European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 03, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Art for the floor Bythina Saunders Cox news service bedouins Carp Olod choir Lents with them scheherazade flew through 1.001 arabian nights on them and Val Elmo made love on them such is the mystique of Oriental tugs. Today they can be found in museums palaces and mansions As Well As suburban Homes outrageously expensive or surprisingly affordable always a Symbol of luxury and tradition. Ihen Rich colors and intricate patterns can be used effectively in Bolh contemporary and traditional decors and their popularity in the United states has soared in recent years sales have increased 15 percent annually in the past 10 years according to the Oriental Rug importers association Oria the trend is partly due to the maturing of America s baby Boomers who Are settling Down and placing a greater emphasis on their Homes. And the upswing has been Given a further boost by the marketing savvy of Rug importers who have adapted an Ancien Art to contemporary tastes just what is an Oriental Rug often called Art Lor the floor a True Oriental lug is hand Woven from natural fibres in geographical areas that include the near Easl. Middle East. Par East and the Balkans according to information published by Oria the rugs May be antique or new. Hal Woven As in the popular hurries and Kilimis. Or hand Knolley to form a pile. Oriental style rugs Are made by machine or mechanically tufted but Iheson rugs do not Meel the hand Woven criteria to qualify As True orientals said Karen Doshar. Executive director of Oria. The history of Oriental carpets is As richly coloured As their designs nomadic sheep herding tribes 2.000 years age wove rugs Lor their tents from the Wool of their sheep those first rugs Weie monochromatic and Flat Woven. Then craftsmen began using vegetable dyes to color the Wool and created simple Geometric patterns similar to the Kilimis and hurries we r., today. Although no one seems to know when artisans began hand Knotting rugs pile carpels with designs still used today have been discovered in tombs dating from the filth Century b c. Oriental rugs probably were introduced to Europe alter the crusades and by the 16th and 17th centuries they were in great demand. They were imported to colonial America As luxury items along Wilh chinese porcelain and graced the houses of prosperous merchants and ships captains today s Rug Industry has evolved Only in the past decade from a loosely structured tribal or Village Craft where the product and its availability depended on whim to a worldwide business using sophisticated marketing techniques. Until 10 years ago american importers travelled abroad searching Remote areas Lor the Best handmade rugs. Then they began contracting with villages families and cooperatives to produce rugs in the sizes colors and traditional patterns most desired in the fashion conscious us. Market. Called programming the marketing technique revolutionized the Industry by assuring that highly desired patterns Are available in Large Quantity. Today a shopper can have a Rug in the pattern and color he loves for a dining room buy a Matching one in a smaller size for the foyer and add a runner for the stairs. Although these rugs Are technically no longer one of a kind they Are unique in some ways. They Are still made by hand and each craftsman contributes his individual interpretation to each Rug. As production of the rugs became More standardized importers found they could shop the world for the most skilled and lowest paid labor. The names of rugs Hertz Farouk or Korman once referred to cities or tribes thai created specific patterns. But the names now belong to the pattern rather than to a particular geographic area. Today orientals May be Woven in Pakistan Romania. Iran India and Afghanistan As Well As Turkey and China. Although the countries of origin May have changed the Way the rugs Are made has not. As they have been for centuries Oriental rugs Are Woven of Wool or silk or a combination of the two on Large wooden looms with a vertical foun Calion of threads warps stretched tightly from one end to the other. The knots Are tied in horizontal rows to each vertical thread. A horizontal thread Welt is Woven through the vertical threads after each Row of knots and pounded Down with a comb. A skilled Weaver can tie 10,000 to 14,000 knots per Day but at the rate of 160 knots per Inch that adds up to Only 1 vertical Inch per Day of a 6-by-9-foot Rug. Turkish women working on a Rug following pattern hanging above them. That Rug will take live months to Complete. One of the signatures of a True Oriental Rug is the fringe at each end formed by the Cut Warp threads As the Rug is taken Down from the loom. Rather than being sewn onto the Rug the fringe is a part of the Rug itself. After a Rug is Woven it is sheared by hand to even the pile and reveal details of the pattern or to sculpt a design into the surface. A Torch is applied to the Backol the Rug to Burn off excess Wool then the Rug is washed beaten to soften it and add Luster then dried. One often hears of investment rugs. These Are generally Antiques at least 100 years old or Semi Antiques 60 to 75 years old. Like Fine Silver that develops a Patina with Lime and use old rugs have a softness of texture and color not found in newer rugs. However antique rugs often Are available Only in unusual sizes varied patterns and the traditional colors of deep Blue red Gold and Orange. In the past the Wool used to weave Oriental rugs was coloured with vegetable dyes that imbued them Wilh Mellow colors and a soft Luster. Erma Bombeck a couple of years ago on Good morning. America. I pretended i was a piece of Luggage. I began Al the Check in counter where i was tagged travelled through a Highway of conveyor belts and finally ended up in the Jelly of the plane As i sat in the darkness of the vast storage compartment the size of a football yield the Ruih of the Story hit me the Only two things travelling Down there were a Box of Frozen Calmon from Alaska and me1 All the other pieces of Luggage making the trip were Wilh their owners under their seats or in the overhead bins air travel has inspired a new slogan of the 80s Home Don t leave Home without it air planes Are the new a hauls of the skies anything you can stuff in bags Jam in a Box. Hold together with siring or put on wheels and drag kinds its Way into the passenger Cabin. I be seen people bring computers vacuum sweepers sombreros the sire of a wading Pool surfboards Cartons of live lobster strollers Spears Arr wedding cakes it s probably my imagination but i can almost hear Noil Diamond in the background singing America. Another slogan airline travel has inspired is one suitcase worn next to your body is Worth three that have been checked through " i see in All the Lime people struggling desperately to hang onto their Luggage Asil they  fighting Lor custody of their children. I once saw a woman Board a plane wearing iwo Coats layered Over one another a wig that was perched on her real hair like a Slouch hat. And carrying a handbag that could have doubled As a mail Pouch the airlines Are fighting a losing Battle no longer do passengers buy Tho old blocking the aisle routine face it a pregnant woman a beverage cart a chewing gum wrapper could Block the aisle. They can no longer threaten us. Because we have been born Aga