Reviews (1)

Great, High Quality Pix & Production Make Informative Book
The high quality of the photographic reproductions and the high book publication production values make this book.If you've ever begun to look at so-called Persian carpets, you've no doubt been bewildered by the huge variation in price and quality in these things: Hand woven, powerloomed, hand tufted, machine made, vegetable dyes, artificial dyes, cotton, silk, wool, gabbeh, kilim, rug, Indian, Pakistani, Kurdish, Iranian -not to mention the various tribal and trade names for these things.In other words there is just a head-spinning, mind numbing variety of "Persian" carpets available today and it is super easy to pay too much for inferior quality rugs without knowing a bit about them.Thus, this book is a great first step toward finding some excellent floor covering for your home (and, as evinced by this author, for your pillows, furniture, walls and windows).The book is done in roughly two parts.The first half of the book is a discussion of the history of the rug, with a description of how rugs are made and what goes into them.This discussion is accompanied by a large number of excellent color reproductions to inform the reader.The last part of the book is given over to decorating tips also with many photographic examples, and while this part held little interest for me because I'm not into such things, I suspect a few of the author's many great ideas will be employed by a large percentage of those who read this book.Don't expect a discussion of values, costs, etc.Also, do not expect a reference guide to symbology or a guide to specific tribal motifs, etc.Look for that kind of info instead in more formal studies or books about collectible carpets.Having said this, the author does thoughtfully include a list of carpet retailers at the back of her book, a couple of whom I recognized as well-respected carpet merchants with international reputations.Presently there is a fair number of this book available from Amazon sellers for less than the original publication price and as such I believe this presents an excellent value; kind of like paying for the author's output and getting the great pictures and high quality paper, binding and printing of the book for free.I highly recommend this book to the beginning rug buyer, or perhaps a decorator who wants a great coffee table book for an excellent price. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Crafts & Hobbies    2. Decorating    3. Decorating - Floors    4. Home Improvement / Construction    5. Iran    6. Kilims in interior decoration    7. Rugs    8. Rugs, Nomadic    9. Soft furnishings   

Subjects:  1. American - Native American    2. Antiques / Collectibles    3. Ethnic Studies - Native American Studies - Tribes    4. Rugs    5. Antiques & collectables: carpets, rugs & textiles   

Subjects:  1. American - Native American    2. Art    3. Art & Art Instruction    4. Catalogs    5. Design - Textile & Costume    6. History    7. Navajo textile fabrics    8. Rugs    9. School of American Research (S    10. School of American Research (Santa Fe, N.M.)    11. Fashion design    12. History Of Art / Art & Design Styles    13. Indians of North America    14. Native Americans   

Reviews (1)

The definitive introduction to collecting Navajo Rugs.
This is an excellent source on how to find, evaluate, buy and care for Navajo Rugs, especially for the new collector.Insight and information on the history, weaving & weaves, tools used and the major periods ofdesign are all outlined in this book along with beautiful color photos. Navajo Rugs is the essential text for anyone interested in this artform. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Antiques / Collectibles    2. Collectors and collecting    3. Crafts & Hobbies    4. Ethnic Studies - Native American Studies - Tribes    5. Hobbies/Crafts    6. Navajo textile fabrics    7. Rugs    8. United States   

Reviews (2)

Comprehensive on popular collectibles
This guide covers most of the major brands of collectibles, from Anheuser-Busch steins to Swarovski crystal and Willitts Designs Just the Right Shoe. It lists the original prices, retirement date, edition size, and replacement values for 68,000 items. It is very useful if you are planning to sell on an auction site and need to set your reserve--at least you'll know what it originally cost, and have some idea of what dealers are reselling it for today. Very useful. Good value.

