Good books on the subject of rugs and textiles can be hard to find.  First of all, many of them are outdated and were published at the time before the revolution when Iran was open to foreigners.  Second, many of the good books are out of print.  Third, many books were written by carpet dealers or those seeking to better their profits by misleading the public.  Fourth, many of the good books are extremely expensive due to large pictures of unattainable, though beautiful, rugs and textiles.  

My criterion for choosing good books has been the accuracy of the information,  the abundance of the information, the relevance to today's market place, and the purpose of the author (Is he writing because he loves and knows the textiles and cultural context or because he wants to sell rugs for a higher price?  Is he offering viable information or folk lore?).

The books chosen and the opinions given are solely the thoughts of the author of this web page.  I have listed books which I can highly recommend to beginning collectors or experts alike, mainly because they're the ones I've read.  I hope, in future, to be able to afford to buy and read other books, and will add reviews as I read them.  Also, I've tried to give an honest opinion of each book.  After all, that's what a review is all about! 

Latest Review:

MacDonald, Brian W., Tribal Rugs: Treasures of the Black Tent, Antique Collectors' Club, Woodbridge, Suffolk, 1997 (302 pp., 208 color plates, maps, great photographs of the tribal peoples)

If I were faced with the grim ultimatum of choosing only one book on tribal rugs, this is the one I would pick.  It's my new favorite.  It's got fabulous pictures, marvelous maps and shows lesser known tribal weavings.  It explains the many complications between heretofore unexplained divisions among tribal families. The histories of the tribes are well documented and much of the information comes first hand for Mr. MacDonald is a traveler and lived in Iran before the revolution.  Buy this book for the maps alone.  Buy it for the histories alone.  Or just buy it because finally, someone identified a Qashq'ai mafrash in all its glory.  This book will help with the obscure as well as shedding organizational light on the time honored traditions.  This book focuses on people, rather than trying to identify weavings by the science of their dyes and weaves.  This alone makes it refreshing!

***** Five Stars from Afarstar!

Book Reviews:  General

Edwards, A. Cecil, The Persian Carpet, Ebenezer Baylis & Son Ltd., Worchester and London, 1953 (384 pp., 24 color plates, 60 carpets, 100 line drawings, plus stories)
    This marvelous labor of love was written by a man who engaged in the carpet business in Iran for fifty years and lived there for about thirteen.  He traveled extensively to different weaving centers during the 1930s and 1940s and presents an excellent survey of carpet weaving in Iran at that time.  The information he provides is excellent in helping to identify rugs woven at this time in Iran.  He also gives little insights and stories about his adventures in trade during this time.  

***** Five Stars from Afarstar!

Eiland, Murray, Jr.; Eiland, Murray, III, Oriental Carpets, Bulfinch Press, 1998 (368 pp., 365 illustrations-330 in color, 15 full color maps)
    Call me a simple soul, but I find this book to be entirely overwhelming.  It is, however, an excellent survey of all the rugs of the world, especially those you are least likely to ever encounter except at a super duper rare rugs auction.  The pictures are marvelous.  Structure and technicalities are avidly dictated.  The maps are good.  But I'm always afraid of damaging it because it was so expensive.  If you're looking for a coffee table book from which to identify your expensive Persian rugs, this is the one!  It even claims to be "The Complete Guide".  Anything that makes that claim is untrustworthy as far as I'm concerned, especially in the realm of rugs.  I've included it, however, because it is a good coffee table book and every coffee table of a rug lover needs one.  I've also included it because the authors have been touting their "objective expertise" for years, first father, then son.  They're well-known and well respected in the carpet lore realm, and, therefore, what I'm writing is pure heresy.  I do not question that they think they know everything, but, I do question how much time they've actually spent sweating it out digging through dusty piles of old rugs in the last twenty years as they speak mainly of old, rare, carpets found mainly, I suspect, in the son's shop.  But, no rug book collection is complete without one of these so save your pennies!

**** Four stars from Afarstar!

Ford, P.R.J., Oriental Carpet Design, Thames and Hudson, London, 1981, 1989 (352 pp., 800 illustrations-400 color, and 14 maps)
    This book wins the Afarstar award for being the most chock full of practical information arranged in a readable and useful manner.  It's still in print and is arranged based on design rather than weaving area.  It also indexes different variations of similar designs and discusses how different elements are treated differently by different groups of weavers.  The advantage is that you don't have to know where the rug is from in order to identify it.  You can instead determine which patterns you like or own and then find some interesting information about it.  This book is a must for the beginner, and experts begrudgingly reference it all the time as well.  This is the sort of book which is always out and which quickly becomes tattered, marked and much loved.

***** Five stars from Afarstar!

Opie, James, Tribal Rugs, Tolstoy Press, 1992 (328pp., 356 illustrations- 291 in color, 12 maps)
    Despite its many idiosyncrasies, this book has long been hailed, rightly, as the most extensive source on tribal rugs.  The book is an accumulation of first hand experience based on eight trips to Iran and Afghanistan in the 1970s, plus many conversations with many rug dealers.  The author has written it from the heart and presents the information in a clear and comprehensive manner, perhaps hearkening to his first career as a school teacher.  He also presents his own theories on the symbolism of design and other cultural aspects of tribal weaving.  It is, if nothing else, an excellent and enjoyable addition to carpet lore.  This book makes a good coffee table book, but this, also, unfortunately, makes it expensive. 

