The Rugs of Amos Bateman Thacher

Illustration 1. Tekke juval.

While selecting the rugs, we learned that the family had a ledger in which Thacher listed all of his rug purchases from 1933 to 1938. Included are the prices he paid, the sellers' names, whether or not he repaired the rugs, to whom each was sold and for what amount. Several of the rugs on the list were published in Turkoman Rugs. It is rare to obtain data of this nature on rugs which were purchased more than 50 years ago; we are pleased to be able to present some of it below.

A.B. Thacher was not the typical Hajji Baba Society member. He was a middle class, professional man who lived in Garden City, Long Island. In 1931 the Thachers suffered a flre to their home and received a substantial insurance settlement for the losses. Thacher had wanted Oriental rugs in his home for years and he decided to indulge this desire using part of this settlement.

He began buying rugs at local auctions, and it was at these auctions that he met Joe McMullan. This resulted in a close friendship and in 1933 membership in the Hajji Baba Society. In 1935 he became secretary of the Society and continued in that capacity until 1940.

In buying rugs Mr. Thacher remained close to the sources near his home, a small group of dealers and auction houses on Long Island. Later the names of a few New York City dealers, private individuals, and dealers from other areas, Hintlian in Washington, for example, appear.

His buying was not limited to Turkoman rugs. All types of rug names appear in his inventory: "Cabistan, Tabriz, Belooch, Mosul, Salor, ChiChi, Shemaka, Bergamo, Kurd, Arak, Lor, Shiraz," etc. The list includes the popular spellings of the day, and one sees how Thacher changes these spellings in the years before the publication of Turkoman Rugs.

Caucasian rugs are the most numerous (44), followed by Turkomans (30), Persian tribal (24), Persian village (12), Baluch (12), Turkish (9), Persian city (3), Chinese (1), Samarkand (1), and five with no specific attribution (sumak saddle, palace saddle, sumak). During the years covered by the inventory -- 1933-1938 -- he bought 142 rugs. The rugs purchased in the flrst four years are mixed but his obvious interest in Turkoman rugs increased. Nine of the 16 rugs purchased in 1937 are Turkomans. Interestingly, his first two rug purchases were a Hamadan and Tekke. The last two purchases in the records are a Tekke and Saryq.

As with most collectors, Thacher sold, traded, and sent back to auction many of the rugs. In a summation of accounts at the end of his first four years of buying, Thacher had sold rugs for $1,174.40 which had cost him $871 for a net profit of $303.40. The first two rugs he purchased were sold in this period. The Hamadan, bought for $14, was sold for a loss of $5.20, but he doubled his money on the Tekke for a profit of $10.

In looking at the rugs which remain with the Thacher family, it is apparent that many were damaged or worn when purchased. One suspects that the local auction houses were places where the wholesalers could dispose of less than perfect goods which their retail dealers would not buy. (Today's short notice auctions serve the same purpose.)

Thacher learned to repair rugs. The inventory indicates that, when repairs were made, the cost was deducted from the amount the rug eventually sold for to determine net profit. In reading these records, one is aware that the rugs were being bought for use, not for some revered, hallowed, and sanctified collection.

But Thacher approached rugs with a scholar's mind. He bought books, he bought catalogs, he tore pictures out and pasted them on boards to see many rugs together so that their common and disparate features couid be observed. He was well aware of Bogolubov's and Clark's works.

He bought his first rugs in 1933.Turkoman Rugs was published in I940. He died in 1948. Compared to other Hajji Babas, this was a very brief involvement with rugs. But in those years he made a lasting contribution to Oriental rug knowledge.

As a book which focused on one type of rug, Turkoman Rugs was an anomaly for the time. Most books in the 1920-30s were general in nature. In Turkoman Rugs he published the range of Turkoman designs, weaving techniques used, and a variety of utilitarian pieces. He attempted to define the characteristics of different Turkoman tribes. Although Saryq rugs were published in other books, usually labeled Pinde, Thacher is the first who attempted to define them as a group and establish the characteristics of the Saryq gul. Several of his attributions are incorrect by today's definitions, but without his synthesis, the work of the '60s and '70s would have come slower and would probably be less accurate.

Several of the Thacher rugs have appeared at auction and they tend to prove the myth that published rugs will increase in value more than unpublished ones. This is more a validation of Thacher's work than the inherent excellence of the individual rugs. But, the collecting public's fascination with the rugs and his book persists because of the variety of Turkoman weaving which he presented.

The following list is an attempt to integrate several different pieces of information about the Thacher rugs. The first line includes the following data:

Thacher's attribution, (Today's accepted attribution): (Original Owner), Present Owner, or if unknown, Lost.

If listed in Thacher's ledger the second line includes the following data from the ledger:

Name, size, from whom bought, date, price, and an * means published in Turkoman Rugs and a ? means possibly in Turkoman Rugs. When applicable, a last line entry cites where the rugs have been published in color.

