THE ORIENTAL RUG
Plate I.
ANTIQUE LADIK
Prayer Rug
From the Collection of Mr. George H. Ellwanger
Size: 3.10 x 6
Copyright, 1903
By Dodd, Mead and Company
Published September, 1903
PREFACE
That Oriental rugs are works of art in the highest sense of the term, andthat fine antique specimens, of even modest size, have a financial valueof ten, fifteen, or thirty-eight thousand dollars, has been recentlydetermined at public auction. At this auction, several nations had arepresentative voice in the bidding, and the standard of price was fairlyestablished. The value of rugs may have been imaginary and sentimentalheretofore; it is now a definite fact, with figures apparently at theminimum. What the maximum may prove, remains to be seen.
Choice old rugs, therefore, to-day come into the same class with genuinepaintings of the old Dutch School; with canvases of Teniers, Ruysdael,Cuyp, Ostade, or[Pg vi] whatever similar artist’s work may have escaped themuseums. They vie in prestige with the finest examples of Corot, Diaz,Troyon, or Daubigny; and in monetary supremacy they overtop the rarest andgrandest of Chinese porcelains.
And yet the Oriental rug, as against such competitors for the wealthycollectors’ favour, has hardly a history, and is practically without aname or a pedigree. Experts will tell you at a glance whether or not yourWouverman is genuine, or inform you where every true Corot was owned orwhence it was bartered or stolen. In Chinese porcelains, the knowingdealer will easily prove to you not only under what dynasty but in whatdecade or year a particular piece was produced.
The painting has descent, signature, or the brush mark of a school tofather it. The Chinese vase, bowl, or jar has its marks, cyphers, stampsand dates, and an undoubted genealogy to vouch for its authenticity. Therug must speak for itself[Pg vii] and go upon its intrinsic merits. It is its ownguarantee and certificate of artistic and financial value.
The study of Oriental rugs, therefore, can never lead to an exact scienceor approximate dogmatic knowledge. Whoever is interested in them mustneeds rely upon his personal judgment or the seller’s advice. There ispractically only one current book authority in the premises.
A new volume on the subject would thus seem to be well justified. It isthe hope of the author that this book may prove itself sound andpractical, and that it may help to make more clear and simple the rightappreciation of a valuable rug.
W. D. ELLWANGER
Rochester, N.Y., 1903