Very Helpful
This book covers most of the popular artists who create collectibles, and includes original prices for entire collections, contact info on companies, index of artists. A great reference for updating insurance or for looking up what you have missed, or have inherited! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Antiques    2. Antiques & Collectibles    3. Antiques / Collectibles    4. Antiques/Collectibles    5. Folk & Outsider Art    6. General    7. Reference - Price Guides    8. Rugs   

Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles    2. Antiques / Collectibles    3. Art    4. Collectors and collecting    5. General    6. Oriental rugs    7. Rug Making    8. Rugs    9. Rugs, Islamic    10. Rugs, Oriental    11. ASIA    12. Rug & carpetmaking   

Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles    2. Art    3. Art & Art Instruction    4. Design - Textile & Costume    5. Kilims    6. Middle Eastern    7. Rugs    8. Turkey    9. Art / General    10. Art of indigenous peoples    11. Carpets & rugs    12. Spinning & weaving   

Subjects:  1. Antiques / Collectibles    2. Crafts & Hobbies    3. Hobbies/Crafts    4. Kilims    5. Rug Making    6. Rugs    7. Rugs, Nomadic    8. Turkey    9. Antiques & collectables: carpets, rugs & textiles   

Reviews (3)

A reliable consumer's guide
Ms. Ware is a highly knowledgeable, respected expert in the field. This is a solid reference that does not, as some reviewers suggest, encourage buyers to rely entirely on dealers' self-interested recommendations, nor does it purport to eliminate the need to check on market conditions before buying.

Just because the DEALER says it is all good?

Not recommendedfor the beginner.
First let me say that as a rug dealer of many years and founder of the Boston Rug Society and having written numerous articles in such journals Hali and Antiquitaten Zeitung there is no way of easily pricing antique oriental rugs and in this way is quite misleading. If one wants to gain insight into the pricing of oriental rugs I recommend a subscription to Hali and Sotheby's catalogues. By all means do not use this book to price oriental rugs. The best way to begin this process if you do have an heirloom you are wondering about is to have a professional appraisal done (auction houses such as Sotheby's and Skinner's will do this free of charge). This book is skimpy in its information and the dealer recommendations at the end of the bookreads more like a list of friends of the author than a list of reputable dealers. Some of these people I know and are reputable while other on the listI have found less so in my experience. More so than any other field I have encountered the field of oriental rugs and its dealers is full of alliances and petty feuds. Do not use this book to price oriental rugs or to pick a dealer. There is no one simple "open sesame" to the world of oriental rugs. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles    2. Antiques / Collectibles    3. Antiques/Collectibles    4. Catalogs    5. Collectors and collecting    6. Oriental rugs    7. Rugs    8. Rugs, Oriental    9. United States    10. Antiques & Collectibles / Rugs   

Reviews (3)

A mother's gift
This book is a wonderful book of unusual history of an everyday object. The rug has a history that most people don't know but Kathleen R Bashian "does!" and she wishes to share it with those of us who are curiouse enough to ask "The Rug?" yes that simple piece of wool, silk or many other fine fabrics has a past that only one women knows and now she wish to tell the stories of the rug under foot. It's stories play a bigger role then one would notice. In fact if one did read this book, one might ask "Why isn't that taught in history?" Indeed this book will bring a smile to your face and a few more brain cells satisfied. I would recomend this book for any one who has a rug under foot.

For all pop culture, interior design & carpet enthusiasts.
Once Upon A Carpet is a unique and beautifully produced history and survey of the carpet through photographs and paintings. Author Kathleen Basbian presents her historical and cultural survey in six chapters: If The Rugs Could Talk? (carpets in diplomatic space); Roll Out The Red Carpet!(carpets in privileged space); From Cradle To Grave! (carpets in domesticspace); This Is Holy Ground! (carpets in sacred space); Oriental Mystique!(carpets in exotic space); and Carpet Diem! (carpets in unexpected space).Basbian's lively and informative text is engaging, entertaining, and attimes surprising. Once Upon A Carpet is further enhanced for the readerwith an epilogue, endnotes, bibliography, picture credits, and biography.Highly recommended reading for students of popular culture, interiordesign, and carpet enthusiasts everywhere.

