Oriental Carpets: From the Tents, Cottages and Workshops of Asia

Rating:
Summary: Good introduction, with many excellent photographs
Review: This is an excellent book to learn about oriental carpets, and it provides a good general reference for both first time and experienced buyers. It is well written and well-organized. I have the larger format hard copy, which shows off the 180(!) excellent photos of a large variety of both new and old carpets, and the people who make them. The quality of the photos are the best I have found among the many carpet books I've read and looked through. At the back are two informative 2-page maps showing the main carpet-making areas of Turkey, the Middle East, China & Mongolia. Note that this book is not a complete lexicon of carpets, so it is less useful for someone who wants to look up a particular carpet name, spelling, or style. Highly recommended, especially the hard copy published in 1988, if you can find it.

Rating:
Summary: The best introductory rug book I've seen. Highly recommended
Review: You'll recognize this book in the store by the wonderful cover photo of two cheerful Turkoman girls knotting a carpet. This is one of the strengths of the book -- lots of photos of rug weavers at work, and how they live, both modern and historic. The second strength -- lots and lots of gorgeous color photos of rugs!