130 Cecil Malone Drive, Ithaca, NY 14850
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Welcome to Our Monthly Newsletter
This month's topics are:
COVID-19 PANDEMIC
ORIENTAL RUGS REVISITED
- Bokhara Oriental Rug Design
MISCELLANEOUS
CONSIGNMENT RUGS FOR SALE REMINDER
FEBRUARY REGULAR CUSTOMER APPRECIATION DISCOUNTS-RCAD
If there is a topic you would like us to cover in one of our upcoming newsletters, please call us at:
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REMINDER:
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We have even more new rugs hanging!
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BOOST YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM
‘Boost Your Immune System.’ You’ve probably seen or heard this statement in any number of printed ads, on TV or online.
The products being pushed to unwary consumers includes mushroom extracts, probiotics, collagen supplements, exotic oils, bee propolis, various kefir-kombucha fermented products, and on and on.
Although no direct reference is made to COVD-19, the implicit message is clear. Something that can boost your immune system will put you in a better position to ward off this nasty virus.
The truth is that any product that would boost the immune system or support it is a scientifically meaningless claim. These are marketing terms, not scientific ones.
The immune system is not like a muscle the size of which can be boosted by exercise. It is a highly complex system of cell tissues, organs, and a host of chemicals they produce to help the body fight infections and other diseases.
THE IMMUNE SYSTEM-
TWO BASIC COMPONENTS
There are two basic components to the immune system. They are the innate and the acquired (sometimes called adaptive).
Innate Immune System
The innate system swings into action with a variety of cells and chemicals as soon as the body is attacked by a foreign substance, be it a bacterium, a virus or a toxin.
This is the reason we sneeze and cough and have a runny nose when we catch a cold. The body is trying to expel the intruder. Our throat may become inflamed because blood vessels dilate allowing white blood cells to rush to the scene to engulf and neutralize the invader.
Acquired or Adaptive Immune System
Thanks to the acquired or adaptive immune system, we never catch the same cold twice. That is because exposure to an intruder stimulates the immune system to produce antibodies. These are the special proteins that recognize the intruder on a subsequent exposure and neutralize it.
These antibodies are just one part of this reaction. There are dozens of different white blood cells and all sorts of messenger chemicals involved in the proper functioning of the immune system.
Of course, it is true that a poor diet, lack of exercise, impaired sleep, stress, and aging can diminish the immune response, this cannot be remedied with supplements, juices, chiropractic adjustments or homeopathic treatments.
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In This Issue
Consignment Rugs for Sale Reminder-We have added more rugs!
Boost Your Immune System
Bijar Oriental Rugs
Edna St. Vincent Millay
Regular Customer Appreciation Discounts
(RCAD)
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AN OVERACTIVE IMMUNE SYSTEM-
NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES
Even if immunity could be boosted in some simple fashion, such an intervention could possibly have negative consequences. An overactive immune system can attack healthy tissues. This is exactly what happens in autoimmune diseases such as arthritis and lupus. There is increasing evidence that diabetes and heart disease are associated with low-grade chronic inflammation that is the result of unwelcome immune activity.
We want our immune system to protect us from foreign substances, but we do not want it to go into overdrive and attack healthy tissues. Fortunately, when in a healthy state, our bodies manage this well. Unfortunately, an immune system in overdrive can cause a 'cytokine storm.'
Cytokine Storm--Hyper-Immune Reaction
One of the most fearsome complications of COVID-19 is the hyper-immune reaction known as a ‘cytokine storm.’ Cytokines are molecules that are released when the body senses an invader, but if they become too abundant, the immune system may not be able to stop itself.
Immune cells spread beyond infected body parts and start attacking healthy tissues, gobbling up red and white blood cells and damaging the liver. Even more, the blood vessel walls open up to let immune cells into surrounding tissues, but the vessels get so leaky that the lungs may fill with fluid, and blood pressure drops. Then blood clots form throughout the body, further choking blood flow. When organs don’t get enough blood, the body can go into shock, risking permanent organ damage or death.
WHAT IS THE QUESTION TO ASK ABOUT CLAIMS TO 'BOOST YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM?
To continue reading about the immune system and COVID-19, please continue reading here.
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THE BIJAR ORIENTAL RUG
The design of the Persian Bijar oriental rug is not as easily identified by the repetitive use of the same patterns as is the case with many other oriental rugs.
The diversity in the range of designs in these rugs can be attributed to the many different tribes that call this region home, including the Azerbaijanis and the Turks, as well as the influence of nearby neighboring countries such as Turkey and area in the Caucasus mountain.
Bijar designs are not as affected by Western design as other rugs woven in Iran, partly because of the remoteness of the rural mountainous area and partly because the particular religion and culture of the people has effectively isolated them from the rest of Iran.
