Antique Oriental Rugs - Materials Designs Weavings Origins / Scarce Illust. Book

Description

ORIENTAL RUGS
by John Kimberly Mumford, Bramhall House, NY, 1981 (reprint of the 4th edition published in 1929 by Scribner, NY).
Illustrated in color and black-and-white, this rare out-of-print book is a classic reference to antique oriental rugs.  “Originally published in 1900 during the first great wave of Oriental rug importation, it was the first serious attempt to document and classify the rugs and khilims of Turkey, Persia, Turkestan, India, and the Caucasus – a major step toward rendering the subject accessible to collector, dealers, and auctioneers alike.”
“Although oriental rugs had been imported by the bales since the 1870s, no other literature of note existed on the subject.  The public was blatantly ignorant and confused by the nebulous terminology encouraged by the Middle Eastern dealers in control of the rug trade at the time.  Mumford’s work became an indispensable tool for collectors intent on learning about age, quality, and design and remained highly prominent after the Depression – the end of the great collecting period – until the 1960s, when the popularity of oriental rugs resumed with renewed fervor.  An invaluable guide for collectors intent on learning to recognize quality and on making a sound investment, this volume is also a fascinating historical document that will draw even the novice collector into the mystique and wonder of the oriental rug world.”
7.2” x 9.5” hardback with dust cover in very good condition.  282 pages.
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