Hamadan Weavings

Coffee House Club

A.E. “Tad” Runge is the owner of A.E. Runge Jr. Oriental Carpets located in Yarmouth, Maine and the author of, One Woman, One Weft, a scholarly text on Hamadan village rugs. Tad’s presentation to the Hajji Baba Club will be an explanation and description of the unique women’s weavings from the villages of the Hamadan Plain. Tad’s visual presentation will be followed by an extended “show and tell” of his Hamadans, as well as, a special “hands on” evaluation of the Hamadan rugs, bags and weavings of Club members. All members are encouraged to bring their favorite Hamadans to participate in this unique and informative event. Tad’s previous presentations to ACOR, The Cleveland Rug Society, The New England Rug Society and many other oriental carpet organizations have been received with great acclaim. Our evening with Tad will, no doubt, be enlightening, exhilarating and most enjoyable as we interact with America’s expert on the weavings and rugs of the women of Hamadan’s villages.

Tad is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, served in the Peace Corps in Colombia from 1963 to 1965 and graduated from Cornell University in 1969 with a Masters in Business Administration. It was during his Cornell years that Tad started to purchase oriental carpets from local estates and commenced his oriental carpet business. After 18 years of service as a hospital administrator, Tad retired in 1987 to devote himself to his carpet business.

In 2002, after many years of research on Hamadan weaves, Tad published his scholarly work, One Woman, One Weft. Tad’s book was originally designed to be an exhibition catalogue, however, its degree of research, analysis and depth of knowledge caused it to become one of the authoritative texts on Hamadan weaves and rugs. Scholars, carpet dealers and collectors alike consider One Women, One Weft, to be a brilliant and illuminating analysis of the diverse rugs and weavings of the women of the villages of the Hamadan Plain.