Wandkarte der Teppichgebiete.

Description

This attractive and unusual thematic map focuses on the distribution of rug production in the Middle East and Central Asia. It extends from Turkey and Egypt in the west to the borders of India, China, and Tibet in the east. In doing so, it encompasses an array of cultures in which hand-woven colorful carpets constitute a timeless and ubiquitous mode of decoration.

This map would have been an excellent tool for people planning and executing carpet-buying trips in the 1930s. Traveling long distances to acquire particular goods for one’s estate was not an uncommon pastime of the post-Victorian age, and the map demonstrates this trend on several different levels. For those with cultural inclinations, the map includes important ruin fields (Ruinenstädte) such as Persepolis as a bonus.

The map has divided Western Asia into distinct carpet-producing regions, assigning each a color code for easy identification. Although the legend suggests these to be state borders (Staatsgrenzen), the subdivisions do not accurately reflect the political realities of the age.

Instead, its primary purpose is to categorize the region into distinct areas. Each region embodies a number of weaving and patterning traditions that have crystallized into distinct and identifiable carpet styles. Most of these would have been vaguely familiar to buyers. So we must imagine that this map was primarily commissioned as support material for the sale of Oriental rugs and carpets in the German-speaking world. That said, it also contains several elements that may have been intended for buyers, but to this we shall return.

Looking at the map, each region is distinguished from its neighbors by color-coding the borders and naming it in thick black lettering. As is usually the case with maps, they are products of a specific time and typically embody a particular ambition or desire. In this case, the global upheaval that followed World War I is elegantly sidestepped through a focus on regional differences in aesthetics and craftsmanship.

Often, the styles and nomenclature of carpets can be more or less directly linked to the ethnic groups that produce them. It is therefore not surprising that Baluchistan (Beludschistan) is distinct from the rest of India, Britain’s greatest colony in the early 20th century, or that Soviet-controlled Central Asia is referred to as Turkestan. Current political affiliations just are not relevant here.

Being a large wall map and using exclusively German place names (e.g., Jesd = Yazd), there is little doubt that the primary purpose of this impressive map was for mounted display. That said, this map is sectioned on original linen and folds into its original portable case; thus, it has a cartographic purpose as well, and may well have been used by dealers and other buyers intent on finding their way. The obvious demarcation of major carpet-producing centers, marked with large red dots, is one indication of the map’s functional dimension. This not only allows the viewer to locate specific places of production but also enables one to assess the density of various traditions in a given region (e.g., it is clear that areas like Persia and Turkey have a greater variety than, say, Arabia or Egypt).

The map’s legend offers limited and somewhat misleading information on what the dots constitute, noting them as ‘Capital cities and important carpet-areas’ (Hauptstädte und wichtige Teppichorte). While not necessarily capitals, they do designate the major production centers, as well as the most critical market cities for rugs and carpets (e.g. Mecca and Damascus). Urban markets did not just offer quantity and variety; they were essential for the redistribution of a commodity that was essentially rural in origin. Minor centers have also been included as smaller black dots, but have not merited mention in the legend.

The map features the two most critical commercial pathways in the carpet supply chain: railways (Eisenbahn) and caravan routes (Karawanewege). Railways were the most efficient way for foreigners to move across land. The large number of caravan routes marked on the map reflects the fact that, as late as the early 20th century, many people in carpet-producing regions were still relying on pack-animal caravans to move products over long distances. These caravan routes crisscrossed the entire area, many of which had been in operation since ancient times. The most important have been included on the map, and many of these would by the 1930s already have begun the process of being converted into roads for motorized traffic.

Although this map was intended as a visualization of the region that produces some of the world’s most exquisite carpets and rugs, its functional parameters should not be overlooked. It provides insight into the origins of specific carpet styles and their trade routes, as well as guidance on how to reach them yourself. We are, in other words, dealing with a map that may have been used primarily as a visual aid in a fancy shop in Vienna, but which also could have served as an efficient buyer’s guide in the field. The key to understanding this map lies in appreciating the clear delineation of different carpet-making areas in one impressive chart.

Background

Carpets and rugs have been traded and used in the Middle East and Central Asia for thousands of years. Because the production of carpets not only requires finely honed skills and expensive dyes and machinery, but also an enormous amount of time and dedication, they were often valuable commodities, marketed to the upper echelons of society. Luscious and enormous carpets adorned the palaces of Babylonian Kings and Persian Shahs, usually made of wool and silk thread laced with gold or embroidered with gemstones for an added wow effect. Yet carpets and rugs were not only for the wealthiest; they were also functional objects, serving as mobile beds, serving spaces, saddles, or prayer rugs.

At the time this map was produced (c. 1930s), using Oriental carpets for interior decoration had moved beyond the great houses of European aristocracy and into the homes of a growing class of entrepreneurs, investors, and industrialists. Demand was exploding, and from Persia to Piccadilly, industrious individuals seized the opportunities this presented. The importation of carpets was increasingly streamlined, and commercial catalogues were printed, with announcements taken out in magazines. Carpet shops had, of course, been around in the Middle East for ages, but in the great cities of Europe, this was an entirely new phenomenon. It is in this context that we must appreciate this extraordinary map. The nature of this context makes many of the items produced within it rare, as they were often produced independently and printed in small numbers.