Book Description
"One of the most useful books to cover the whole of the field...Mr. Ford is to be congratulated on having produced a work that should stand the test of time."—Carpet Review Weekly
In this comprehensive survey, P. R. J. Ford shows readers how to recognize the different structural and design features of oriental rugs and carpets. The designs are grouped according to their essential characteristics. This approach illuminates the cultural background of each, revealing at once the similarities and the differences between the various carpet-weaving areas
Illustrations of modern types, with descriptions of their key characteristics—construction, materials, sizes, colors—and of the clues that establish a rug's precise origins, appear together with a balanced appraisal of the qualities of modern production from towns, villages, and tribal areas. Extensive cross-referencing and detailed indexes make this an invaluable reference guide for dealers and collectors, and for anyone who has an appreciation of and interest in rugs. 800+ illustrations and photographs, 400 in color.
Customer Reviews:
Oriental Carpet Design.......2007-02-17
This is an excellent book to find all the information one needs on Persian and Oriental carpets. Very informative, and beautiful colour plates.
This is a terrific resource.......2005-08-11
This book has the best information I've found on distinguing one type of rug from another. Many books give information about the major types of rugs...they're a dime a dozen. Ford breaks everything down into what specific tribes and villages weave, and tells us what the weavers use for warps and wefts, distinguishing colors, area motifs and designs, and more.
This book is definitely academic in nature, but this is exactly the kind of fact-filled information I've been searching for. I had thought I would find it in Peter Stone's works, but even Stone's 2004 book on motifs does not come close to what Ford did twenty years ago. I currently own about 50 books on oriental rugs, and Ford's book offers the most comprehensive, detailed information of any of them.
If you want to move from being a novice to becoming a more knowledgeable buyer and rug lover, you will want this book.
An Excellent Textbook.......2004-07-21
I collect Oriental rugs and Oriental rug books. This book is not for the beginner, but is meant for in-depth study of the subject of Oriental rugs. As you read you are directed to other pages for study and comparison. This is a time consuming but valuable process. If one wants to really study Oriental rugs this book can elevate you from beginner to a person who is comfortable with the subject and able to talk with experts. I used this book as a self teaching text book and loved it.
Wonderful!.......2003-11-23
I bought this book after going to the library and checking out a number of carpet books - I was looking for a reference that would teach me some of the history of rug making and the people who make these incredible pieces of art as well as the practical side such as what to look for in a rug. This book is great at teaching about the different types of rugs. There are color pictures on every page, there are drawings of specific patterns so you can see specifically what make a rug one type rather than another, there are uncommon examples of types of rugs shown, etc. Its quite a good book (which is why I bought it after returning the library copy). This book is ok at teaching about the history/people or about how to tell a good quality rug - the intro goes into some good detail about things like knot types, weaves, use of synthetic dyes, chinese rugs etc but it's a fanatsic guide to decoding the different traditional motifs and patterns. I'm giving it 4 stars rather than 5 only because the text is so dry and they don't really give the stories - they give more dry facts such as this type of rug was woven in this manufacturing/village setting in x,y,z town. It would have been niceto have more details about the people and about the symbolism of the motifs. But, like I said, I knew all that before I bought the book since I had checked t out at the library. I use this book to augment others that I ended up buying that do tell more of the stories.
Good.......2003-10-21
Bought with 'Oriental Carpets; A Complete Guide'. I like both, they compliment each other. But if had to pick, would take 'Complete Guide'.
Book Description
The history of textiles, more than that of any other artifact, is the history of human ingenuity. From the earliest needles of 25,000 years ago to techno textiles used in Space Shuttle parachutes today, textiles have been fundamental to human existence and achievements, and have informed developments in other areas from agriculture to metallurgy. Textiles are global commodities, common to every culture and for a long time the motivation for trade, the exchange of ideas, and sometimes even conflict. Silks from China, carpets from Persia, ikats from Indonesia, cottons from India, fine linens from Flanders—each of these has helped to shape the modern world.
This groundbreaking book surveys, from prehistory to the early twenty-first century, how textiles are made, what they are made from, how they function in society, the ways in which they are valued and given meaning, and the messages they contain. The author shows the intricate relationships between different cultures' textile traditions and demonstrates the significance of the materials we all take for granted in our everyday lives. 204 illustrations, 100 in color.
