Cincinnati Art Museum

Daniel S. Walker

Ellen S. Smart

Indian Art of the Mughal Era in the Cincinnati Art Museum

Pride of the Princes

Fifty of the finest Oriental rugs collected in the past five decades are assembled here to illustrate the extraordinary achievements of village and nomad rug-weavers across Asia. Included are examples from Turkey, Iran, the Caucasus, Soviet Turkestan, Central Asia, and China. All belong or once belonged to members of the Hajji Baba Club, America's oldest and most prestigious rug society. Although they are all referred to as rugs, these pieces were not exclusively intended to be floor coverings. Many decorated the walls of tents, were used as bags for storing or transporting possessions, served as saddle covers or blankets for horses and camels, took the place of coverlets, or provided a surface on which to kneel during prayer. They were intended to be utilitarian but also highly decorative, and their jewel-like colors, bold patterns, and lustrous wool have proved irresistible to Western collectors. Both pile rugs and flat-woven kilims are represented in this selection. Some are crowded with intricate geometric details worked in sublet shades, others rely on a few simple motifs and striking color combinations. Most were made in the nineteenth or early twentieth century. The so-termed classical rugs produced in court workshops in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, which are not represented here, have largely disappeared from the marketplace, but it is still possible to discover fine examples of the more recent weavings. In addition to a detailed discussion and technical analysis of each rug, Daniel S. Walker, Curator of Ancient, Near Easter, and Far Eastern Art at the Cincinnati Art Museum, has provided a brief history of the Hajji Baba Club which should be of great interest to those who have recently fallen under the spell of Oriental rugs. Fifty color plates, a glossary of important terms, and a bibliography make this volume a particularly useful reference for specialists and non-specialist alike. -- Inside jacket flap.

Daniel S. Walker

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