The arts and crafts of Persia have suffered terribly from the state of misrule. Always artistic by nature, many beautiful arts were theirs, the secret of which has been forgotten through the years of civil war and trouble. Among them the exquisite lustre-ware, charming in design and coloring, is now difficult to obtain. The enamel work for which they were once famous is a lost art; formerly tiles of this work, exquisite in color and beautiful in pattern, were freely produced, and many wonderful specimens have been saved from ancient ruins, and many are still the glory of mosques and shrines; the predominating color was a very beautiful turquoise blue in various shades, and a red-golden lustre which gave the work a peculiar iridescence. Jugs and basins in this enamel work have been saved, exceedingly beautiful in form and pattern. Silver work and brass work was an ancient industry; very little is done now. Carved wood, inlaid with ivory and mother-of-pearl, is still made to some extent, also seal-cutting. The Persian art which flourished in ancient times influenced Greek, Roman and Byzantine art, and was the father of Saracenic art and architecture, which has travelled far since its birth. Persia has ever been famed for its textiles--not only embroideries and printed cottons but marvelous rugs which stand supreme in beauty. The old rugs of Persia were ancestors of the carpet of other lands. In this connection it is worth noting that the Persians never made themselves ridiculous by the application of inappropriate design. You will not find an old Persian rug patterned with formal bouquets tied with blue ribbons, suggesting a gift being trodden underfoot. A Persian floral patterned carpet will suggest flowers and verdue in their wild state as the stroller might chance to find them. Although the impress of the art of the Chinese ceramicist and of the shawl-weavers of Cashmere exerted some influence upon the Persians, still the art of Persia from earliest times has retained a national distinction. Nearly all are objects from the earlier periods now to be met with date from the reign of the shah Abbas the Great (1586-1628) when the native art manufacturers reached their greatest degree of excellence. Thence onward came the decline.