Sumptuous rugs

Sumptuous rugs known as the metal and silk products of the Ming dynasty are among the most marvel­lous fruits of the loom. The design is shown in relief upon a flat background of metal, in which both gold and silver threads are used.

This same general style of weaving obtains in other countries, but there are slight technical differences which reveal variations in the methods employed. In some rugs, for ex­ample, the metal forms the woof which penetrates the warp threads as in ordinary weaving and is packed so closely that it makes a solid appearance and a smooth metallic sur­face.

In others, upon a web of cotton, a chain-stitch of metal thread is carried across from side to side of the rug, making an em­broidered surface.

The same appearance is obtained in the weavings of other parts of the Orient by encircling each warp thread by a single woof thread back and forth across the width of the stretched warp, producing a herringbone pattern.