JOIN USSwept away by carpets
For some, a hobby is a great way to pass time. But for Danny Mehra, collecting carpets has been a serious passion.
His love for carpets began with two carpets that his mother-in-law gave him during his marriage, more than 30 years ago.
“Those two carpets were Turkish with Caucasian designs. After that, I bought one from New York. On my way to work in Manhattan, I found a carpet store with this carpet hanging at the window and I wanted to buy that. I mustered up the courage to ask the shopkeepers its price and found it affordable,” he says. Danny says that though it isn’t a piece that he would buy again, he was attracted by its beauty back then.
He says that about 20 years ago, he felt he knew everything about carpets. “But later, I realised that the more I learnt, the lesser I knew.” He says that he doesn’t buy carpets with bright colours and loves ones which have mellow colours and are naturally dyed. Gradually, he moved on to collect carpets from everywhere. “I like Indian textiles but I don’t like the Indian carpet aesthetics. All the carpets that I have bought in India are Iranian or Turkmen. I own works of weavers from Syria, Armania, Morocco etc,” he says.To him, collecting carpets is like buying art. “It’s not a commodity.
You never know what you will find. You just keep looking till you find something that you can’t live without,” he smiles and says, “I’m not looking at filling a void in my collection.” What impresses Danny in a carpet is that it should be visually striking. “It should be full of imperfections, asymmetry, things that aren’t balanced and things that the weaver spontaneously puts in. I often look for a weaver who is playing with the composition. I call these ‘naughty carpets’,” he says. He says he focusses on abstract works.
Talking about some of the striking carpets in his collection, he points to an early 20th century Tulu one (made from unspun Angora wool) from Turkey, which was used as a ‘sleeping carpet’ by nomadic shepherds; a late 19th century natural dyed wool Khamseh carpet from Southern Persia (Iran) which has over 200 chicken patterns woven on it and ‘gabbeh’ carpets from the mid 20th century made by the Bakhtiari and Luri tribes.
He also has a mini collection of around 20 prayer carpets. “I try not to buy fresh carpets. I like the ones with some wear and tear. Prayer carpets, that show signs of usage, are the ones that interest me,” he says.
Danny says that he collects carpets from specialised dealers and collectors. “I may look at a 1000 pictures and buy one. I have become extremely selective. The older the carpet, the rarer it is,” he says.
Danny’s collection is stored at his home in piles. “Bangalore’s climate is good for carpets,” he says.
He says that one should always store carpets only in places which have enough light and air. His love for carpets is so much that his pet dogs, Luri and Tulu, have been named after tribal carpets. Ask him what people say about his collection and he says that they think that he is crazy. “I spend about six to eight hours a day reading about carpets,” he sums up.
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