The root of wild madder : chasing the history, mystery, and lore of the Persian carpet Cover Image

The root of wild madder : chasing the history, mystery, and lore of the Persian carpet / Brian Murphy.

Chasing the history, mystery, and lore of the Persian carpet (portion title)

Murphy, Brian, 1959- (Author).

Summary:

"A carpet is poetry itself," an Iranian carpet merchant declares to author Brian Murphy. "You just have to learn to read them." So begins a journey. It follows Persian carpets from the remote villages of Afghanistan and Iran where they are woven--often by young girls--and on to the bazaars where they are traded, to the Sufis and mystic poets who find grace and magic in their timeless designs, and, finally and unexpectedly, to a carpet showroom in New York. Told in artful prose, this book chronicles how carpets embody humanity's endless striving for unattainable perfection. Here are stories of the weavers and their dreams, the "mules" who move the carpets from place to place, the tradesmen who sell them in the bazaars, and the refugee compelled to trade a carpet he believes contains the soul of his grandmother--because his family must eat. --From publisher description.

Record details

ISBN: 0743264193
ISBN: 9780743264198
Physical Description: xix, 297 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of color plates : illustrations (chiefly color), map ; 25 cm
Publisher: New York : Simon & Schuster, [2005]
Copyright: ©2005

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:	Includes bibliographical references (pages 289-296).
Formatted Contents Note:	Pt. 1: Acts of creation. The Tehran bazaar ; Florence of the East ; The sandstorm ; Girls at a loom ; Tomb of the saint -- Pt. 2: Migrations. Alchemy of happiness ; The root of wild madder ; Tongue of the hidden ; Nomad songs -- Pt. 3: The market. A hint of saffron ; Jesus price ; Picasso's birds ; East Fifty-Seventh.