FERAGHANS.âStretching eastward from the base of Mt. Elwund is the plain of Feraghan. Its length does not exceed forty-five miles, nor its breadth ten or fifteen, yet here are clustered several hundred villages. On account of its altitude of seven thousand feet, the ground is covered with snow in winter, and the people are then huddled in their low mud houses, and the flocks and herds are gathered within the village walls. But in the spring the men are cultivating the fields, and the sheep are grazing on the banks of numerous streams. It is a plain of fertility and industry. For generations it has been productive of large numbers of fine rugs, and it is still possible among its villages to find some of those old pieces that have been regarded by the Persians themselves as the best examples of the textile art.
When the characteristic patterns of Feraghans have once been carefully observed, they are never forgotten; yet it is surprising to note the many distinctions observable in a large collection. These patterns may conveniently be divided into two groups, namely: one in which the field is entirely covered with diaper designs, and the other in which the field contains a central medallion surrounded by uniform colour. Probably nine tenths of these rugs fall within the first group, which is divisible into three sub-groups: those in which the field is covered with the Herati design; those in which the field is covered with the Guli Hinnai design; and those in which the field is covered with some other small diaper design.
The Herati design is the one most frequently seen, and is found in the very oldest of existing Feraghans. As a rule, the crumpled leaf does not exceed a length of four or five inches, and the rosettes are proportionally small, so that the ground colour is almost entirely concealed, and at a short distance is not distinguishable; but there are other pieces in which the leaf is over a foot in length, and the figures less closely clustered, so that the ground enters prominently into the colour scheme. The prevailing colour of the leaf and rosette is generally rose red, which gives a distinctly reddish tone to the rug; though the small designs have shades of green, yellow, white, and light blue. The ground is usually a rich, dark blue; but occasionally red or even ivory is used. In very few other rugs are the corners separated from the field, unless there is a central medallion; but in almost all Feraghans small triangular-shaped corners, with colours contrasting with those of the field, are separated from it by lines bearing teeth or serrated edges.