Just when the art of weaving originated is an uncertainty, but there seems to be a consensus of opinion among archÆologists in general that it was in existence earlier than the 24th century before Christ. The first people which we have been able with certainty to associate with this art were the ancient Egyptians. Monuments of ancient Egypt and of Mesopotamia bear witness that the products of the hand loom date a considerable time prior to 2400 B.C., and on the tombs of Beni-Hassan are depicted women weaving rugs on looms very much like those of the Orient at the present time. From ancient literature we learn that the palaces of the Pharaohs were ornamented with rugs; that the tomb of Cyrus, founder of the ancient Persian monarchy, was covered with a Babylonian carpet and that Cleopatra was carried into the presence of CÆsar wrapped in a rug of the finest texture. Ovid vividly described the weaver's loom. In Homer's Iliad we find these words: "Thus as he spoke he led them in and placed on couches spread with purple carpets o'er." The woman in the Proverbs of Solomon said, "I have woven my bed with cords, I have covered it with painted tapestry from Egypt." Job said: "My days are swifter than the weaver's shuttle and are spent without hope." Other places in the Bible where reference is made to the art of weaving are, Ex. 33, 35, Sam. 17, 7, and Isa. 38, 12. Besides Biblical writers, Plautus, Scipio, Horace, Pliny and Josephus all speak of rugs.

The Egyptian carpets were not made of the same material and weave as are the so-called Oriental rugs of to-day. The pile surface was not made by tying small tufts of wool upon the warp thread. The Chinese seem to have been the first to have made rugs in this way. Persia acquired the art from Babylon many centuries before Christ, since which time she has held the foremost place as a rug weaving nation.

There is no more fascinating study than that of Oriental rugs and there are few hobbies that claim so absorbing a devotion. To the connoisseur it proves a veritable enchantment: to the busy man a mental salvation. He reads from his rugs the life history of both a bygone and a living people. A fine rug ranks second to no other creation as a work of art and although many of them are made by semi-barbaric people, they possess rare artistic beauty of design and execution to which the master hand of Time puts the finishing touches. Each masterpiece has its individuality, no two being alike, although each may be true in general to the family patterns, and therein consists their enchantment. The longer you study them the more they fascinate. Is it strange then that this wonderful reproduction of colors appeals to connoisseurs and art lovers of every country?

Were some of the antique or even the modern pieces endowed with the gift of speech what wonderfully interesting stories they could tell and yet to the connoisseur the history, so to speak, of many of these gems of the Eastern loom is plainly legible in their weave, designs and colors. The family or tribal legends worked out in the patterns, the religious or ethical meaning of the blended colors, the death of a weaver before the completion of his work, which is afterwards taken up by another, the toil and privation of which every rug is witness, are all matters of interest only to the student.

Americans have been far behind Europeans in recognizing the artistic worth and the many other advantages of the Oriental rug over any other kind. Twenty-five years ago few American homes possessed even one. Since then a marked change in public taste has taken place. All classes have become interested and, according to their resources, have purchased them in a manner characteristic of the American people, so that now some of the choicest gems in existence have found a home in the United States. To what extent this is true may be shown by the custom house statistics, which prove that, even under a tariff of nearly 50 per cent., the annual importation exceeds over five million dollars and New York City with the possible exception of London has become the largest rug market of the world. This importation will continue on even a larger scale until the Orient is robbed of all its fabrics and the Persian rug will have become a thing of the past.

Already the western demand has been so great that the dyes, materials and quality of workmanship have greatly deteriorated and the Orientals are even importing machine made rugs from Europe for their own use. It therefore behooves us to cherish the Oriental rugs now in our possession.

Both Europe and the United States are manufacturing artistic carpets of a high degree of excellence, but they never have and never will be able to produce any that will compare with those made in the East. They may copy the designs and match the shades, to a certain extent, but they lack the inspiration and the knack of blending, both of which are combined in the Oriental product.

Only in a land where time is of little value and is not considered as an equivalent to money, can such artistic perfection be brought about.