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Knot Counts
Knot counts
are one gauge of quality in some large workshop carpets, but with antique
rugs there is little correlation between a rug's coarseness and its value
as textile art. Other qualities are more important: the artistry,
craftsmanship, rarity, wool quality, and the weaving's importance as an
historic or ethnographic object.
If you wish to
identify the knots in your rug, you must first determine which end of the
rug was at the top when it was woven. The fringe yarns on the ends are
the warp. Running lengthwise through the rug, these were the yarns
stretched on the loom. Stroke the pile; knots were tied with the pile
inclining downward, toward the bottom of the loom. As the weaver wrapped
each knot, she tightened it by pulling it downward or toward her, against
the already woven fabric.
A novice should start
by examining the most coarsely woven rug available, perhaps an Anatolian,
south Caucasian, or Kurdish piece. First, on the front of the rug, fold a
section along the wefts, parallel with a row of knotting. Since rugs with
the lowest knot counts are usually symmetrically knotted, that is probably
what you will see. Each knot spans two warps and has a wide "collar"
horizontally across its top. Two pile tufts emerge from under this
collar, usually merging to look like one. If you cannot see individual
knots clearly, try an intricate section of the design with narrow, but
lightly colored pattern parts. As you handle a flexible old symmetrically
knotted rug, you will begin to see the surface as lots of small square,
chunky pile sections. This characteristic is accentuated if the pile is
worn.
Once familiar with
symmetrical knots, you will easily recognize those that are not, almost by
default. Instead of an unbroken series of collars, on rugs with
asymmetrical knots there are alternating tufts of pile and much smaller
collars, each the width of a single warp. Asymmetrically knotted
constructions do not separate readily into small square sections unless
they are quite coarse, like some Chinese Ninghsia pieces.
Asymmetrical knots
can be tied so that they either "open to the left" or "open to the right."
With some rugs you need only rub your hand lightly over the surface to
determine their direction. If the pile fibers slant obviously to one side,
the knots open that way. Otherwise, look for a place with a single knot in
a light color; the knot opens on the side of the collar where the tuft
emerges. It may help to fold the rug vertically and roll it back and forth
slightly to isolate a column of knots.
he vast majority of
workshop carpets with severely depressed warps have asymmetrical
knots. Persian Bijar carpets are one exception; they are symmetrically
knotted. By folding a rug along a narrow vertical outline it is usually
possible to see whether a knot's two yarn ends emerge singly or together
from under its collar.
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