Wisdom of a Turkmen proverb. The Root of Wild Madder opens with an invitation that flows from the same ancient inspiration. "A carpet is poetry itself;" an Iranian carpet merchant declares to author Brian Murphy. "You just have to learn to read them." So begins a journey. It follows Persian carpets from the remote villages of Afghanistan and Iran where they are woven -- often by young girls -- and on to the bazaars where they are traded; to the Sufis and mystic poets who find grace and magic in their timeless designs; and; finally and unexpectedly; to a carpet showroom in New York. Told in exquisite prose befitting one of the worlds loveliest art forms; The Root of Wild Madder eloquently chronicles how carpets embody humanitys endless striving for unattainable perfection. Here are stories of the weavers and their dreams; the "mules" who move the carpets from place to place; the tradesmen who sell them in the bazaars; and the refugee compelled to trade a carpet he believes contains the soul of his grandmother -- because his family must eat. The madder plant has fed the carpets red brilliance since the earliest weavings. But the power of its palette; like the dyers traditions; threatens to pass from memory. It would be a profound loss. Its part of a world as rich as any sublime carpet: steeped in spirituality; culture; allegory; and; above all; mystery. Nearly all the carpet masterworks are anonymous art for the ages; and Murphy seeks out their glorious hidden narratives. As he observes; "Every carpet carries its own distinctive voice. Suddenly I wanted to hear them."
#963630 in eBooks 2006-08-01 2005-07-26File Name: B000SESGA4
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Horribly madeBy Synful PinionThe actual material is great; just what was needed. But the book itself...is very very poorly made. Out of 125 pages; probably 115 are uncut and sealed together. You can see the perforation at the top; binding about 4 pages together; but theyre uncut. I have to manually rip apart 115 pages. Its ridiculous. So while the book material is great; this one book is a huge inconvenience. I also got a second book of stencils; same brand and type; and it is perfect. So who knows; maybe this is a fluke.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. ANOTHER GREAT SOUCE FOR ENGRAVERS LOOKING FOR IDEAS - FIREARMS TO BELT BUCKLES TO WHAT EVER WOOD FOLKS DOBy CustomerAgain - finishing up some older business here Dover Books are free design (no copyright) elements ANY engraver can use - without Dover Books my mind would soon come to a standstill on unique designs and elements for a firearm - again; many of these would make amazing belt buckles and I dont know much about wood engraving but I cant imagine that any of these would go unable to be used.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Historical Art Reference BookBy ShimmerLooking through this book; Im surprised there isnt a table of contents; but all of the artwork are neatly organized into genre or regional period. Each page has a title description like "Egyptian;" "Roman; "Gothic;" etc. Factual description for all the art are compacted into the first 23 pages of the book; which I dont like having to flip back and forth. I rather that each description goes on the same page of the art itself. The descriptions are just basic statements like "Goddess on a winged wheel" (page 5) or "heart-shaped hand screen or fan; containing a dragon vase from which grows a rose" (page 7)Overall; I use this book without reading the descriptions. Good inspiration for my own art.