Customer Reviews

The Splendour of Antique Rugs and Tapestries

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Parviz Nemati is a New York carpet dealer and this large sized book has 300 photographic illustrations of carpets and tapestries that he has owned or traded. The rugs are grouped by regions and most of the expected areas are covered; Turkish, Caucasian, Persian, Turkmen, Indian, Chinese and European. There is additionally a smallish group of tapestries described. Nemati gives an overview of each section and briefly describes each carpet or tapestry.

The blurb on the front jacket claims that this "magnificent volume, a work of art in itself, will mesmerize all who appreciate the beauty of textiles, while the text will serve as an invaluable reference...". This exagerated assertion sounds like the talk of some rug traders that I have encountered! The truth is that the text, while informative, is clearly written but hardly scholarly or stylishly written.

Nemati makes no claime that the examples of rugs presented are of museum quality, rather they would be the type of piece to be found in a better quality carpet dealership. While there are certainly a number of attractive pieces on display, many seem to me to be of quite ordinary quality and a few are frankly ugly. Obviously this opinion is a matter of personal taste and perhaps this is also because most good carpet books will have illustrations of rugs of a higher standard.

So this volume would appeal to the beginner collector rather than someone seeking an authorative text and illustrations of rare museum quality carpets and tapestries. The standard of the photographic reproductions is above average but not exceptional.