The Root of Wild Madder: Chasing the History, Mystery, and Lore of the Persian Carpet 
Product Description: - From the remote villages of Afghanistan and Iran, down the ancient trade routes travelled for centuries, to the bazaars of Tehran and the markets of the Western world, every Persian carpet has a story to tell. Coming from a region known for its instability, this art form is one of the few constants, transcending religious and political turmoil. Woven into Persian carpets are centuries-old mysteries of faith and humanity, whirled into colours, patterns and symbols that represent the key to understanding. Each carpet tells a story in its fibres and design and carries a deeper tale in its forgotten history and the anonymity of its maker. How can a man sell a carpet to feed his family when he believes the soul of his grandmother is borne up in its intricate knots? Carpets, as both art and commodity, represent basic survival as well as the search for human perfection. Told in exquisite prose befitting one of the world s loveliest art forms, THE ROOT OF WILD MADDER offers accessible explanations of the patterns, knots and origin of these carpets. From how to tell a quality carpet from a cheap copy to where the dyes come from (madder root provides red), the book presents practical information about carpets while exploring the artistic, religious and cultural complexities of this enigmatic region. Part travelogue and part exploration into the enduring mysteries of Persian carpets, THE ROOT OF WILD MADDER brings readers to far flung corners of the world that few Westerners will ever see in person.
Customer Ratings: - THE ROOT OF WILD MADDER. This is a unique and informative book on perisan rugs. I highly recommend it to anyone seriously curious about persian rugs as something beyond floor coverings.
- Persian Carpets. This is a brilliant read. The author s love of Persian Carpets is infectious. His book is full of colorful anecdotes and sympathetic vignettes about carpets, carpet sellers, bazaaris, caravanserais (which although I had read about them numerous times, I had not before had them described for me so well), of the carpet making of different regions, of the Quiraysh, the tribal regions, Isfahan, Shiraz, Islam, the sights, sounds, colours - the philosophy of carpets... The aura and magic of Persian carpets and Persia/Iran itself is wonderfully evoked by this fantastic book.
- The Root of Wild Madder -- a Persian Tale That Needs a Tighter Weave. The Root of Wild Madder -- Chasing the History, Mystery, and Lore of the Persian Carpet definitely delivers that in the first half of the book. Sadly, the story begins to unravel as one pushes on to finish the book. Brian Murphy, who is clearly knowledgeable about carpets, modern Iran, and ancient Persia, cannot make up his mind how to conclude his book. We don t know if he intends to return to call upon the family of his mentor or will he swear off all future visits due to the recent downturn of affairs in Iran. His ambivalance left me frayed at the edges after reading chapter after chapter of his adventures into the cultural heartland of Iran and Afghanistan and the magic and poetry of their carpets.
These weaknesses aside, the glory of Murphy s book is his ability to get the reader lost in the crevasses of Teheran s carpet bazaars and off the beaten path to where the most ancient of red dyes, madder, blooms. The reader travels over unpaved roads at lightnening speed only to discover the hidden tomb of Persia s greatest poet, Hafez. Murphy also provides a refreshing meditation on the art of the carpet as music being seen and poetry as weft and warp being heard. He also gains access to the women who create the carpets. With gratitude and candor he celebrates their contribution to a world that is made better off through their efforts.
The Root of Wild Madder also provides a useful, if not excellent, introduction to the manufacture of carpets, including looming, weaving, dyeing and, finishing. While Murphy provides several excellent photos, an illustrated glossary of the dozen most important terms would have helped the book.
He also regales the reader with wonderful descriptions of Shiraz, Isfahan, Mashhad and many other Persian places and this is where I found the book to be its most heartwarming. These descriptions of contemporary Iranian life is where the book is at its strongest and where I would most strongly recommend it to the would-be traveller to that region.
While Murphy does not conclude his stories well, he certainly does open the door to a whole new -- and very ancient -- world that is beyond our experience. Read The Root of Wild Madder for its beginning if not its ending. He will surely reveal to you paths that you did not realize were there. - Great book for carpetaholics. If you are hooked on oriental carpets this is a fantastic book. It is a journal of a man s travels through the old carpet weaving countries.
- The seductive poetry of oriental rugs. Brian Murphy s book begins rather slowly but then picks up in interest and even excitement. It is a rich and well documented history, replete with intricacies and exciting revelations. The author allows not to be a carpet connaisseur but he is quick to learn and has evidently done a lot of research to compensate his lacks. It is also well written and quietly evocative. I have two comments to add:
The Qasqua i (whose tribal carpets have captivated Mr. Murphy) begun their historical treck as Georgian-speaking tribes (see Suny RG, The making of the Georgian nation, 1994, p.4). The vagaries of history made them adopt, first a Turkish dialect and now, living in Iran, Farsi--another example of discordances between ethnic identity and linguistics. But the Qashqa i carpets poetically and artistically commemorate their past and their history.
A Christian Armenian was involved in the history of madder, but he is generally labeled Iranian, since more famous cultures always obscure the contributions of lesser known ones. His name was Jean Althen... [an] Iranian [!] who introduced the cultivation of madder... into Southern France... [H]e was born in a village he spells Chaouch. He lost his parents during the Afghan invasion and was taken as a slave to Kayseri in Anatolia, where he learned cotton cultivation and dyeing. In about 1736 he escaped to France, where he was received by Louis XV in Versailles...[I]n southern France... he began to cultivate Oriental madder, this proved so successful that madder soon became a main crop of the region... [I]n 1846... his efforts honored, by the erection of his statue on the rock of Notre Dame des Doms.(See http://www.iranica.com/ newsite /articles/v1f9/v1f9a005.html).
There are two interesting asides to this story.
One concerns the species of madder that he brought into France. Was it Rubia peregrina L., or R. tinctorum L.? I believe its the latter (whose root is also known as racine d Armenie), found more commonly in the Orient and the source of red madder.
The other is the fact that Dominican monks from Smyrna probably encouraged and helped Althen to escape from Kaiseri, carrying madder seeds with him, to introduce in France a product that a monopoly of the Ottoman empire up to that point, with Oriental punishments awaiting those caught stealing it.
In any event, read this book. It is an almost magical introduction to the poetry of Oriental carpets. On second thought, I ll give it four stars and a half.
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The Root of Wild Madder: Chasing the History, Mystery, and Lore of the Persian Carpet (ID: 0743264193)