Listing of rugs published in Turkoman Rugs :

Plate 6. Saryq Rug: (Thacher), Lost

Plate 7. Saryq Juval (Ersari): (Todd), Macculloch Hall, Morristown, N.J. Pinde Juval, 4'10" x 3'2", from Silo Auction, 10/1/37, $18.00, ?

Mackie/Thompson, Türkmen , No. 87

Plate 8. Saryq Torba (Ersari): (Lau), Thacher Family

Plate 9. Saryq Namazlyk (Ensi) : (Pearson), Textile Museum Saryq Prayer, from Silo Auction, 2/26/38, $31.00, ? Ettinghausen, Prayer Rugs, No. XXXV

Plate 10. Tekke Rug: (Thacher), Lost

Plate 11. Tekke Rug: (McMullan), Metropolitan Museum of Art

Plate 12. Tekke Juval: (Weaver), Lost

Plate 13. Tekke Rug: (Pearson), Textile Museum Mackie/Thompson, op. cit., No. 29

Plate 14. Tekke Juval: (Pearson), Textile Museum Tekke, 3'6" X 2'4", from Chamalian, 11/8/35, $35.00, *

Plate 15. Tekke Torba, (S-Group): (Lau), (McMullan), Metropolitan Museum of Art McMullan, Islamic Rugs, No. 128

Plate 16. Tekke Juval: (Thacher), Thacher Family Oriental Rug Review, Dec/Jan, I987, Illustration I

Plate 17. Tekke Door Hanging, (Khalyk):(Todd), Macculloch Hall, Morristown, N.J. Walker, Rugs of the Hajji Babas, No. 35

Plate 18. Tekke Namazlyk (Ensi): (Thacher), Lost Katchli, 5'4" x 4'4", from Lord, 5/18/34, $20.00, ?

Plate 19. Yomud Juval (Ersari Torba): (McMullan), Textile Museum Yomud Juval, 5'9"x1'10", from Olivet, a Hajji, 10/22/37, $30.00, ? McMullan, op. cit., No. 133 and Mackie/Thompson, op. cit., No. 90

PIate 20. Yomud Rug: (Al-Akl), Metropolitan Museum of Art Dimand, Peasant and Nomad Rugs, No. 26 and Walker, op. cit, No. 36

Plate 21. Yomud Rug: (McMullan), Metropolitan Museum of Art, McMullan, op. cit., No. 122

Plate 22. Yomud Rug: (McMullan), Metropolitan Museum of Art, McMullan, op. cit., No. 131

Plate 23. Yomud Rug, (Tekke): (Olivet), (Pearson), Textile Museum

Plate 24. Yomud Rug, (Asmalyk): (Thacher), (Pearson), Textile Museum

Plate 25. Yomud Rug, (Tekke Ak Juval): (Thacher), Lost

Piate 26. Yomud Torba: (McMullan), Metropolitan Museum of Art, McMullan, op. cit., No. 129

Plate 27. Yomud Torba, (Tekke): (Owen), Lost

Plate 28. Yomud Rug: (Lau), (Jones), S.F. Museums Walker, op. cit., No. 42

Plate 29. Yomud Namazlyk, (Ensi): (Fisher), Lost Yomud Khatchli, 5'2"X4'2", from Hintlian, 4/3/37, $30.00, *

Plate 30. Chodor Rug: (Nourjian), Lost

Plate 31. Chodor Juval, (Torba): (Straka), Jack and Dorothy Shepard, Chawdor Bag, 3'5," X 1'3," from Chamalian, 12/10/36, $22.50, * Straka, The Straka Collection , No. 11 and Sotheby's auction, 12/86, Lot 40

Plate 32. Chodor Rug, (Tekke?) : (Thacher), Thacher Family Edelmann auction, 10/25/80, No. 426

Plate 33. Afghan Rug (Ersari): Thacher Family, Kiva, 8'2" X 6'0", from Silo auction, 11/22/34, $40.00

Plate 34. Afghan Namazlyk (Ensi): (Weaver), Lost

Plate 35. Ersari Rug: (Thacher), Thacher Family Ersari, 8'3" X 4'9", from Chamalian, 3/1/37, $75.00,* ORR, op. cit., Illustration II

Plate 36. Ersari Juval : (Kramer), Textile Museum

Plate 37. Ersari Juval : (Thacher), Lost

Plate 38. Ersarl Torba : (Straka), Textile Museum Straka, op. cit., No. 33

Plate 39. Ersari (Arabatchi?): (Ballard, Metropolitan Museum of Art), Metropolitan Museum of Art Mackie/Thompson, op. cit ., No. 47

Plate 40. Ersari Rug (Beshire): (Thacher), Lost

Plate 41. Ersari Rug (Cloudband Beshire): (Hintlian), Lost

Plate 42. Ersari Rug (Beshire): (Lau), (Jones), S. F. Museums

Plate 43. Ersari Torba (Todd): Macculloch Hall, Morristown, N.J.

