_The tree design in its best and strongest elements is typified in this wonderful and most interesting Persian fabrication of olden time. The harmony of design and color is most impressive, and the size of the rug enhances this effect. It was evidently woven by one weaver, and years of patient labor and the greatest skill must have been bestowed on it. The richness of coloring, the velvet-like texture, the repose of design, are all unusual. The foundation is of a deep rich blue, and the exquisite rose and sapphire blues and ivory tones are in the softest and richest of permanent dyes. The border is wide, the main stripe of the rose shade, and the coloring all so blended that the continuity of the rug is complete. It is doubtless a product of Kurdistan._ OWNED BY MRS. POTTER PALMER, CHICAGO.] The finest rugs are closely woven, with a pile like velvet, and with stitches on the back that resemble needlework. A rug has scarcely reached its prime until it has been down ten years; and it should last for centuries, if carefully used. As a partial explanation of this wonderful durability, it should be remembered that in their own homes the Persians use their finest rugs for hangings, and also that they take off their shoes before entering the house. In ancient days rug-weaving in Persia was generally restricted to Ispahan, Khorassan, and Shuster, but in modern times the most noted districts are those of Sultanabad, Fars, Hamadan, Feraghan, Bijar, Kurdistan, Khorassan, and Kirman. But the industry is so widely spread over Persia that there is not a class of women who do not live by it, and very often really fine pieces of work are produced in districts where the art receives no encouragement. The districts mentioned above are more noted for the quality of the rugs they produce than for anything else. The rug of each district has a peculiar character of its own, both as to the quality of the wool and the design. The peculiarities characterizing each district are so noticeable that an expert can generally tell at a glance where a rug was made.