The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Bini Malcolm Magical carpets

The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Education Tribune: "Magical carpets
Vimla Patil

FOR more than 40 years, Bini Malcolm has been fascinated by rug and carpet designs. She has travelled for decades through Central Asian and oriental countries to trace the origins of weaves and designs. "My husband John and I lived in Iran for five years, sharing our lives with tribals in hilly areas, deserts and lush forests of this exotic country. We travelled to innumerable Turkish villages, Samarkand, Bokhara, Kazakhstan, Turkemenistan and Kirgizistan. We studied museum pieces and photographed tribal villages and workshops, carpets and rugs in mosques, palaces and in the marketplace.

"Today, I have enough knowledge to call myself an oriental carpet scholar and researcher. I am also a collector of rugs. From Australia, I work as an international consultant on purchasing, maintaining and evaluating carpets and rugs. I have a great deal of data on the history of carpets and rugs and using this, I give lectures and presentations to interested groups all over the world."

Bini’s journeys have taken her into the heart of history. "The art of weaving carpets has been one of earliest accomplishments of oriental civilisations," she says, "Iran, Iraq, Baluchistan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Kazakstan, India, Pakistan – particularly Kashmir – have been known for thousands of years for famous carpets and rugs made by highly skilled craftspersons. One of the earliest carpets known to the modern world – more than 2500 years old – was discovered in the eastern region of the former USSR, where excavations included mummies, frozen animals and other objects wrapped in beautifully woven carpets. Though ice and rocky soil had ruined parts of it, the motifs, woven in pure wool dyed in vegetable dyes, are intact. This carpet is now in the British Museum for all to see. Some of the world’s most famous museums in the West have fabulous examples of carpets and rugs woven all over the world through the past millennia. I would say that the weaving of carpets and their diversity has been one of mankind’s highest achievements."

Bini classifies rugs and carpets into three categories. The most common among these are tribal rugs which are of diverse designs and are woven by tribes that live in the belt stretching from the Himalayas to the Central Asian mountain ranges. These are made with wool harvested by the tribes from their sheep, coloured with vegetable dyes and are chiefly used in homes and camps during winter months. Some carpet weaves and designs thus reappear on coats and wraps and women’s knee-length coats too. Tribal rugs – which are primitive in design – are made for family use, wedding presents or for covering camels and horses when their caravans move from place to place.

The second variety is called ‘village carpets’. They are woven during the winter months when tribes or craftspersons stay put in their homes. They are made in larger numbers and offered for sale in village or city markets.

The last variety is the ‘heirloom carpet’, woven in prime wool or silk and made by experts for the use of royalty or very rich people in most countries. This variety also includes the specially woven Mosque carpets in the favourite colour of the Prophet, namely green; and prayer rugs that are seen in famous mosques and durgahs.

The northern regions of India and Pakistan – mainly Kashmir – have a fabulous heritage of making carpets and rugs. In several centres in this region, the world’s finest carpets are woven and exported to the West. With the Central Asian countries losing their market share because of wars, fundamentalism and terrorism, India has gained and is probably the biggest producer of carpets and rugs in the world today. Indian and Pakistani carpets are fetching huge prices in the world markets because of the expert craftsmanship and world-class production values. The price and value of a carpet depends upon the quality of wool, vegetable dyes used and the maintenance requirements. Most experts advise that carpets should be washed and cleaned thoroughly at least twice a year.

"Carpet motifs are interesting," says Bini, "They usually reveal their heritage. In Central Asia, though the tribal weavers are Muslims, they traditionally use birds, animals and even human figures with floral shapes. With cross-cultural influences, the lotus, the swan, the tree of life and the paisley from India are found in carpets all over these regions. Most varieties have geometrical motifs. Other carpets reflect the vastness of deserts and barren mountain ranges. Interestingly, Kashmiri carpets mirror the fabulous Moghul garden concepts – the charbaug, the square garden with water pools, the hexagonal flower beds with paths dividing them – all these are used in a symmetrical manner in rugs and carpets. Some of the world’s best carpets have appreciated fabulously. One small rug that I bought in an Iranian village for `A350 in the 1970s has been evaluated at `A35000 today."

Bini gives credit to religious foundations, libraries and mosques in Central Asian countries for preserving the finest examples of carpets and rugs. "Many owners have given priceless heritage objects to them for safe-keeping during riots and bloody wars and they have looked after them with pride and care. The heritage they have saved has enriched the world’s artistic treasure fabulously.""