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Tekke.—These are often very finely woven, sometimes with 400 knots to the square inch. The principal colour is a deep crimson (fig. 31) often modified by time so that it is best seen at the back. (See Plate X.) Y omud.—Of medium fineness, mostly with the Ghiordes knot.
The chief colour is a purple red, and there is a good deal of white, especially in the border. In the pattern diamonds often displace the usual octagon (see fig. 32).
The long tent-bands, which have the pattern in pile on a woven ground, belong to this group.
Saryk.—Like the Tekkes but with an almost black-purple or very deep crimson colouring, to gether with some very prominent white. Not very common.
Ersari.—These are rarely large pieces. The chief colour is a brown-red; dark green and a little bright yellow are characteristic.
The patterns are very varied, with a tendency to zigzags, diagonal lines and spotted effects (see fig. 33).
Afghan.—Mostly large rugs with long pile and a pattern of large octagons almost touching in columns (see fig. 34), and akin to the Ersaris.
Bokhara.—A rare type apparently made in Bukhara, with rich colouring including a lot of yellow, and patterns apparently based on the Persian. Most are prayer-rugs with a characteristic pointed arch (see fig. 35).
Beluchi.—These differ from the other Turcomans in that they have a black weft, and dark purple and red colouring, sometimes with natural camel-colour and very staring white. The patterns are almost geometrical but the prayer-rugs often have tree-forms (see fig. 36). It is one of the cheapest rugs, but too many of the later ones are chemically washed.
The earliest rugs of Chinese Turkestan date from the 17th century and mostly have a silk pile and some Chinese rugs is an almost impossible task, as patterns have varied very little with time, and internal evidence is almost non-existent. During the zoth century numbers of large carpets have been made for export. They usually have a scattered pattern on a light ground and are soundly woven but not very artistic.
Large carpets, twice as long as wide, are made here. They are loosely woven with very bright but mostly faded gold and silver thread. The patterns are formal floral ones, based on the Persian but with unmistakable Chinese treatment of the detail. The later carpets are loosely woven with the Sehna knot, wool, or more rarely silk pile, and a cotton warp. The i8th century examples have rich but dark colouring, which during the i9th century gets gradually more vivid until at last it becomes excessively crude. There are two important types of design.
Medallion.—These usually have three medallions suggesting in shape a square with well-rounded corners (see fig. 37). One
border almost invariably has a conventional Chinese pattern of foam-crested waves. This pattern is mostly called Samarkand in the trade.
Five Blossom.—These have a floral diaper with characteristic groups of five blossoms (see fig. 38). The colouring is often richly red and orange with a little clear blue. They are often called Khotan or Kashgar.
The rugs of China proper are easily recognized by their characteristic Chinese ornament. They are of coarse texture and are woven with the Sehna knot on a cotton warp : the pile is thick with a very smooth surface. A peculiar feature is the clipping of the pile so as to form a furrow at the contours of the pattern. The prevailing colour is yellow, sometimes inten tional but often resulting from the fading of shades of red and orange. Blue and white are also freely used (see Plate X.) but there is little true red, brown or green. The patterns are very varied. Some carpets have repeating scrolling plant-forms. Others have, scattered about, flowers, medallions of frets and the countless symbols that are so familiar in Chinese art. Frets of the Greek type are very common in the border. Pillar carpets are peculiar to China. They are designed (see fig. 39) so that when wrapped round a pillar the edges will fit together and give a continuous pattern, which mostly is a coiling dragon. Many small mats. seat-covers and the like are found. The dating of colours. The field is often cut up into rectangular panels filled with ornament taken directly from Turkish carpets. Spain.—Carpets seem to have been made in Spain as early as the 14th century, no doubt soon after their importation from the East. They are made entirely of wool, with some unusual technical features. The knot is tied, or rather twisted, on one warp-thread instead of on two, and the weft passes several times after each row of knots. The colours are bright and few in number, little being used but yellow, blue, red and green. The designs fall into two groups, being based either upon oriental models, such as the geometrical Turkish one or upon purely Spanish ornament (see Plate VII.). The latter frequently introduces heraldry. One early type of long rug has shields of arms on a field with a honey comb pattern introducing plant f orms and birds. A common de sign is a succession of foliated wreaths; another is a diaper of ogee compartments containing the floral device known as the "artichoke." Few knotted pile carpets seem to have been made after the 17th century, but small rugs woven in narrow breadths with a looped pile are common until at least the end of the i8th century.