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SCMP Reporter

QI almost bought a beautiful Caucasian carpet the other day, but at the last minute noticed inconsistencies, e.g. in colour and wearing. Is it still worth collecting?

WHAT THE EXPERT SAYS:

According to Heena Mir of Mir Oriental Carpets:  'these are collector's carpets exquisitely handmade in the Caucasus region by individual villages and tribes for personal use.'  The carpets indirectly represent the history of the region. Mir  says: 'The best Caucasian carpets were made from the 1830s to 1920s. After the Russian revolution, they virtually stopped making them because the government came in and moved everything.

'The carpets were very well maintained,' says Mir, 'because they were used in homes and tents most of the time. No sunlight ever got onto them. Some were piled up so people wouldn't have to feel the cold ground. Wall hanging came later to keep out the cold in winter so they wouldn't have to burn fires inside. Some still have the loops, but they were not specifically made for hanging.'

BETTER WITH AGE:

There were regional differences, Mir says. 'Fewer carpets from Armenia exist than from Kazakh in the northwest. Kazakh, now broken up, was much more settled.'

As for the carpets, 'even if you don't know anything, look at the borders to get a lot of answers. You know it's a Kazakh because you see the tree of life. You know it's Armenian if it has stylised oak trees and wine glasses - Christian symbols - on the borders. Muslims didn't drink.'

Colours came from natural resources. 'The Kazakhs are  symmetrical in design, and their colours are  straightforward: natural reds and blues from madder and indigo, pomegranates and other fruits and nuts.'

Age, she says,  has only made them more beautiful. 'Prior to the 1940s, they used all natural pigments that faded over time. The lanolin and oils in them came out and rubbed with the local wool. You would never get this kind of softness and richness unless you had walked on it for years.'

There could be many reasons for the colour differences.  'The abrasch or change in colour happens in all natural dye carpets. It only shows up after a certain period when the colours oxidise, fade and change,' says Mir. 'They made them in parts, not all at one time. They would finish one part, put it away, and later get more wool and dye it again.'

Black pigments reacted differently. 'They used bark and coal for blacks and browns. To lighten it, they'd add goat's milk. If they wanted it a little more grey, they'd fade the dyed wool in the sun,' she says.  'The black parts  often eroded because it ate the wool over time, giving the carpet an etched quality.'

Wedding carpets or vernes often show  inconsistencies of colour, pattern and length. Mir says.  'The carpet weavers charted out patterns and colours, but they were not as meticulously planned  as the Persians, so all the colours rarely matched up. The male and female side of each family would make half. Normally, the female side is crisp and finer, because female work was always better. A female family member would join it together during the wedding.'

NEW COLLECTOR TIPS:

'These characteristics are rarely a factor in pricing,' says Mir. 'When you're looking at a 70-to 100-year-old piece, you are not looking at a normal carpet any more. You are taking in its history, condition, how much wool is left on the surface.

We look at design over wear and tear.'

To authenticate a carpet, Mir says: 'Look at the front and back. See if the back shows the different dye lots. If they are not the same, it might have been aged. This is also a good way to see if it's been repaired.'

Mir also advises: 'Compare similar carpets and ones of different grades. When you buy a piece of this calibre, it should be in the best condition possible, but it won't be like a new carpet. There will be minor repairs, a few touch ups, the edges may have been redone; that's OK.'

While these carpets are made for putting on the floor, 'I would put it in a study or a bedroom to save it for another 200 years.'

RESOURCES:

Hali Magazine, www.Hali.com.  Mir Oriental Carpets, G/F, 52 Wyndham Street, Central,

tel: 2521 5641



Expert Advice