Plate 44. Ersari Juval (Torba): (McMullan), Metropolitan Museum of Art McMullan, op. cit., No. 130

Plate 45. Ersari Juval, (Thacher), Lost

Plate 46. Ersari Namazlyk (Beshire): (Jenkins), Textile Museum Beshire, no size, from Ahearn, 12/10/34, $25.00, ?

Plate 47. Ersari Namazlyk (Beshire): (Thacher), Thacher

Plate 48. Teimur Afghan Namazlyk (Baluch): (Foster), Foster

Plate 49. Adrasqand Rug (Baluch): (Foster), Foster

Plate 50. Baluchistan Rug: (Thacher), Thacher Family Baluch, 6'6," x 4'2," from Silo auction, 1/29/37, $12.00

Plate 51. Baluchistan Namazlyk: (Jenkins), Textile Museum

Plate 52. Baluchistan Kharjin: (Thacher), Thacher Family Beluch, 2'5," X 2'3," from Silo auction, no date, $2.50 ORR, op. cit. , Illustration III

Plate 53. Embroidered Turkoman Kharjin (Baluch? Soumak): (Thacher), Lost

Plate 54. Embroidered Yomud Rug (Soumak): (Straka), Lost
Turkoman Palace, l3'4" x 7'7", from Silo auction, 3/24/38, $75.00.*

Plate 55. Embroidered Yomud Kharjin Back (Soumak): (Weaver), Lost

In reviewing this material one sees Thacher's evolution of a standard spelling of Belooch to Baluch, from dealer term Khatchli to a more informed namazlyq, from Chawdor to Chodor, etc. One realizes how his ultimate choice of spelling and use-name for the pieces has influenced our usage and spelling of those terms in recent years.

The list indicates that several pieces have been lost. If any of our readers know of the whereabouts of any of these rugs, we would be pleased to publish that information. Likewise, if anyone is aware of where other of these rugs have been published in color, we would be pleased to add to the list. Although now dispersed into various collections, the Thacher rugs remain a collection unto themselves. As in the first Hajji Baba Society publication, the Society has tried over the years to maintain a list of the owners of Turkoman rugs. I am indebted to Olive Olmstead Foster for providing me with that data and to the Thacher Family for providing information about A. B. Thacher and the rugs to illustrate the article.

Comments on illustrated rugs:

Tekke Juval, Illustration 1:

Except for the skirt pattern, which is also associated with Saryq weaving, the stripe patterns are like those found on kizil juvals. The warps and wefts are extremely fine. Thacher records a knot count of 390 per square inch, and indeed it may have that many in places.

The handle of the piece is extremely thin and velvety. The red ground is subtly abrashed, which is why Thacher describes the reds as deep red, maroon, crimson, and vermillion. These reds have the intensity and luminescence of the S-group rugs.

The dyes are most certainly all vegetal, and it was probably woven between 1860 - 1880. As with the majority of the pieces in Turkoman Rugs , Thacher illustrated not only the mainstream of Turkoman weaving but the unusual, finest, and rare as well.

Illustration 2. Ersari main carpet.

1. Lattice Ersari Main Carpet, Illustration 2:

This is possibly one of the earliest rugs of this type. Evidence for this is the kotshaks (ram's horns) on the vertical axes of the diamond guls and the eclectic patterning of the vertical borders. The colors are typical of the "lattice" Ersari group as are the multitudinous small flowers. The use of dark blue and a strong, unfading bluish green in an alternating diagonal sequence is standard.

Thacher called this rug "a rare survival from the days when the tribe led a wild nomadic life." These rugs are indeed rare and surprisingly have received little attention. In addition to the colors and design which are distinct among Turkoman weavings, the creamy, ivory warps and pinkish wefts are other distinctive characteristics.

The horizontal/vertical knot ratio of about 1 to 2.5 is unusual. The knots are tightly compacted but the handle is supple. On pieces with original edges, they are frequently overcast in blue-green wool. The wool is soft, which explains why so few of these rugs have survived in good condition.

The field has been reduced by at least one foot. At 8'3" long the rug is very atypical for the group. The length of floor rugs of this group is usually two and a half times the width.

It is doubtful that any rugs of this type were woven after the third quarter of the l9th century.

Illustration 3. Baluch khorjin.

Balush Kharjin (half), Illustration 3:

Thacher's refined aesthetic sensibility shows in this Baluch bagface. It is the standard against which similar pieces are measured. Examples more finely knotted with more lustrous wool and vibrant colors are known, but the drawing, balance and graphic presence of this piece are rarely surpassed. The dominating single, white bird and surrounding eight are in perfect harmony. Thacher called the bird figures "ducks", and ducks they have remained. Most likely they are peacocks which appear in other tribal, village, and city rugs. The Baluch weavers have merely rendered them in a unique form.

This rug was most likely woven in the first quarter of the 20th century. The design was not exclusive to any one Baluch group. Pieces with right-opening Persian knots are known. The outer border, kelim weaves, and color palette of this piece are closely akin to rugs woven by the Dokhtar-i-Ghazi Baluch of Afghanistan.