[Illustration: A CONVENIENT PERIODICAL HOLDER (See page 212)]
Saddle covers are used by the wealthy class. They are nearly square, ranging from two and one-half to three by four to four and one-half feet, and have an opening at one end for the pommel of the saddle to pass through. The finest ones are from Senna.
Sedjadeh is the Persian name applied to those of the larger size, while Hali is the name applied to those of medium size. Oriental carpets are of modern make with very few exceptions, most of them being just as well made as were the antiques, although they show considerable deterioration in dyes. Those which are commonly found in the Western market are the Feraghans, Gorevans, Hamadans, Kermanshahs, Khorasans, Kirmans, Kurdistans, Sarabands, Sennas, Sultanabads, and Tabriz among the Persians; the Kazaks and Shemakhas among the Caucasians; the Gulistans, Oushaks, and Smyrnas among the Turkish; and the Khivas and Yomuds among the Turkoman. Large rugs cost more per square foot, as a rule, than the small ones, as their size makes heavier construction imperative and increases the difficulty of weaving as well as the amount of yarn required.
Runners properly belong to this class, as they are used in the Orient mostly to lay along the sides of a room. In this country they have been found extremely convenient as hall rugs.
To this class belong all of the silk rugs as well as many of the delicately colored and extremely light fabrics, especially those that picture gardens and portraits or have on them quotations from the Koran. Ghileems may also be classed under this head.
[Illustration: A BIJAR SAMPLE CORNER (Showing colors, designs and different borders) PROPERTY OF COL. A. S. LUDLOW, WANKESHA, WIS.]
[Illustration: THE ARDEBIL MOSQUE CARPET (See page 333)]
The interest in the very old weavings is not as manifest in the American cities as in many of the European cities, such for instance as Vienna, London, Paris, and Berlin. This is due to several reasons. In the first place, Europe began the importation of Oriental textiles many years before the United States did. In the second place, most of the choice pieces in the United States belong to private individuals instead of to museums, consequently they are seldom, if ever, seen by the public. In the third place, many of the European cities, especially London and Vienna, have given a number of public exhibitions of old rugs, while the recent exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Fine Arts in New York City was the first one ever held in the United States. At this exhibit there were forty-seven pieces of the 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, pieces that would compare favorably with those of any country, all owned by private collectors in the Eastern States.