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Catalogue >Oriental Art >  Oriental Rug Symbols - Their Origins and Meanings from the Middle East to China Oriental Rug Symbols - Their Origins and Meanings from the Middle East to China John Train Oriental carpets, from Turkey and Persia in the Middle East to China in the Far East, are amazingly rich in symbolism. Examples are all around us, yet not many of us look at carpets carefully, or are able to interpret their extraordinary messages. In this carpets resemble stained-glass windows: one is moved by their beauty, but the experience is enhanced by understanding. This guide is divided into two parts: Middle Eastern and Turkoman Symbols (dates and events, animals, birds, flowers, trees, other symbols, borders); and Chinese Symbols. 128 pages, 37 colour and 300 line drawings, cloth, 254 x 185mm ISBN 0 85667 464 8 | Retail price £25.00  Online price: £17.50 / €26.25 For instance, the familiar Paisley design is an ancient Egyptian symbol: the menath or water-bearer. Travelling back and forth on the Silk Route it merged with a Zoroastrian fire symbol and an Asian symbol for the bo-tree, beneath which Buddha found enlightenment. In Chinese carpets, a bat placed near a swastika is 'wan fu' meaning 'may we enjoy a variety of happiness.' The 'chin tamani' symbol was the personal emblem of the Mongol ruler, Tamurlane. His conquest and domination of Turkey was short-lived, but his symbol remained. John Train has had a lifelong love affair with Oriental rugs, particularly their iconography, and this book represents the fruit of many years of research. Author of 14 books of which several are bestsellers, John Train also writes regularly for the Financial Times.