Prepared for Publication: Nazeih Taleb Maarouf, Preface by: Halit Eren
IRCICA published a first Volume of high quality paper entitled: Handmade Prayer Carpet through History which comprises 395 pages: 221 pages in English and 174 pages in Arabic. Rich with photos of masterpieces of Handmade Prayer Carpets made of silk, wool and cotton from various countries of the Muslim World known in this specific profession like Turkey, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Iran, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Mauritania, in addition to the Sadou weaving of Kuwait.
The Volume provide a long introduction which discuss the development process made in the field of Prayer Carpets’ Weaving through history since its inception in regions like Central Asia, Turkey, Iran, North African Countries, Egypt and other various places of the Muslim World. These are the regions which witnessed flourishing times through history in this specific field of profession. The Volume also provide an introduction of the various terms and names used in different geographical regionsm, a classification of the used raw materials, variety of the natural dying, kinds of applied knots, and explanation of the differnet types of looms used in each of such regions. The book is considered as first of its kind specialised in the field of handmade Prayer Carpets weaving.
The book also shed lights on the different types of ornamentations used in such masterpieces, providing images of richness in designs which decorated such pieces of carpets which highlight a variety of geometric and floral forms with natural colours that gives another addition to its beauty. The most distinguish aspect of the Volume are the set of unique coloured photos of masterpieces of handmade Prayer Carpets which were woven by a group of master artisans who are still working today to flourish this sector, and who innovate unique designs which go in line with the old master pieces of Prayer Carpets that were woven over different period of ages. The book is considered as a first academic document for such group of prayer carpets. This is said so, due to the provided detailed data about the measurements, classifications, dimensions, type of used colours, designs and other relevant important data on every piece of carpet.
