Alien Tea Shoppe

stock photo They go by many general names; Persian Rugs, Oriental Carpets, Tapis de Orient, S ajada, Prayer Rugs, Saff.  This of course doesn't even cover the various types of rugs and their names; Caucasian are rugs from the Caucasus region,  Anatolian are rugs from Turkey,  Ghali are large rectangular rugs from Persia, Makatlik are long narrow rugs, Turbehlik is a grave carpet, or that Turkoman are rugs from Turkistan.  Or styles such as Tabriz, Sarouk, Shiraz, Kelim, Bukhara. One thing they all are, however are handmade works of art in a utilitarian form.  Oriental rugs come found Iran (once known as Persia), Turkey, Russia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Daghestan, Turkmenistan, Nepal, China, India, Romania; also from Albania, Hungary, Egypt, Greece, and Morocco, though to a lesser extent.  What they never are, are machine made.  It may have an oriental design, but if it's machine made, then it is not real. Works of art in ...

So, in an earlier blog post I talked about my father being a jeweler; and more specifically that he implemented the system of bartering to obtain things we needed like dental visits.  But his bartering also extended to my sister and I having a trousseau, or dowry.  A trousseau is something every bride brought to the marriage in numerous countries.  The wealthier you were, the wealtheir your trousseau.  It contained your wedding dress, as well as things for setting up your new home; blankets, crystal stemware, china, sterling silver pieces, jewelry.  It might also contain various types of livestock, money, servants, art works. While technically it was in order for the bride to have her own things, trousseau's were ultimately incorporated into the man's wealth and more times than not, never belonging to the bride to begin with. It is an odd thing to think about.  Today a trousseau is generally not something a bride has, nor ...