Amazon.com
In Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kashmir, Iran, Iraq, and the Central Asian republics, carpets are viewed as objects of reverence and expressions of the highest artistic achievement. As the region's second largest export behind oil, they are also big business. "The early Muslims inhabited lands where people were born on carpets, prayed on them, and covered their tombs with them. For centuries, carpets have been a currency and an export, among the first commodities of a globalized trading system," writes author Christopher Kremmer. Even in the midst of turmoil and war, a bazaar will spring up during breaks in the fighting and carpet merchants will quickly resume business as if nothing had happened. In this detailed look at the culture and recent history of these countries, the carpet trade serves as both backdrop and metaphor for the shadowy and complex politics of the region in which trickery, illusion, and manipulation are part of the game.
The result of 10 years spent as a journalist in the region, Kremmer's book explains how the fragile web of tribal and religious alliances and the influence of outside powers have impacted the politics and economy of the area and began a continuous cycle of exile and return, along with the rise of militarism and terrorism. The book also serves as excellent travel writing, with fascinating anecdotes and telling conversations and encounters that illustrate the customs of a region that is now the focus of international attention. --Shawn Carkonen
Book Description
Apart from oil, rugs are the Muslim world's best-known commodity. While rugs are found in most Western homes, the story of religious, political, and tribal strife behind their creation is virtually unknown. In The Carpet Wars, award-winning journalist Christopher Kremmer chronicles his fascinating ten-year journey along the ancient carpet trade routes that run through the world's most misunderstood and volatile regions -- Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, India, Pakistan, and the former Soviet republics of Central Asia.Christopher Kremmer's odyssey through the crescent of Islamic nations began in the early 1990s, when he arrived in Afghanistan to meet the communist-backed president, Mohammed Najibullah. On the outskirts of Kabul, mujahideen rebels were massing while the carpet dealers of the old city continued to ply their timeless trade. Kremmer was in Kabul when the mujahideen turned their guns on one another after ridding the country of the hated communists. He was there when the Taliban came and the army of religious students -- aided by the wealthy Arab radical Osama bin Laden -- emerged from the scorched earth to implement their vision of "a pure Islamic state."Traveling through these territories, Kremmer chronicles Islamic societies as they were convulsed by dictatorship and greed and as refugees sought asylum in the West. He cemented lifelong friendships and met an unforgettable cast of characters, from nomads toiling on portable handlooms to shady merchants and leaders of the syndicates that control the bazaars. In the remote Hindu Kush, he celebrated Eid with the late Afghan guerrilla legend Ahmad Shah Massoud. In Kandahar, he took tea with Taliban leaders and went hunting for Osama bin Laden. He watched as a new generation questioned the power of the mullahs in Iran, while in Iraq the populace chafed under the weight of sanctions and Saddam Hussein's cult of personality.The Carpet Wars takes readers into a world where even the simplest motif on a rug can be filled with religious, tribal, and political significance, places where life bustles with bargaining and gossip in bazaars and teahouses, while nations crumble, leaders fall, and the final confrontation between freedom and terror looms.An edge-of-the-chair travel memoir, The Carpet Wars offers a personal, vivid, and revealing look at Islam's human face, wracked by turmoil but sustained by friendship, industry, and humor. It is also a historical snapshot of countries at the center of global confrontation that exploded onto the homefront on September 11, 2001.
Customer Reviews:
Unusual look at the Middle East.......2006-01-17
This is one of those books that purports to be about something, and at some levels is actually about something pretty much unrelated. The next most important industry after oil in the Middle East is carpets. The author, Kremmer, is a journalist who spent a decade travelling around the region, reporting on various events for Australian new agencies of one sort or another. This is his story of his love affair with carpets, which turns into a pretty serious study of their styles, manufacture, sale and trade, and of the significance of these items in Muslim culture. While the oil is irrelevant to Muslims, except in terms of the money it generates, carpets can tell a lot about the heritage of the Muslim world.
For the most part, this is interesting, and there's a lot to learn about Muslims and carpets. Only towards the end of the book does the author begin to veer into actual politics, and then, of course, he turns out to think that American policy in the Middle East is too agressive (this was late in the Clinton years...one shudders to think what his opinions are now). Thankfully, he at least hates Saddam Hussein and the mullahs who run Iran (journalists typically don't like governments that restrict freedom of the press, regardless of whatever else they do).
