“MAGIC” CARPETS

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIII, Issue 20930, 8 January 1938, Page 14

“MAGIC” CARPETS

HARMONY OF EASTERN RUGS Now that polished floors are so prevalent in the modern home, the need for rugs is felt more strongly than ever writes the Sydney "Sun.” For richness of effect, harmony of colour, and artistic embellishment, nothing can be more becoming than the Eastern rug, be it Persian, Chinese, or Indian.

Eastern carpets always have been, and ever will be, according to one of the best authorities in Australia, the most beautiful and best-wearing of any floor covering, and they will outlast any machine-made carpets. They are coloured with fast vegetable dyes, the manufacture of which is a secret that has been handed down through generations of Persians. Though these carpets do not fade, the colours tone down with age and this gives the rug a mellow and rich effect. That the Eastern races should specialise in this branch of industry seems natural enough when we reflect that the first carpet of which we have any record came from Ctesiphon, 25 miles from Bagdad, in 573 B.C.

Perhaps the most attractive of the lighter type of Eastern rug is the Indian Numba, made from goats’ hair, which, having been soaked in water for some time, is then taken out and beaten and trampled with bare feet until it resembles felt. These were originally used in the East as saddle-cloths, but have eventually come to the West in beautiful embroidered designs. Such rugs can be used for floor coverings and wall panels. Their vivid red and green tonings on a white background are most attractive. The Chinese rugs generally' have a story to tell. An unusual one (oval in shape) was seen by the writer in a Sydney store. It depites a joss house, clouds, still water, and rocks, and has a matching mat. Very symbolic of Chinese art and literature is an oblong mat in fawn, on which is worked in tones of blue a Phoenix attacking a mountain dragon. For protecting parts of a carpet which are particularly liable to excessive wear, such as the spot near the pedals of a piano or beneath a writ-ing-table, a small circular mat is invaluable. These mats can be had in tones to harmonise or contrast with the main colour scheme of the floor covering. Those with Chinese motifs lends a delightfully Oriental touch tc the most modern room. Silk Persian rugs can be put tc many purposes of decoration. Ont very lovely model has a groundwork of green overlaid with a forestry design showing hunting scenes. The size, seven feet by five feet, is very convenient for lounge or dining-room