Interview with Barry O’Connell
Spongobongo.com’s Barry O’Connell is an extremely well-known and well-respected name when it comes to rugs.
Recently Barry O’Connell was able to answer a few of our questions in a brief e-mail interview.
In a broad sense, how are weavings and rugs different from other forms of art?
Rugs are a non-verbal language. Each different type of rug corresponds to a language or dialect. For instance Teke and Salor are both dialects of Turkmen. They are closely related with distinctive differences so that they can be told apart. Their rugs follow the same pattern they are very similar with enough differences that we can tell the difference between the products of the two groups.
What style of rug would you recommend as a good “first rug” for the beginner?
At the risk of sounding sexist let us talk about women. What is the perfect wife? I married her. Besides being the most beautiful woman in the world Jodi is the one I was drawn to. For me any other choice would be a poor one. Rugs are much like that. Sooner or later you see a rug and it takes your breath away. It is the “WOW!!!” factor. Once you see that special rug get the name and do a little comparison shopping.
Back to women, if you went to a beauty pageant with the most beautiful woman from each country in the world they would all seem beautiful at first glance. But seen as a whole it would be very apparent that in that group of 100 and some women, one is the prettiest (in your opinion), most are good looking, and a few make you wonder how they got selected in the first place. For instance I love Isfahan rugs and when I first saw a good Isfahan it was amazing to me. Now I realize that in each grade and price point some are much better than others. Establish you taste; find out what rug excites your interest then shop to see how it compares to similar rugs.
What are some other general features than make some rugs so special?
Each rug is special when seen in context. At one point I had a nice little rug called a Baluch, a tribal rug from the Iran/Afghanistan border area. As I grew in knowledge I realized that it was not a very good Baluch rug. Then one day I realized that it was not a Baluch rug at all, it was a Taimani rug. For a Taimani rug it was a very nice example.
What features of a rug should the beginner focus on when looking for a rug that will age gracefully?
Is it a good rug? Does it lay flat on the floor? Are there any holes or slits? Unless you really trust your dealer all rugs should be viewed from the back where it is much easier to see holes, slits, and other problems.
With many forms of art, the history of the culture from which the art comes can be very helpful in understanding the specific piece of art. What is some of the important history that would help one understand certain weavings such as Kazaks or some other such style?
As I suggested earlier you need to establish you personal style. If you fall in love with Isfahan then you will appreciate the rugs so much more if you look at the art and architecture of Isfahan because that is what inspires the art of the carpet. If it is a Kazak that draws you then you need to understand how little villages in a rural backwater can produce amazingly brilliant rugs. Each great rug is the product of a cultural context and I have been working for years to help people understand that context.
Some rugs for sale in the west do not come from a cultural context. Some are the product of commercial shops often using child labor. Child labor is not a problem in Iran, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Egypt, or the Caucasus. Child labor is a major issue in India, Pakistan, and Nepal. I recommend a handful of good producers in India, Pakistan, and Nepal but for the most part if it is not RugMark certified do not buy the rug. RugMark is a global nonprofit organization working to end child labor and offer educational opportunities for children in India, Nepal and Pakistan.