Selecting a special handmade carpet when there are thousands to choose from can be both frustrating and exhausting. Frustrating — because you think you know exactly what type of carpet you are looking for but end up being thrown off by the salesman unrolling before your eyes a totally different carpet that had designs and colors that you never imagined would appeal to you. Exhausting — because you leave the shop without being able to make a final choice and decide to go home and think about it. Days or weeks later, you visit other carpet shops and the cycle of indecision recurs. This equivocal approach to buying a carpet is normal and has been experienced by a large number of people.
However, there are exceptions and so it was with great delight that I met Jennifer Paterson who recently asked me to accompany her to a carpet shop. “I know exactly what type of carpets I want to buy,” she said emphatically without a quiver of doubt in her voice. Her preferred carpets were from the northern Afghan towns of Andkhoy and Kunduz where fine weaving with dark, rich natural colors predominate. Jennifer also said that she and her husband were leaving the Kingdom after a very happy and pleasant four years. Their plan is to buy an old farmhouse somewhere in the south of France and settle/retire permanently. Jennifer continued, “I had a family summit with my husband and we both decided that the time was now right to buy carpets.”Armed with an elastic budget, we set off and meandered through Jeddah’s busy streets. On the way, Jennifer talked about her love of the Middle East. She said that she had joined the foreign office when she was 19 as a bilingual secretary; her first overseas posting was in 1969 at the British Embassy in Kuwait. It was when she was in Kuwait that she traveled to Iran and visited Isfahan, Shiraz, and the archeological wonder of Persepolis. “I was totally captivated by the elegance and the beauty of Isfahan” and it was in that wonderful city that she bought her first rug, a small prayer mat. “My budget in those days would not allow me to buy one of the larger carpets that I so much adored.”
By this time, we had reached the carpet shop and once inside, Jennifer’s tranquility quickly dissolved to be replaced by excitement and awe when she spotted a large (4m x 4m) Afghan carpet from Kunduz. The carpet was hanging on the wall and under the soft artificial lighting, the dark rust browns and blues and highlights of ivory looked truly fine. She motioned to the salesman that she wanted to see the carpet on the floor. Her eyes sparkled as she walked around the carpet, viewing its light and dark sides. “It is as beautiful on the floor as it is on the wall; I will buy it,” Jennifer calmly declared.
The salesmen, sensing business, began leaping like frogs over piles of carpets to reach other examples of fine Afghan weaving. An extra fine (3m x 2m) Afghan Turkoman carpet from Andkhoy was shown. It was woven with soft Belgian lambs wool and the dominant color was a deep rich hazelnut brown. The carpet had six beautifully woven indigo sunburst medallions. Strategically placed throughout the carpet were areas of ivory that highlighted the carpets dark design. “I’ll buy that too,” said Jennifer with the certainty of a seasoned collector. At this stage, it was very clear that she had an excellent eye and very discriminating taste. No fewer than five Afghan carpets were bought that evening, including two smaller (1.5m x 2m) Kunduz carpets. One of the carpets had a pomegranate design in a deep rose; it was a gift for her sister who lives in Worcestershire, England.
On our way home Jennifer described the pride, pleasure, and excitement that she felt now that she had finally chosen the carpets for her yet-to-be found home in the south of France. Although, it was pointed out to her that the large (4m x 4m) Kunduz carpet would need a very large room, she retorted, “No problem! We will just have to look for a house with a room big enough to fit the carpet.”
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Arab News Features 20 February 2003
