Title: Art Underfoot
Product review: Brian Murphy has given us a reverential yet factual account of his journey through the tradition, construction, and marketing of Oriental rugs. His descriptions of the Afgan countryside are heartbreaking, but the converstions with those in the business of dyeing, weaving, and selling rugs are as affecting as they are informative. An old Turkmen saying conveys the essence of their rug tradition: "Carpets are our soul." Or, as a young woman says as she completes knotting a section of the rug she is working on, "It is like a small world all alone and separate: perfect and peaceful." Murphy explores the debates on authenticity: spontaneous folk art versus commercial product; synthetic dyes versus the natural dyes of the book's title. He does not shrink from showing us the enormous contrasts between the harsh life of the area and the poetic beauty of their rugs. In the end it is clear that he is an unabashed lover of Oriental rugs....and that's not a bad thing. Highly recommended.
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