This one proviso aside, there's a lot of intersting material here, and the book is well-written, the characters drawn interestingly, and the settings well-rendered. I would recommend this book.
Tourism as history.......2006-01-07
Hand-woven carpets are one of the few products that Central Asia has consistently exported to the rest of the world, and by which the rest of the world knows of central Asia. As such, a traversal of the routes and bazaars that comprise the carpet trade would take one through many of the important places in Central Asia. Likewise, dealing with those involved in the trade would give insight into the history, economics and culture of those living in this area. This then is the subject of this book.
The author travels the bazaars and trade routes of Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Kashmir looking for carpets. While doing so, his interactions with the locals open up a whole world of history, culture, religion, food, and habits that are alien to those in the west. Whether it is how to barter over goods, or the proper way to greet an older woman, the stories told by Mr. Kremmer bring to life places that many of us will never visit, yet that comprises a large part of this world both spatially and historically.
The author intersperses his accounts with character studies of the various individuals he meets, side stories to fill in local histories, and editorials that connect what he seens in these far-off places to what occurs in Washington D.C. and the stockmarkets of the West. Overall, a great travel book, a great history book, and a great story that is told. I highly recommend this book.
Painless Education.......2004-07-09
The Carpet Wars is a sampler of informal writing from Australian journalist (and avid carpet collector) Christopher Kremmer over ten years in Central Asia. Since most of it was written, and concerns events, before 9/11, when the area was not established in the West's cultural radar as it is today, it gives a view of the region that is uncluttered by hindsight reevaluations.
Kremmer writes of his time in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikstan, Kashmir, and Iran, giving us colorful and non-journalistic slices of life from each region. He enlivens his writings with vivid character studies of those he met on his travels, from dignitaries like ill-fated Afghan dictator Mohammed Najibullah and legendary guerilla Ahmad Shah Massoud to various carpet dealers Kremmer got to know over his time in the region. Between these character sketches and Kremmer's anecdotes, he delivers measured doses of regional history and politics, and he imparts a surprising amount of information about his favorite hobby, the Asian carpet.
The result is more than just some very entertaining travel writing. Kremmer's lively and discursive work also functions as an excellent introduction to the Central Asian economy and politics. Besides being for those who just like to read about travel in interesting foreign parts, The Carpet Wars will also be useful for non-scholars who want to have some idea how movements like the Taliban came to be, but want to take a spoonful of sugar with this medicine.
(Kremmer's book also taught me that I'll never know enough to bargain effectively for an Asian carpet -- but his rueful and wry work also admits that there is a certain pleasure in being cheated.)
One of the best travel books I have ever read.......2004-03-13
I finished this book about six weeks ago, and I can't stop thinking about it.
So often travel literature-type books by westerners in these kinds of far-off places can be either too clever, cynical or condescending at one end of the scale, or, at the other end too reverent, with a reverence that seems to really be an I-hate-where-I-am-from complex. Both extremes can get tiring pretty quickly.
The Carpet Wars was exactly in the middle, and it was fascinating. It was extremely informative about the history, politics, religion and, yes, even the carpets of the region from Pakistan to Iran. Carpets were merely the thread (so to speak) that held the several first-hand accounts of travels to the region.
Kremmer is a master story teller, and very funny. Sometimes it was hard to tell what was more enjoyable, the story he was telling or the way he was telling it.
His accounts of places with which he is very familiar are told in the rich tones of a deep affection. When he is in a new place, like Isfahan, the account is in the vivid colors of someone seeing something for the first time, creating some of the best travel essays I have ever read. Seven weeks ago, Isfahan was just an exotic name to me, now it's at the top of places I hope I can see before I die.
Its hard to say what recommends this book more, the fact that it is throughly enjoyable, or deeply infomrative.
I haven't read Mr. Kremmer's book about Laos, but it is probably pretty good. Books like The Carpet Wars don't stick with you so long by accident.