A gem to keep or to share!
From the fist moment, I knew this book was special. The cloth binding and gold-rimmed pages make it feel luxurious, the four-color prints throughout build that luxury and the richest treat of all is in the blend of language,stories, art, rugs and literature to weave a tapestry for the reader. Wehave only one oriental rug, but I treasure it even more now after visitingthe history, mystery and romance of this cherished possession. Thank youDr. Bashian! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles / Rugs    2. Crafts / Hobbies    3. Rugs    4. World - General    5. History    6. Turkey   

Reviews (1)

excellent coverage of old and antique China rugs and carpets
This book offers an excellent introduction to historical rug weaving centres of China including Tibet.Good colour photos of rugs and well written text in a pleasing format - not just a catalogue of different types as are most rug guides. For collectors this book offers really useful tips on the characteristics and imagery of older and antique Chinese rugs.Many of the examples shown in the book can occasionally be found through usual collector channels such as auctions, a few small collection centres/warehouses in China or dealers in Hong Kong and elsewhere.Pity it is out of print but possibly the title does not reflect its really useful coverage as a reference source e.g. a better one might be "Guide to older and antique Chinese rugs and carpets". ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles    2. Antiques/Collectibles    3. Carpets    4. China    5. Rug Making    6. Rugs    7. Tibet    8. Xinjiang Uygur Zizhiqu    9. Non-Classifiable   

Reviews (2)

Jewish Carpets a History and Expaination
I have read and know this book since it's publication and in fact know the author well. The history associated with Jews and Carpets is facinating, considering that oriental rugs are usually considered for the most part the domaine and art form of Islam. During the golden age of carpets, Jews and Muslems worked together and advanced the artform in cooperation. This is a must read for any rug collector and in particular a historical guide for Jews interested in the subject. Mr Felton writes with a passion and gift that "weaves" history, culture and give the people involed a voice uniuqe in books about carpets and their origins.

To understand the Jews, walk a mile on their carpets.
I have been studying the world of rugs and carpets for 2 years.Reading about the tradition and place of rugs & rugweaving in the Islamic world goes a very long way to explain who Muslims are.Read more

Subjects:  1. Antiques / Collectibles    2. Antiques/Collectibles    3. Crafts & Hobbies    4. History Of Judaism    5. Israel    6. Middle East    7. Middle Eastern    8. Rug Making    9. Rugs    10. Carpets & rugs    11. History of art: c 500 CE to c 1400    12. Jewish studies   

Subjects:  1. Antiques / Collectibles    2. Collectors and collecting    3. Consumer Buying Guides    4. Crafts & Hobbies    5. Hobbies/Crafts    6. Reference    7. Rug Making    8. Rugs    9. Rugs, Oriental   

Reviews (2)

Finally, a useable book on Orientals
Stone does not make the assumption, as so many writers about Oriental rugs do, that he knows what the reader wants.Instead, he provides an exhaustive, impartial spectrum of places, conditions, qualities, methods, and types affiliated with Oriental rugs, from earliest known times to the present.Stone manages to keep his work from being dull by interlarding it with astringent observations and keeping his entries brutally essential.Whoever did the layout of this work deserves kudos, too-- it is easy to access, each entry is set off from the others so as to be memorable to those of us who are visual, and there is generous, attractive use of clearly-labeled graphics.I genuinely appreciate this matrix-like, non-linear expert treatment of Oriental rugs, and find myself reading it up like a novel.The only thing I have found lacking so far is an entry on arbash.