The antique Bijar (woven prior to 1915) used some classic universal rug designs such as the Mina Khani and the Herati, as well as a diamond-shaped center medallion with pendants on an open field. It is important to note these classic Persian designs were subject to the interpretation of the Bijar weavers, especially those from the Kurdish villages in the region.
The antique Bijar oriental rug is known for its excellent artistry, dyes, construction, and craftsmanship, while those made after WWII gradually lost their quality and unique individual characteristics and morphed into a generic product that bears little resemblance to its revered predecessor.
LOCATION OF BIJAR
Bijar is located in Northwestern Iran in the province of Kurdistan, approximately 150 miles south of Tabriz and 90 miles NW of Hamadan.
The Bijar rugs were and are produced in the villages in the surrounding area. Kurdish tribes have been dominant in this region for centuries.
The name Bijar comes from the Kurdish 'Bi' meaning willow tree. An area of willow trees is called a 'Bijar.'
ANTIQUE BIJAR ORIENTAL RUG DISTINGUISHING FEATURE
What distinguishes the antique Bijar from other Persian rugs is its unique construction. Weavers used 2-3 wefts (foundation yarns inserted from side to side) between each row of knots. The first weft was much thicker than the second and was highly twisted. It was inserted while damp and then pounded tightly down with a hammer and a nail-like iron rod inserted between the warps, resulting in a highly compressed and durable rug.
It was this type of stout construction that earned the antique Bijar oriental rug the nickname of the 'iron rug' of Persia' (Iran). The unique construction contributed to the extraordinary strength, coarseness, and weight of the rugs, making them very durable. In fact, they cannot and should not be folded and should always be rolled for storage or transporting.
MODERN BIJAR ORIENTAL RUGS
To continue reading about the Bijar oriental rug as well as what to look for in modern Bijars, please continue reading here.
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BOKHARA ORIENTAL RUG DESIGN
BOKHARA RUGS (Bohkara) (Bukhara) (Bukhoro)
The term 'Bokhara' does not so much refer to a particular rug as it does to a particular design. The name, Bokhara, comes from an ancient city in the area known as Turkestan. Located on the famous Silk Road, Bokhara has long been a center of trade, scholarship, culture, and religion. It was an important shipping center in the 19th century and rugs sold commercially through the city of Bokhara were simply designated as 'Bokhara rugs.'
BOKHARA ORIENTAL DESIGN
The unique Bokhara oriental design originated with nomadic Central Asia Turkmen tribesmen, primarily the Tekke, whose wanderings took them east of the Caspian Sea and north of Iran.
Towards the end of the 19th century, the nomadic Turkmen tribes clashed with the Russian government which wanted to forcibly subdue them. As a result, the way of life of these tribes changed drastically as did the production of Turkmen Bokharas.
Fortunately, the Turkmen tribes who continued to wander in Northern Iran kept the weaving tradition and many settled in Afghanistan.
MODERN BOKHARA ORIENTAL DESIGN RUGS
Bokhara rugs continue to be woven by the nomadic tribes of people in Central Asia in the area now known as Uzbekistan. Many rely primarily upon the madder plant for the tremendous variety of red and red-brown hues.
Although red and rust fields are the most common colors, they can also have ivory, navy, green, slate, teal, peach, rose or orange backgrounds.
BOKHARA ORIENTAL DESIGN COMPOSITION
The very popular, easily identifiable and adaptable Bokhara oriental design will almost always have some kind of combination of a row or rows of medallions known as guls (sometimes as elephant's feet motifs), octagons, or even roses. These guls are commonly dark blue, black or brown with ivory accents.
So popular is this Bokhara oriental design, you can find these rugs in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India, and if you are fortunate enough to find one from an estate sale, an old Russian Bokhara. The design can also be found in good quality machine made rugs around the world as well.
The traditional color of a Bokhara oriental design rug is red, but Pakistani and Indian Bokharas can also be found in rust, tan, orange, light and dark blue, green, aqua, and gold.
Iranian, Afghani, and Russian Bokharas use wool foundations while Pakistan and Indian Bokharas are usually woven on cotton foundations with higher wool pile than the others.
The more common knot is the Persian, also known as a Senneh knot or asymmetric knot.
To learn more about the Bokhara oriental rug design with photos, as well as the Bokhara design in different countries, please continue reading here.
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EDNA ST. VINCENT MILLAY
Edna St. Vincent Millay was one of the most respected American poets of the 20th century. She was both a poet and a playwright and was well-known for her passionate readings and feminist views. Her diverse body of work included plays, articles, and stories, along with her poems.
