Ties that Bind

by Leonard M. Helfgott

This social history of Iranian carpets traces their production, use, and exchange from the fifteenth century until World War II, highlighting in particular the carpet boom from 1873 to 1914. Over these five centuries, the Iranian hand-knotted, piled carpet shifted from an object made primarily for the Islamic Middle East to a commodity that by the twentieth century constituted Iran's largest nonpetroleum export to the West.

358 pages, Paperback

First published September 17, 1996

Reviews

[Patty · Rating 2 out of 5]

Definitely an academic book. I must totally agree with the reviewer who wrote that she almost put the book down before the first chapter. If you can get past the dreary writing style, the story of Persian carpetmaking is fascinating and sad.