The Allure of Dragon Soumacs

The most fascinating group of antique rugs for me?

Dragon Soumacs & Shekarlu rugs.

What is it that attracts me to these?

Maybe it is the wild creative spirit that I see in them.

There is always some order in the art but there is also a sense of tremendous freedom…

What do I mean by that?

So let’s say I take some other traditional weaving and begin at the top and start tracing the lines in the drawing with my finger and flow with them. In most other groups of textiles, when I’ve covered about 1/3rd of the piece, I begin to ‘get’ the patterns and am able to predict roughly how the lines will move as we progress towards the other end of the artwork. There is a sense of order and logic within, that allows this predictability.

But in dragon soumacs this is not true…

There is an irregularity and an intentional & deliberate lack of symmetry. It’s almost like the artist is challenging me to a game of ‘complete the sequence’ with the sudden changes of direction of the dragon’s tail or the unexpected introduction of an element.

There is a sense of freedom in these surprises that have been planted in.

And maybe, within the strict world of the craft in which the knotting was confined within a restrictive order, with precise tensions and impeccable logic of which thread goes over the other, the weaver found her entertainment and pleasure in allowing her motifs to run across the field, following her desires doing whatever she willed them to do.