She was born on February 22, 1892 in Rockland, Maine into a world with rigid expectations for women, who were expected to marry, have children, maintain a home, and keep their views to themselves. Millay flaunted every expectation and snubbed every convention and became one of the world’s most influential female poets to write in English. Millay would spend her life using her poetry to define a female aesthetic that espoused liberation, polyamory, and fierce self-definition. She was essentially the embodiment of the ‘New Woman.’
Millay, known to her family and friends as ‘Vincent,’ refused to be defined. She loved both women and men, frequently fell in and out of intense love and somehow maintained multiple relationships at the same time. Her poetic works challenged traditional boundaries and definitions, and controversially asserted that women not only had a right to pleasure but no obligation to fidelity.
EARLY CHILDHOOD
Edna Vincent Millay’s mother was a nurse and her father a schoolteacher. Her middle name came from St. Vincent’s Hospital in New York, where her uncle’s life had been saved just before her birth. Her parents divorced early on and her fiercely independent mother, with her 2 younger sisters, moved from town to town, living in poverty for a time and surviving various illnesses.
Millay’s mother always traveled with a truck full of classic literature, such as Shakespeare and Milton, which she read to and had her children read. She also encouraged her daughters to write poems, stories, and songs.
Music was almost as important to Edna St. Vincent Millay as her poetry and throughout her life she delighted in playing and singing songs she had written and practicing classical pieces on the piano that she had learned in early childhood. She often invited other musicians to join her in a duet, trio, or quartet. She initially hoped to become a concert pianist, but because her teacher insisted her hands were too small, she directed her energies to writing songs and poetry.
Eventually, the family settled in a small house in Camden, Maine where Edna St. Vincent Millay would write the first of the poems that would bring her literary fame. She began developing her literary talents at Camden High school. From the age of 14 she was winning accolades for her poetry and was having her poetry published in a Children’s magazine, the Camden Herald, and others.
POETRY CONTEST WINNER
In 1912, her mother happened on an announcement of a poetry contest sponsored by ‘The Lyric Year,’ a proposed annual anthology. She entered her poem, ‘Renascence,’ in the contest. It portrays the transformation of a soul and that the dimensions of one’s life are determined by sympathy of heart and elevation of soul.
Her poem was considered by many the best submission (out of 10,000 entries), but when it was ultimately awarded fourth place, it created a scandal which brought Millay publicity. The first place winner felt hers was the best poem and the second prize winner offered her his prize money. Shortly after, a wealthy arts patron was impressed by her talent and offered to pay for Millay’s education at Vassar College.
VASSAR COLLEGE
Edna St. Vincent Millay entered Vassar College after taking preparatory courses at Barnard in the summer of 1913 at the age of 21.
The strict nature of the college made life difficult for her. The expectation was that its students would be refined and live according to their status as young ladies. This was the opposite of the liberal home life she had had that included smoking, drinking, playing gin rummy, and flirting with men.
It was at Vassar that she had relationships with many of her fellow students, including several relationships with women. As expected, she often broke rules and often found herself before the president for disciplinary action more than once.
NEW YORK CITY
Millay moved to New York City in 1917 after graduating from Vassar. She became a prominent social figure of New York City’s Greenwich Village at the time when it was becoming known as a bohemian writers' colony. She was well noted for her uninhibited lifestyle.
While living in New York City, Millay lived an openly bisexual lifestyle. During her stay in Greenwich Village, Millay learned to use her poetry in her feminist activism. She often went into detail about usually taboo topics, such as a wife leaving her husband in the middle of the night.
In 1919, she wrote what was considered to be an anti-war play ‘Aria da Capo. ‘ Since its first production it has remained a popular staple of the poetic drama.
She also wrote short stories for the magazine 'Ainslee’s,' under the pen name of Nancy Boyd. These stories mainly concerned writers and artists who had adopted the Greenwich Village attitudes of anti-materialism, approval of nude bathing, general flouting of conventions, and a Jazz Age spirit of mad gaiety. Her 1920 collection, ‘A Few Figs From Thistles,’ drew controversy for its exploration of female sexuality and feminism.
In 1920, her poems began to appear in 'Vanity Fair,' a magazine with an air of sophistication. An editor made note of the intensity with which she responded to every experience of life. Unfortunately, that intensity seemed to use up her physical resources. As the year went on, she suffered increasing fatigue and fell victim to a number of illnesses. Fortunately, she received an offer from the magazine to go to Europe on a regular salary and write as she pleased under either her own name or as Nancy Boyd.
PARIS
To continue reading about the life of Edna St. Vincent Millay, including a link to all her poems as well as a video of Johnny Cash reciting the 'Ballad of the Harp-Weaver,' please continue reading here.
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The RCAD discounts cannot be used with any other discounts.
STAY SAFE & STAY HEALTHY!
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