A Recent Visitor

This wonderfully unique pictoral Chinese rug was in our shop recently. I've seen many of these types of rugs before (having grown up around rugs), but have yet to see one quite like this one. We were granted permission to take and post a few pictures up here, since it is such a visually interesting piece. It is not for sale.

Click the pictures to see close-ups.

The borders are full of wonderful touches...

Here is a close-up of the plaza area before the palace gates.

 

And here are some close-ups of the buildings...

American Indian Reweave: Lesley Torres

Our resident American Indian Restorer Lesley Torres always has a steady stream of interesting projects going. In the following video, she displys her current reweaving project.

The client that owns this particular piece received a group of American Indian rugs as an inheritance from her grandfather, and is currently having Lesley restore them, one at a time, so they can be displayed/used again, in his honor.

Once the restoration is complete, I will post some "after" photos, so be sure to check back.

EDIT

Here are some "after" photos of the rug (click to enlarge):

If you own an American Indian carpet and it is in need to repair/restoration, you can contact Lesley by calling San Diego Rug Cleaning Co. directly at (858) 566-3833, and we can give you more information.

On Moth Damage

When pre-inspecting rugs that come in to our shop for wash, many times we see moth damage, both active and pre-existing. A thorough wet wash will typically kill any moth activity, but the damage can be costly to repair, especially if it has been left unaddressed for a long time.

Normally, moths are attracted to dark, undisturbed places near rugs, usually underneath a piece of furniture - a chest, or cabinet, or entertainment unit, etc. Any place that stays covered and gets no air or direct sunlight. Moths can take root there and begin their perpetual feast. 

Moth casings appear as little tubular spider-web-type residue, as pictured above. If your rug has furniture on it and has been unmoved for a year or longer, you should take time, if possible, to move the furniture and examine the rug beneath. Be sure to check the back side as well, since moths can attack from both sides.

Moth casings on the back side

In the following video clip, Lisa Wagner discusses how to identify moth damage, and some of the structural concerns to be aware of.

The Shiraz featured in the video is a rather extreme example, as Lisa mentioned. The effected corner had also been damaged by mold/dry rot, but there was also extensive moth damage, as demonstrated in the following pictures.

The damage can be repaired in most cases, but at rather substantial cost. 

The best defense against moth damage is frequent inspection, regular wash, and also if possible, avoid having heavy, low-standing furniture on the rug to begin with. 

Group Photo!

We had this pictorial Peking Chinese Runner come into our shop recently for wash. We might see one or two of these rugs per year, but this was the first one we've seen that still had the explanation of the rug on the tag, attached to the back of the rug. Usually, these tags on the back do not survive the years.

(Click to Enlarge)

To spare your eyesight, I have trascribed the text here (to the best of my ability to decipher it):

Genuine Peking Rug

Made by one of the leading rug artists of China whose insignia appears on the right-hand lower corner of the rug. This is an allegorical creation by the artist of a group of statuary presented to the Temple of Xwo Yen in the reign of Kwah Ling.

The Fairy Rug

Showing the eight immortals of China. In the center seated on the sacred swan is Lao Tze, founder of the Taoist religion. On either side is an attendant. The other eight are the good people each of whom carries a magic charm in hand by which he is rendered invisible as he goes around the world doing good. Leading from left to right the figures are as follows:

1^st Goddess of the Harvest

2^nd God of Prosperity

3^rd God of Learning and Light

4^th God of Poetry

5^th Animal Attendant Representing Faithfulness

6^th The Venerable Lao Tze

7^th Woman the Help Mate of Man

8^th God of Sculpture and Art

9^th God of Music

10^th God of Joy

11^th Goddess of Fortune

The clouds represent infinitude of space and eternity

It is nice for us to finally have an explanation, as far as the identities of these characters. When similar rugs come in in the future, we will have this on file to give to the rug owners.

Here are clickable thumbnail pictures of each of the characters:

    

  

  

Shortenin', Shortenin'

When dealing with a large hole in a rug, there are usually several options. We have discussed reweaving and patching here, but there is another way... in some cases, cutting a rug down makes the most sense, depending on the type of rug and the way the rug owner wants to use the rug in home.

This is a runner we have in here at the moment, with a gaping hole in the field. Patching would be problematic, in that we would need a fragment of a similar rug to pull a patch from... matching the color and texture of that background color would be next to impossible.

And restoring it would not be cost effective. The amount of money that would be needed to do a reweave could easily be spent on simply buying a new rug, since this rug is a contemporary piece. It is hand-woven, true, but it certainly isn't an investment piece. The value of this type of rug rests in its appearance more than anything - and right now, it has a large hole in it!

But it also has a repeating pattern, which makes it a perfect candidate for cutting down. 

This idea is to remove a section and reattach it, matching the pattern as closely as possible, effectively making a shorter version of the same rug.

Here is a shot from the back, which gives an approximate idea of what the results will be. Instead of simply cutting it straight across and reattaching it, it helps visually to cut the borders in different places. This will help minimize drawing the eye to the place where the cut was made.

 

The center piece is removed, then cuts are plotted out in a staggered pattern for the borders.

Once the cuts are made, and the edges secured properly, the halves are reattached like a puzzle. Every attempt is made to match the design up perfectly; however, often small weaving quirks and variations prevent a perfect match. In this case, the two medallions were each slightly different widths. 

The rug is secured, strong and ready for use. It is about 18 inches shorter, but the big, ragged hole is gone. If you know to look for it, the seam is visible (especially from the back), but people passing by will never know the rug used to be longer!

This strategy won't work in every case, but for some damaged rugs, it is definitely a viable option.