Original & Interesting.......2004-03-02
This is a great book! The author is not just riding the wave of interest surrounding the 9 11 incident. It looks at the Central Asian region form a very different point of view than any book I have read. The writing style is fast paced and easy to read, the author really knows this area of the world first hand. If you are interested in carpets you will find lots to interest you also. ( I don't know the first thing about carpets)
If you read it you will enjoy it!
Average customer rating:
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Great Carpets of the World
Susan Day
Manufacturer: Thames & Hudson
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Customer Reviews:
The seductive poetry of oriental rugs.......2007-08-09
Brian Murphy's book begins rather slowly but then picks up in interest and even excitement. It is a rich and well documented history, replete with intricacies and exciting revelations. The author allows not to be a carpet connaisseur but he is quick to learn and has evidently done a lot of research to compensate his lacks. It is also well written and quietly evocative. I have two comments to add:
The Qasqua'i (whose tribal carpets have captivated Mr. Murphy) begun their historical treck as Georgian-speaking tribes (see Suny RG, The making of the Georgian nation, 1994, p.4). The vagaries of history made them adopt, first a Turkish dialect and now, living in Iran, Farsi--another example of discordances between ethnic identity and linguistics. But the Qashqa'i carpets poetically and artistically commemorate their past and their history.
A Christian Armenian was involved in the history of madder, but he is generally labeled "Iranian," since more famous cultures always obscure the contributions of lesser known ones. His name was "Jean Althen... [an] Iranian [!] who introduced the cultivation of madder... into Southern France... [H]e was born in a village he spells "Chaouch." He lost his parents during the Afghan invasion and was taken as a slave to Kayseri in Anatolia, where he learned cotton cultivation and dyeing. In about 1736 he escaped to France, where he was received by Louis XV in Versailles...[I]n southern France... he began to cultivate Oriental madder; this proved so successful that madder soon became a main crop of the region... [I]n 1846... his efforts honored, by the erection of his statue on the rock of Notre Dame des Doms.(See http://www.iranica.com/ newsite /articles/v1f9/v1f9a005.html).
There are two interesting asides to this story.
One concerns the species of madder that he brought into France. Was it Rubia peregrina L., or R. tinctorum L.? I believe its the latter (whose root is also known as "racine d'Armenie), found more commonly in the Orient and the source of red madder.
The other is the fact that Dominican monks from Smyrna probably encouraged and helped d'Althen to escape from Kaiseri, carrying madder seeds with him, to reach France, bringing a product henceforth a monopoly of the Ottoman Empire, with Oriental punishments awaiting those caught "stealing" it.
In any event, read this book. It is an almost magical introduction to the poetry of Oriental carpets. On second thought, I'll give it four stars and a half.
Poor Book.......2007-07-19
This book is low-brow and poorly written. It could have been such a wonderful narrative, but Mr. Murphy fell so short. His knowledge of carpets is minimal, and his views on the region are myopic.
The Root of Wild Madder.......2007-01-11
Really interesting for anyone interested in Textiles. Brian Murphy, while searching for the dye source (Wind Madder) gives the reader a fascinating view into parts of the world that are now inaccessible for most of us.
His information on the guls (patterns) and how they used to link a fabric to a village then an area then a country is invaluable as this is rapidly dissapearing as modern communications and transportation blur this way of placing a pice of fabric.
The blend of travelogue journey and carpet facts works exceptionally well .......2007-01-07
Devotees of the Persian carpet have had numerous carpet buyer's guides and histories in the past, but ROOT OF WILD MADDER; CHASING THE HISTORY, MYSTERY, AND MORE OF THE PERSIAN CARPET is something different: a journey which follows the Persian carpet from remote Afghanistan and Iranian villages where they're often woven by young girls to bazaars which trade them, artists which revere them, and US carpet showrooms which display them for sale. Carpets are dyed often by the madder plant which lends them brilliant reds - but the color and dyers' traditions threaten to die back, and reporter Brian Murphy is just as determined to capture the magic, methods and allure of these carpets in his survey of the Persian carpet. The blend of travelogue journey and carpet facts works exceptionally well in THE ROOT OF WILD MADDER, lending it accessibility even to those without a consuming passion for Persian rugs.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
Informative & personable - GREAT.......2006-09-29
I've been a carpet collector (primarily tribal piece) for well over 20 years; this book spoke to me as some carpets speak to me! I'm especially grateful for the quotes attributed to Hossein Payghambary of Nomad carpet shop in Isfahan. I rarely read a book more than once BUT this has drawn me to do so because of the rich text and the author's compassion for his subject. This is MUST read for anyone with a heart for carpets.
