Yet another Ensi - ID help needed

[Steve Price Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Steve Price]

Hi Phil

I suspect that it is possible to distinguish AS-L from As-R from a photo of the back, but it can't possibly do so unless the end woven first is known. It must be possible to do this from a photo of the back, too. The reason As-L can't be distinguished from As-R without that information is that they are designated by convention as open to the right or to the left as seen from the weaver's position.

I'd be interested in knowing how your friend does it. Not that I doubt his claim, but because I'd like to be able to do it myself.

Best

Steve Price

[Chuck Wagner Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Chuck Wagner]

Hi,

Well, I did say "looks like" and not "definitely is". I was looking at the pile at the end of the rug in the last image, and the backs of the knots in the second-last image. I didn;t notice that the last image is actually the top of the rug and is upside down. Steve is correct about being able to know top from bottom. When the warps are not severely depressed you can tell open direction because one side rides higher than the other and tilts the knot. When the warps are depressed all bets are off.

Regards
Chuck

[Joe Lawrence Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Joe Lawrence]

Ok guys. Please accept my apologies. Not sure how or why I read it the way I did but it is 100% OPEN LEFT.

[Phil Smythe Member Find all posts View Profile Close Phil Smythe]

Ok guys. Please accept my apologies. Not sure how or why I read it the way I did but it is 100% OPEN LEFT.

Well Joe, which is it, twice you have said right, once left. So left, definitely?

And Steve, I'll see if I can get a couple of comparison photos to show the 'method' I and some others have used to tell the two types of asymmetric knots apart as it is not, or I don't have, the words, to easily explain it. It is to do, obviously, with the 'shape' of the knot on the back of the carpet and it does not matter which way the carpet is orientated.

However, if as Joe says now that his is left, than its 'reliability' just dropped from 99% to 98%.

[Joe Lawrence Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Joe Lawrence]

I went back and edited my old responses. As mentioned, it’s open left.