The text portion of the catalog is concise and easy to read, comprising no more than 13 pages. The text consists of separate statements from the authors about the origins and nature of Armenian rugs, a short history of Armenia and. Armenians, a half-page note on dates, one-page introductions of each of the five chapters, and an afterword.

The major contribution of the catalog is that 74 of the rugs illustrated have not been published elsewhere. The documentation of the previously unpublished rugs itself is a welcomed addition to the literature on Armenian rugs. Illustrated is a broad range of Armenian rugs woven in lands considered to be "Greater Armenia" and from the Armenian villages of central Iran.

Unfortunately, neither the quality nor the size of the color plates is consistent. Many of the plates are of high quality with good resolution; too many are not. It is regrettable that the choice was made to reduce the size of the plates, restricting the reader's ability to see details of the rugs. A simple reorganization and a different layout of the analysis and description would have allowed the sizes of all of the plates to be enlarged.

The catalog is divided into five chapters by geographic location as well as by design composition: Anatolia, the Caucasus, Qarabagh, Pictorial and Rose Patterned Qarabaghs, and Rugs of the Diaspora. Chapter divisions are normally by geographic regions rather than by a combination of geographic location and design composition. This division may be somewhat misleading to a reader as the rationale behind the organization is not explained.

In their brief discussion of kilims and jijims, the Gregorians make the statement (page 11) that "Armenian flat-woven textiles are not inscribed." In fact, there are a number of inscribed Armenian kilims and jijims, one of which the Gregorians included in this catalog (Plate 9). While unusual, inscribed kilims and jijims are common enough that this error should have been corrected before publication.

The largest number of rug illustrations come from the areas of Kazak and Qarabagh (over half the plates are of Qarabaghs alone), regions with large Armenian populations. In these chapters (as in the others), one finds interesting or puzzling rugs. For example, in addition to the designs typically woven in these areas, there are several illustrations of Qarabagh rugs woven with adaptations of Turkoman designs. The Qarabagh in Plate 72 contains three Salor-type guls employed as central medallions. This usage is more typical of Caucasian rugs than the repeated rows of guls found in Turkoman rugs. The question arises as to the manner in which TuŁkoman-type designs (Plates 72 and 54) were transplanted into the Caucasus.

The design and color combinations of a Kars rug (Plate 5) reflect a strong Kurdish influence. Although there was a large Armenian population at the turn of the century , by 1929 the population had been greatly depleted. Without the Armenian inscription, it is likely that this would have been labeled as Kurdish-woven.

At first glance, the Maku in Plate 96 is a rather ordinary carpet. The carpet is to be read, not by the inscription alone but by the motifs comprising the design as well. This carpet was probably made for donation to the pilgrimage church of St. Thaddeus. For centuries, each July Armenian pilgrims have come to pay homage at the church of St. Thaddeus, built during the 1lth and 14th centuries. The figures representing the pilgrims, like the pilgrims who served as subjects for Chaucer in The Canterbury Tales, have been placed between rows of stylized flowers. Animals, crosses and flowers accompany the pilgrims. Instead of words in a poem, the Armenian weaver has chosen to tell her story through hundreds of knots.

It is inevitable that Armenian Rugs from the Gregorian Collection will be compared with Weavers, Merchants and Kings. The two volumes are not comparable, for their purposes are different; they should be used in conjunction with one another, as an extension. Weavers, Merchants and Kings did not include rugs woven after 1920 as it was felt that the rugs woven in the Caucasus after that date would reflect too heavily the Soviet organization of the carpet industry. The Gregorians did include 23 rugs woven after 1920, helping complete the picture in the evolution of Armenian weaving begun by Weavers, Merchants and Kings.

The importance of publishing inscribed and dated Armenian rugs is evident. What should have been mentioned is that the vast majority of Armenian rugs were woven without inscriptions and dates. For this reason alone, the rugs in this collection do not constitute a representative sample of Armenian weaving. The analysis of inscribed rugs is imperative in the association, classification and verification of other rugs with similar designs, motifs and characteristics. It should be obvious that, while inscribed rugs are interesting in themselves, their major benefit is likely to be that their undeniable Armenian origin and other attributes allow serious collectors or scholars to make Armenian attribution to uninscribed rugs.

Armenian Rugs from the Gregorian Collection preserves photographs of Armenian inscribed rugs for posterity, adding to the insight and our appreciation of Armenian rugs. For this, the authors are to be commended.

Armenian Rugs from the Gregorian Collection by Arthur T. Gregorian and Joyce Gregorian Hampshire, 1987, contains 200 pages, 104 color and four black-and- white illustrations, and five maps. A soft cover volume, it is priced at $42.