A timeline of kufic borders in rugs

[Steve Price]

Hi Martin

The Pazyryk rug, which predates Christianity, has a field of compartmented crosses.

Just sayin'

Steve Price

[Martin Andersen]

sure Steve
Cruciform patterning I suppose is inherent in the weave structure itself, weft and warp simply crossing each other. And actually when I think about it, aren't the Pazaryk felts overly curved in their design?
best Martin

[Martin Andersen]

Criticizing Volkmar Gantzhorn and any followers may be, as Steve hints, like beating a dead horse in the knowledgeable part of the rugworld, but still, Tashen….and so on.

I want go into details regarding Lauren Arnolds blog (long time since I read it), but her main conclusion goes something like this: the large main part of oriental rugs appearing on early european paintings are placed in a specific religious christian setting (a very large percentage with the Mary and the Jesus child) and therefor has to be interpreted iconographical on par with all other christian symbolic elements. And this leads her to the bold conclusion that the carpets must be produced by christians.

I would like to offer a very simple alternative iconographic interpretation: The biblical stories are of course set in israel/the exotic orient, the painters have with the oriental rugs made a painterly setting which to everyones understanding visually places the setting as exotic oriental. This goes for palms and turbans too, whitout palms and turbans having to be associated with christian western origin - actually exactly the contrary is the case.

best Martin