| Plate 7. Baluchi Rug, NE Persia, Khorasan, Torbat-e-Haidari, late 19th century. 3' x 7' |
It was in the 1950s that he began to collect oriental rugs. According to Baluchi Woven Treasures, his first three Baluch rugs were bought in Germany in 1951. A new interest was fired, and he continued to buy all types of oriental rugs. After meeting H. McCoy Jones, he narrowed the focus of his collecting to tribal rugs and joined the rug society Jones founded, The Hajji Baba Society of Washington, D.C. The society changed its name to The International Hajji Baba Society in 1973.
In 1969, McCoy organized the first of what were to become annual, Christmas rug exhibitions at the Cosmos Club in Washington, D.C. Jeff became actively involved in the society, and from 1971 thru 1976, he and McCoy selected, installed, took down, and wrote catalogs for these annual exhibitions that were up for only a few days. The catalogs on which he collaborated were:
Although Jeff owned rugs from all countries by this time, his interest in Baluch rugs was increasing. McCoy's main interest was in Turkomans, and this shows in the rugs that were exhibited. The 1969 exhibition was on The Ersari and Their Weavings and the 1970 exhibition was the first Rugs of the Yomud Tribes. The only two exceptions to the Turkoman theme was Persian Tribal Rugs, on which Ralph Yohe also collaborated, and Baluchi Rugs. One must assume that Jeff was a major influence on McCoy in getting Baluch rugs selected as a theme for the Christmas exhibition.
Jones and Boucher's Baluchi Rugs was the first rug publication ever devoted solely to this group of rugs. At that time Baluch rugs were, along with Kurdish rugs, one of the cheapest rugs one could buy. (As a group Baluch rugs have become something of a collectors cult, whereas Kurdish rugs remain largely rugdom's unwanted.) The show was an astounding success in introducing rug collectors to this group. The incredible quality of the blues, the softness and luster of their wool, and perhaps most importantly, showing the variety of not only patterns but colors that could be found in them.
Baluchi Rugs may have been the first International Hajji Baba Society publication to go out of print. Whether it was printed in the same quantity as earlier catalogs is unknown, but it was one that the society no longer had for sale in a few years. It is certainly the only one that has been xeroxed and sold by dealers. Five of Boucher's rugs in this exhibition were still in the collection published in Baluchi Woven Treasures, Nos. 13, 17, 41, 49, and 51.
This ground-breaking effort was followed in 1976 by an exhibition and catalog, Rugs of the Wandering Baluchi by David Black Oriental Carpets (London) and Textiles of Baluchistan by M. G. Konieczny in 1979. Since then numerous dealer exhibitions and catalogs have been published, greatly expanding the diversity of rug types known. Almost any rug conference cannot be held without a lecture or session on Baluch rugs. They have become as much a permanent fixture in rug collecting as Caucasian rugs.
One does not know how Jeff felt about all of this suddenly acquired popularity of his favorite rugs. Certainly it did not stop him from buying. Looking though auction catalogs not only of the U.S. houses but also those in England and Germany, one inevitably comes across a Baluch rug published in Baluchi Woven Treasures. When a rug appeared at auction in the 1970s and '80s of a type he did not have but wanted for the collection, Jeff was off for the preview to see and inspect the piece. Jeff was not one who bought 'worn out' rugs; condition was as important to him as rarity and quality of materials. If the rug did not meet his standards, he was willing to wait for a later day.
In the 1980s, he began to cull and refine the collection to his interests. He gradually sold off his rugs from Turkey, Iran, and Central Asia. The Baluch rugs were chosen not only for variety of design types but for variations of borders, edge and end finishes. He refined his definition of what a real Baluch rug was from those made by neighbors of the Baluch weavers whose rugs had many features in common. The latter rugs he dubbed 'Baluch in Name Only'. The collection given to the IMA has only 14 of this type.
Jeff did not rely solely on what he learned from looking at rugs and from other collectors and dealers; he avidly bought books as well. He had one of the best private oriental rug book libraries. This library, consisting of approximately 400 volumes, is being given to the IMA as a research resource to accompany the collection, making it one of the best museum rug libraries in the country.
Jeff Boucher was a collector who represented not only the 'old school' of collectors but the 'contemporary' as well. His old school training taught him to buy condition, quality, and variety. He was 'contemporary' in that he courageously led the way in pioneering an interest in a type of rug earlier collectors ignored. He did this with conviction and assurance that what he was doing was right. This gave others the courage to look at this group of rugs with new eyes.
He was a very visible collector. He attended auctions and rug conferences where he could see people and interact with them. He assumed the leadership of the International Hajji Baba Society from McCoy Jones and its program objectives of promoting an interest in oriental rugs and textiles. On many occasions, selections from his collection were exhibited at meetings of the International Hajji Baba Society for members to touch, admire, and learn about Baluch rugs.
It is a fitting tribute to Jeff's memory and desire to expand knowledge of oriental rugs that the collection is going to a public institution where it will continue to be exhibited and available for study by future rug collectors and scholars.
Many of the Boucher Baluch rugs seem similar to one another, but they were acquired because they exhibited differences. These rugs share the same field pattern of rosettes within a lattice and inner border. However, the color emphasis in plate 4 is the diagonal coloration whereas in plate 7 the eye is drawn to the single light red rosette at the center. The main border patterns are quite different, but both are typical of Baluch weaving. The dominant color in plate 4 is red and the most striking color of plate 7 is mid-blue. Both rugs have different edge and end finishes. The condition of both, with some typical corrosion of the browns and only minor wear to the sides, is typical of the rugs in the Boucher Collection.
