(page2) ORIENTAL RUG ZINE RETURN TO PAGE 1 ORIENTAL RUG TOOLS II “THE BIG TWENTY-FIVE” Emmett Eiland    14. Armenian Immigrant Rugs are those brought out of Armenia after the breakup of the Soviet Union by immigrants and merchants. The strongest clues that a rug falls into that category are full pile and hanging devices sewed to the backs of  rugs, usually small, cloth loops. Strangely, the full pile of these rugs often is accompanied by severe damage to the foundation: holes in the body of the rug and eroded corners.    OLD KONYA YASTIK   Careful examination of an old Turkish rug's foundation reveals that its wefts, unlike those from other countries, are not twisted or spun. 15. Old Turkish rugs can be distinguished from other tribal rugs by the fact that their wool weft threads are not twisted. 16. If it has synthetic dyes, it positively was made after 1865. If its dyes are natural, it may have been made any time in the past 3,000 to 5,000 years. 17. It is possible to confuse Lillihans with Hamadans. Often both have Sarouk-like designs and both are single-wefted rugs on a cotton foundation. However, Lillihans are woven with an asymmetrical knot, and Hamadans with the symmetrical knot. 18. In design, Hamadans and Kurdish rugs often are very similar. But Kurds are made on a wool foundation and Hamadans on cotton.      ANTIQUE QASHQA’I Like Kazaks, old Qashqa’is often have red or pink wefts. Other old Shiraz-district rugs do not. 19. Qashqa’is are most often made with red or pink wefts. 20. Romanian rugs most often are woven with light blue wefts. 21. Karadjas, almost alone among all the Heriz District rugs, are single-wefted. 22. Sennehs are not woven with the Senneh (asymmetrical) knot. Rather, they are tied with the Turkish (symmetrical) knot. 23. Like Hamadans, Baktiaris most often are woven with the symmetrical knot and are single wefted. It is quite possible to confuse them. But if the rug in question wears a lot of  rather strong yellow, most likely it is a Baktiari. 24. The most curvilinear of all the Heriz products is that from Ahar. Ahars are exceptionally heavy-bodied as well. 25. The most curvilinear of all the Hamadan products (in fact practically the only curvilinear Hamadan) is from the village of Borchalou. Often Borchalous are made in Sarouk-like designs and feature the color black.     …………………..to be continued. RETURN TO PAGE 1   Oriental Rug Zine is brought to you by Emmett Eiland's Oriental Rugs, a trusted San Francisco bay area oriental rug and oriental carpet dealer since 1969.