Product Description
This report was created for global strategic planners who cannot be content with traditional methods of segmenting world markets. With the advent of a borderless world, cities become a more important criteria in prioritizing markets, as opposed to regions, continents, or countries. This report covers the top 2000 cities in over 200 countries. It does so by reporting the estimated market size (in terms of latent demand) for each major city of the world. It then ranks these cities and reports them in terms of their size as a percent of the country where they are located, their geographic region (e.g. Africa, Asia, Europe, Middle East, North America, Latin America), and the total world market. In performing various economic analyses for its clients, I have been occasionally asked to investigate the market potential for various products and services across cities. The purpose of the studies is to understand the density of demand within a country and the extent to which a city might be used as a point of distribution within its region. From an economic perspective, however, a city does not represent a population within rigid geographical boundaries. To an economist or strategic planner, a city represents an area of dominant influence over markets in adjacent areas. This influence varies from one industry to another, but also from one period of time to another. In what follows, I summarize the economic potential for the world\'s major cities for "automobile and aircraft tufted carpets and rugs" for the year 2007. The goal of this report is to report my findings on the real economic potential, or what an economist calls the latent demand, represented by a city when defined as an area of dominant influence. The reader needs to realize that latent demand may or may not represent real sales. For many items, latent demand is clearly observable in sales, as in the case for food or housing items. Consider, however, the category "satellite launch vehicles". Clearly, there are no launch pads in most cities of the world. However, the core benefit of the vehicles (e.g. telecommunications, etc.) is "consumed" by residents or industries within the world\'s cities. Without certain cities, in other words, the market for satellite launch vehicles would be lower for the world in general. One needs to allocate, therefore, a portion of the worldwide economic demand for launch vehicles to both regions and cities. This report takes the broader definition and considers, therefore, a city as a part of the global market.
Product Description
This report was created for global strategic planners who cannot be content with traditional methods of segmenting world markets. With the advent of a borderless world, cities become a more important criteria in prioritizing markets, as opposed to regions, continents, or countries. This report covers the top 2000 cities in over 200 countries. It does so by reporting the estimated market size (in terms of latent demand) for each major city of the world. It then ranks these cities and reports them in terms of their size as a percent of the country where they are located, their geographic region (e.g. Africa, Asia, Europe, Middle East, North America, Latin America), and the total world market. In performing various economic analyses for its clients, I have been occasionally asked to investigate the market potential for various products and services across cities. The purpose of the studies is to understand the density of demand within a country and the extent to which a city might be used as a point of distribution within its region. From an economic perspective, however, a city does not represent a population within rigid geographical boundaries. To an economist or strategic planner, a city represents an area of dominant influence over markets in adjacent areas. This influence varies from one industry to another, but also from one period of time to another. In what follows, I summarize the economic potential for the world\'s major cities for "carpet and rug mills" for the year 2007. The goal of this report is to report my findings on the real economic potential, or what an economist calls the latent demand, represented by a city when defined as an area of dominant influence. The reader needs to realize that latent demand may or may not represent real sales. For many items, latent demand is clearly observable in sales, as in the case for food or housing items. Consider, however, the category "satellite launch vehicles". Clearly, there are no launch pads in most cities of the world. However, the core benefit of the vehicles (e.g. telecommunications, etc.) is "consumed" by residents or industries within the world\'s cities. Without certain cities, in other words, the market for satellite launch vehicles would be lower for the world in general. One needs to allocate, therefore, a portion of the worldwide economic demand for launch vehicles to both regions and cities. This report takes the broader definition and considers, therefore, a city as a part of the global market.
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Oriental Carpets: A Complete Guide - The Classic Reference (Oriental Carpets)
Oriental Rugs: A Buyer's Guide
Tribal and Village Rugs: The Definitive Guide to Traditional Patterns and Motifs
The Illustrated Buyer's Guide to Oriental Carpets (Schiffer Book for Collectors)
Starting To Collect Oriental Rugs (Starting to Collect Series)
