the end of the rug, before I start something new.
Also,
I'll weave a small piece of a particularly popular color or stripe
pattern to
show to new customers. With the knotted rag-rya pieces, I weave small
scrap
samples (8"-10") by the warp width to remember what density looks
best. I also wash hand-dyed sample pieces to test the dyes.
Susan Johnson”
Weaver 3:
“John, I work
with natural dyed yarns that are spun for me.
My spin batches run from 20 -30 pounds and I use leceister longwool and
mohair
blends. (I handspin the sample and have a mill spin the yarn). In order
to
judge how much to dye of each spin batch I usually weave up 1 x 1 foot
samples
or perhaps a bit larger. This give me a square foot yield for my weave
structure (not pile but split shed or block weave) and also helps me
figure out
the design proportions to layout my design carton. In other words the #
of
picks per inch that fit the weave structure. It isn't always perfect
but as I
work within each spin batch I am able to tweak my yield per square foot
in
order to maximize my yield and not prep too much natural dyed wools.
Here's my
web page to give you an idea:
http://homepage.mac.com/debmcclintock/PhotoAlbum38.html
”To recap why I
do yield samples:
”Calculate how
much total wool needed for design
Calculate how much to dye
Understand weave
structure and how it relates to my design process
Gives me standard
measurement that I can use to design my cartoon
Documenting the process
also gives me design ideas to use in future projects.
”As a side note
I use stitchpainter, a design program, that enables me to use a
grid based design sheet and turn the grid on and off for design
decisions. I am
able to save my designs electronically and cut and paste designs in
future
rugs. I am able to pick up a screenshot and import it into
photoelements. I
apply a sponge effect to get a pretty good idea of what the design will
look
like when woven. The only time a function like this is necessary if you
need to
show the final product idea to a client. I can visualize it but the
printed
copy really helps communicate. I understand that this is not the
traditional
way and that I could draw it by hand and watercolor it but I prefer to
spend my
time at the loom and dyepot.
”Good luck on your project
Deb McClintock”
Now
I still don’t know for sure what Asian weavers do, but I
think such needs and advantages are characteristic of weavers in
general. I’m
betting that wagirehs have long been and
are still being woven in lots of the areas from which we collect rugs
and
textiles.
So
much for the “historical,” more factual case. What
does logic suggest about when wagirehs
were likely woven?
Well, first, you can see from the testimony of the active
U.S. weavers above that there are lots of aspects of a weaving that are
best
exemplified “in the fabric” so to speak.
Not just designs and colors but the more technical aspects
of a weaving
are really best conveyed with an actual woven sample.
Looking
at it, the weaver can see what the warp set must be,
whether alternative warps are to be level or depressed and if the
latter to
what extent. The
number and color of
wefts between rows of knots can be seen and the amount of weft ease to
be
permitted can be gauged. Even
the
number of plies and especially the twist of the warp, weft and pile can
be
examined directly.
Last
the overall look of the weave desired is there on the
back of the wagireh for comparison. The
usefulness of such information has been there for weavers from the time
the
first shuttle was thrown.
has always existed and has always been the cornerstone for the
economies of
the cultures that produced rugs. Most collectors know of
cartoons, but
there are and have been other methods for supervising weaving in a
workshop. One is a means of using numbers, standing for the
colors, that
is verbally directed. Chanting is also used, perhaps in
conjunction with
these numbers or perhaps independently.
”I know that the ancient zilu pieces were woven by having the
entire design
prepared in advance and I can recall seeing a video of a blind man in a
dark weaving shed executing the design perfectly.
”I ask: Given the extensive history of rug production, why
wouldn't wagirehs
have been used to instruct court, workshop or cottage industry weavers
about color, know density, pile height, end and side finishes as well as
pattern? Are we to suppose that the people who had been
weaving for
thousands of years didn't think of a practical way of instructing
weavers
and that it took Europeans to show how rugs could be woven uniformly?
”Paper cartoons are more fragile than a wagireh and convey
nothing of the
tactile sense. In addition, the colors in a cartoon can never
be accurate
and are apt to change with time. I have a cartoon that Woven
Legends used
for a Heriz-type rug and the colors don't match what one would expect to
actually see in the finished product.
”I tend to take a much broader view of rugs and their
production that do
most collectors. I seldom see in any rug or in any aspect of
rug
production anything that isn't related to rugs or techniques that were
in
use 1,000 - 3,000 years ago.
”I have Erdmann's book but I haven't read the wagireh section
in some time.
…I see that Erdmann makes or cites several arguments for
various uses of a wagireh and some for substantial age of some of them.
I'm not quite certain about nomadic use, but I can't dispute it
either.”
So
there are two arguments concerning the wagireh, a
“historical” on and a “logical”
one.
Both we think suggest the wagirehs have been used by
weavers for a long
time and that their advantages continue to be experienced. We do not think they are,
defensibly, only an
artifact of European operations in rug producing countries.
This is our introductory piece on the wagireh.
There are, undoubtedly, other interesting
examples and additional features and questions that we have not
addressed. We
invite your vigorous participation.
Regards,
R. John Howe and Filiberto Boncompagni