BUY THIS BOOK!
In the rug world there is almost a constant competition of scholarship. Very rarely does one person so dominate his field as to be the indisputable authority. One of those rare exceptions is Peter Stone. One rug restoration expert told me that there will never be another major book on rug repair in my life time because "Oriental Carpet Repair" by Peter Stone says it all. Stone's new book the "Oriental Rug Lexicon" may well exceed "Oriental Carpet Repair" as a scholarly triumph. If you are at all serious about collecting or if your rugs are anything more than floor coverings to you, you need this book.Read more

Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles    2. Antiques/Collectibles    3. Dictionaries    4. Oriental rugs    5. Rug Making    6. Rugs    7. Rugs, Oriental    8. Carpets & rugs    9. Oriental art   

Subjects:  1. Antiques / Collectibles    2. Art    3. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - General    4. Design - Textile & Costume    5. Permanent Collection Catalogs    6. Reference - General    7. Rugs    8. Textile Arts    9. Textiles & Costume    10. ASIA    11. Antiques & collectables: toys, games & models    12. Carpets & rugs    13. Exhibition catalogues and specific collections    14. Oriental art   

Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles    2. Antiques / Collectibles    3. Antiques/Collectibles    4. Rug Making    5. Rugs   

Reviews (4)

An informative and engaging introduction to modern rugs
Unlike the gentleman below, I had little knowledge of oriental rugs prior to reading this book.I found it to be a perfect place to start my education.The text was informative, particularly in regards to the "renaissance" in traditional rugmaking techniques over the past 20 years.He does a wonderful job of covering the pros and cons of natural vs. chrome dyes, and handspun vs. millspun wool - again without being overly opinionated or judgmental despite his personal leanings.
Only book of its kind
I've read both editions of this book and, yes, the first edition only had a few words on Iran but, as the author explained, there was an embargo at the time.The new edition has an entire chapter on new rugs from Iran, with photos of some really gorgeous rugs. Very Basic
As someone who already has an intermediate knowledge of oriental carpets, I was disappointed by this book.It is extremely basic - something akin to a Dick and Jane primer.It provides only a few pages of information on carpets from each region (if you can believe it, Iran [Persia] was lumped together with two other countries, and all three countries were covered by approximately only five pages, including illustrations.It does not provide any information on specific carpets (i.e. Nain, Bokhara, Yahyali, etc.), but did explain the general difference between wool types, dyes, etc.Also, while it did have several photos of carpets, many of them seemed to be photos of novelty carpets, and not of traditional designs.Overall, I believe that this would be good for someone who knows absolutely nothing about oriental carpets and is only looking for general information.In my opinion, there are much better books on the subject for both beginners and experts alike, such as Oriental Rugs, A Buyer's Guide, by Lee Allane. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Antiques / Collectibles    2. Decorating    3. Decorating - General    4. Do-It-Yourself    5. House & Home    6. Reference - Price Guides    7. Rugs   

Subjects:  1. Antiques / Collectibles    2. Antiques/Collectibles    3. Handbooks, manuals, etc    4. Rug Making    5. Rugs    6. Rugs, Oriental   

Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles    2. Antiques / Collectibles    3. Antiques/Collectibles    4. Rugs   

Reviews (2)

Absolute must for carpet lovers
I read this book twice and each time I was mesmerised by the fluency of the author on the subject of the Persian carpets in particular. This book is a very enlightening book in terms of information and vivid illustrations. It is full of fantstic pictures that must have cost the author a lot to produce the photographs.
Dissapointed in lack of detail regarding borders & figures
Author does not mention Bokharas, a major design for centuries, (copied by many)except in one small picture. Kurdish tribal rugs are not covered, even though they are becoming increasingly rare. (Try to find one and you'll be steered to a Turkish or Afghan rug!)I expected more detail in the Bidjar design, for example. Most pictures are of older rare rugs--not a great help when looking in todays shops.There is no mention of the Pakistan and Indian rugs of today. He should tell the reader that these are also decent "oriental" rugs. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Antiques / Collectibles    2. Antiques/Collectibles    3. Consumer Behavior - Consumer Guides    4. Crafts & Hobbies    5. Rug Making    6. Rugs    7. Rugs, Oriental