This monumental reference work-long awaited by collectors and scholars-fills an important gap in the available literature on oriental rugs.
Lavishly illustrated with over 1000 photographs and drawings, it offers clear and precise definitions for the rug and textile terms in use across a broad swath of the globe-from Morocco to Turkey, Persia, the Caucasus region, Central Asia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and China. Covering priceless museum-quality rug traditions as well as modern centers of production, Oriental Rugs: An Illustrated Lexicon of Motifs, Materials, and Origins draws on classical scholarship as well as current terminology in use among producers and traders in these areas today. It focuses primarily on the rich hand-knotting and hand-weaving traditions of the Near East and Central Asia, but also includes some examples of Scandinavian and Native American weavings.
Oriental rugs are receiving ever-increasing attention and recognition in the field of art history. Tribal weavings especially have become a focus for new research, and Oriental Rugs provides a new understanding of many distinctive traditions that were previously understudied, such as the weavings of southwest Persia, Baluchistan and Kurdistan. This concise oriental rug reference book is a must-have for scholars and anyone serious about collecting rugs, selling rugs or the rug trade in general. Additional reference information also includes:
Foreign terms
Place names
The Oriental Rug lexicon
Museums with notable rug collections
Oriental rug internet sites
An indispensable owner's manual and an invaluable sourcebook for collectors and dealers This comprehensive book covers all the essential techniques, materials and tools you will need to repair and maintain oriental rugs.
The accessible text is accompanied by clear step-by-step diagrams and illustrations that teach you how to:
- assess damaged areas - understand rug structure - select yarn - reknot - reconstruct warp and weft - use patches - repair selvage and edges - repair ends and flatweaves - wash rugs, remove stains and carry out general maintenance
Responsable du lancement de la bombe atomique sur Hiroshima (60 000 morts) et Nagasaki (80 000 morts), Harry S. Truman se vantait de ne jamais avoir éprouvé le moindre remords. À un journaliste qui lui demandait si la décision avait été moralement difficile à prendre, il répondit en claquant des doigts : " Je l'ai fait comme ça. " Trente ans plus tard, l'offensive du Vietcong pulvérisa l'armée sud-vietnamienne. Richard Nixon envisagea de faire sauter les digues et les centrales électriques. " Au risque de noyer deux cent mille personnes ? ", objecta Henry Kissinger. Réponse de Nixon : " Non, je préférerais utiliser la bombe atomique. " " Je crois que ce serait quand même un peu excessif ", répondit Kissinger. " La bombe, ça vous gêne ? Allons Henry, un peu de largeur de vue, bon sang ! ", rétorqua Nixon.
Ces confessions donnent la mesure de la responsabilité historique des présidents américains. Inconscients, parfois criminels par procuration, souvent sous influence de " faucons ", comme l'a encore montré la dernière guerre d'Irak, avec ses 200 000 morts. Démystificatrice, provocatrice, cette vaste fresque de l'histoire contemporaine de l'Amérique, qui remet en cause sa légitimité sur la scène internationale, a déclenché une importante controverse. Les auteurs pour le livre comme pour la série TV, ont analysé dans leurs moindres détails les archives américaines, russes, anglaises, allemandes et japonaises.
