people are surprised to learn that the world’s largest publisher of books on Asia had its humble beginnings in the tiny American state of Vermont. The company’s founder, Charles Tuttle, belonged to a New England family steeped in publishing.
Immediately after WW II, Tuttle served in Tokyo under General Douglas MacArthur and was tasked with reviving the Japanese publishing industry. He later founded the Charles E. Tuttle Publishing Company, which thrives today as one of the world’s leading independent publishers.
Though a westerner, Tuttle was hugely instrumental in bringing a knowledge of Japan and Asia to a world hungry for information about the East. By the time of his death in 1993, Tuttle had published over 6,000 books on Asian culture, history and art—a legacy honored by the Japanese emperor with the “Order of the Sacred Treasure,” the highest tribute Japan can bestow upon a non-Japanese.
With a backlist of 1,500 titles, Tuttle Publishing is more active today than at any time in its past—inspired by Charles Tuttle’s core mission to publish fine books to span the East and West and provide a greater understanding of each.
contents
Scope
Rug research
Form of entries
Definitions
Typographic usage
Terms for textile structures
Biographical data
FOREIGN TERMS AND PLACE NAMES by John R. Perry
Arabic-script languages in the West
Turkish
Persian and Arabic
Formatives
Chinese place names
MUSEUMS WITH NOTABLE ORIENTAL RUG COLLECTIONS
Rugs terms are confusing. The same rug may have a baffling variety of names. Some names refer to geographic or ethnic origin. Others refer to structure, design, or function. The names themselves may offer no clue as to the type of reference. Variant spellings of these names compound the problem. This confusion of terms discourages those seeking a beginning understanding of oriental rugs. It also frustrates those researching the subject. Even a Linnaeus could not bring order out of this chaos of names. However, a single source for commonly accepted definitions of oriental rug terms can dispel much of the confusion.
There is a growing wealth of research in rug attribution, technical structures, ethnography, and history. This research is published in monographs, periodicals, and survey texts. By organizing this research under alphabetical entries, we can increase its usefulness for those seeking specific information about oriental rugs.
SCOPE.
This lexicon includes definitions and explanations for names and terms referring to:
• pile rugs and flatweaves of the Near East, North Africa, continental Asia, Europe, and the United States
• geographic locations and ethnic groups noted for their rugs and weavings
• functional weavings of tribal and nomadic origin
• the rug trade and the rug-weaving craft and industry
• designs, motifs, and symbols of pile rugs and flatweaves
• rug and textile structures
• specific rugs of historical significance.
RUG RESEARCH.
Rugs have received greater recognition as art in recent years. During the