****3/4 Four and three quarter stars from Afarstar!

Stone, Peter, The Oriental Rug Lexicon, University of Washington Press, 1997 (267 pp., too many illustrations to count)
       In terms of terminology, no other book compares to this one.  In this book you can find an alphabetical listing of all terms, place names, designs, etc., etc. Apparently, the word "lexicon" means "dictionary" but the word "dictionary", being more commonly used, wasn't good or clear enough for the title.  "The Oriental Rug Dictionary", though understandable for what it is, an alphabetical listing of rug terminology, makes a complicated thing simple, heaven forbid!  So, what I'm saying is:  THIS IS A DICTIONARY.  If you have a word that you KNOW refers to something to do with rugs, you CAN look it up, just by using the FIRST LETTER of the word.  Sadly, many of the terms associated with rugs are from languages foreign to English speakers, so, thankfully, the author has anticipated this confusion and has listed many terms under, for example, both "Gh" and "Kh", or under both "W" and "V" since pronunciation differs from language to language.  The result is that you can pretty much find the things you need to- especially since he has included pictures, graphs, maps, and drawings.  Basically, if it exists in the rug realm, it's in this book.  If it exists, but there's no word for it in English, then does it really exist?  Though extensive, I still couldn't find definitions for such words as "dafteen" or "pareh".  But maybe I looked them up under the wrong letter.  My point would be this- it's the only one of its kind out there, so if you're looking to learn what the terms mean, it's the only choice, and, therefore, the best choice.

**** Four stars from Afarstar!

Thompson, Jon, Oriental Carpets From the Tents, Cottages and Workshops of Asia, Dutton Studio Books, New York, 1988
    This little book takes a decent stab at an extensive subject.  It seeks to bring to the reader the extensive knowledge of its author.  The author does his best to explain such mysteries as symbolism behind designs, the basic tips for finding and buying rugs, and defines four basic divisions in weaving: tribal and domestic, cottage industry, city workshops, and court carpets.  He doesn't claim to be anything more than an experienced guy with a few opinions, and, to me, this makes him very likeable and respectable.  He basically tells you what he knows, shows you his pictures and maps, gives you a little advice and then tells you to have at it.  In the back of the book, he lists his own notes.  Overall, it's a very personable, very down to earth kind of guide which also contains pictures of items you might otherwise be unable to identify without having been to Asia.  This is not a coffee table book, but it's well worth a good read on a rainy afternoon over a hot cup of cocoa.

**** Four stars from Afarstar!

Book Reviews:  Specific Topics

Tanavoli, Parviz, Bread and Salt: Iranian Tribal Spreads and Salt Bags, Ketab Sara Company, Tehran, Iran, 1991 (about 224 pp., 139 pages of  illustrations)
    Mr. Tanavoli has the express advantage of being one of the only Iranians writing on the subject of Iranian weavings.  Because of this, everything he says may well be construed as a little closer to the truth than the writings of Western authors who do not have an insider's viewpoint.  Mr. Tanavoli is himself an artist- a sculptor, and is not a carpet dealer.  He became interested in Iranian weavings out of his own adventures in art.
     As an author, this gives him a deep sense of appreciation for both the processes and aesthetics of Persian weavings. In addition, he is often able to describe and explain the functions of otherwise mysterious textiles from his native land.  This particular book, Bread and Salt, is well worth reading for a better understanding of these little jewels of the weaving world.  Mr. Tanavoli addresses his subject with much enthusiasm, and is, therefore, enjoyable to read.  What's more endearing, however, is the passion with which he describes these wonders of Iran, and the fact that he himself is one of the first discoverers of  their purposes and uses.
    Mr. Tanavoli has a long list of people who believe his work, including many readers of the magazine, Hali, where his articles have appeared for years.  This book, if you can find it, is well worth reading and provides an interesting insider view of sofreh and salt bags.

***** Five stars from Afarstar!

Tanavoli, Parviz, Riding in Splendour: Horse and Camel Trappings from Tribal Iran, Farhangsara Publications, Tehran, Iran, 1998 (about 150 pp., 196 illustrations)
    At long last, a book on those odd bags and little strips of weaving known only to rug dealers and obsessive collectors.  Mr. Tanavoli is kind enough to present a discussion on trappings related to horses, donkeys and mules, and another on camels.  He extensively covers the many pieces of equipment and weavings related to the use of these animals in daily life by the nomads of Iran.  In my first flip through, I recognized several of those: "Hmm, it's something, but I have no idea what," type objects.  I even discovered that I own some of them.  This book brings light into a previously dark room, and not only explains the basics in a clear manner, but also shows the variations within individual tribes.  He makes it fun to finally be able to identify all of those baubles and tassels which you bought because you thought they were cool. 

***** Five stars and a note of thanks to the author for writing such a book from Afarstar!

Tanavoli, Parviz, The Sofreh of Kamo, Farhangsara Publications, Tehran, Iran, 1998 (66 pp., 44 pages of illustrations)
    This lovely little book was published after the author wrote about sofreh in Bread and Salt.  He thought he had exhausted the subject, when to his dismay he discovered another type of sofreh.  (Oh, to one day be so unlucky!) Out of a desire to include these fresh sofreh, he penned this small book which is more like an article on the subject.  In this book he again defines sofreh, and then includes lavish photos of the new collection.  The exciting thing about reading this book is you might discover you already own one of these!

***** Five stars from Afarstar!

Tanavoli, Parviz, The Tacheh of Chahar Mahal, Farhangsara Publications, Tehran, Iran, 1998 (about 99 pp., 45 pages of illustrations)
    This little book is similar to the one described above it.  Mr. Tanavoli, the author, found some obscure tribal weavings and devoted several pictures and an article to them.  The result is an enjoyable book about a lesser known topic and more insight into this specific tribal lifestyle.

***** Five stars from Afarstar!