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FINAL THOUGHTS
Torontonians have indulged in an ongoing romance with Oriental carpets for well over a century. The popularity of these textiles traces the path of the social and aesthetic trends of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Despite competing floor coverings and changing tastes from the 1930s onwards, they remain popular and familiar features in 21st-century domestic interiors, attesting to the longevity of these works of art.
In reflecting on this exhibit, we invite you to think about how carpets and other everyday material objects reveal significant details about other time periods and the people who owned them, as well as about social and aesthetic values. We also encourage you to look at your own furnishings and think about how they connect you to a wider world of design and romance, and what they might say about you and your own aesthetic sensibilities.
FURTHER READING
- Babayan, Levon. The romance of the Oriental rug. Toronto: Babayan's, 1925. (Available at the Toronto Reference Library.)
- Denny, Walter B. Sotheby's guide to Oriental carpets . London: Sotheby's Books, 1994.
- Eiland, Murray L. Oriental carpets: a complete guide . Fourth edition. Boston: Little, Brown, 1998.
- Ford, P.R.J. Oriental carpet design: a guide to traditional motifs, patterns, and symbols . London: Thames and Hudson, 1989.
- Nemati, Parviz. The splendor of antique rugs and tapestries . New York: Rizzoli, 2001.
- O'Bannon, George W., comp. Oriental rugs: a bibliography . Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1994.
- Thompson, Jon. Carpets: from the tents, cottages, and workshops of Asia . London: Laurence King, 1993.
- Train, John. Oriental rug symbols: their origins and meanings from the Middle East to China . London: Philip Wilson, 1997.
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