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Types of rugs

area rugs

Indigo, mentioned by Pliny as Indicum, yields the deep blue dye so much prized by the Romans. Arrian speaks of indigo, and says that it was exported from Barbarike, on the indus, into Egypt. This plant is grown in India, China, North and South America, Mexico, Central America, Africa, Japan, Madagascar, and Jamaica. When the Indian indigo plant, Indigofera tinctoria, is in flower, it contains the largest quantity of coloring matter. The beautiful vegetable and animal dyes which were compounded with consummate skill are now largely supplanted by the chemical dyes which are easily obtained. But in years to come the commer­cialism of the present will probably give way to the restoration of the splendid dyeing of the past.

To-day, painting a rug is quite a common procedure. Thousands of painted rugs are sold annually in the United States and other countries. The oil paint which is used is put on with an instrument somewhat resem­bling a fountain pen. After a few washings, however, the rugs become pale and lose their color.