arabesque...all words which trip easily from the tongue of Samuel Wennek, who has devoted more than 30 years of his life to the wonderful world of old, antique and contemporary Persian and Oriental carpets, rugs and related textiles.

Under the new vocabulary, which he advocates, the word "carpet'' is now obsolete, having been replaced by "example.'' Whatever the terminology, the milieu in which Mr. Wennek operates is filled with endless beautiful and fascinating examples of an art form which is not only highly prized, but reflects so markedly the historic, cultural and socio-economic influences of a wide group of nations.

If a picture says a thousand words, an Oriental rug can say millions of knots, depending on the intricacy of the design.

Indeed, while the layman's eye delights in what it sees, not many of those who set foot upon these examples have any real concept of the skill and time it takes to create such masterpieces.

As expected of a specialist in his field, Mr. Wennek is only too happy to expound upon the objects of his professional affection, and supply a fascinating stream of facts and figures for the layman covering everything from who does what in creating the handsome finished products to their eventual sale on the world market.

Before a single knot is tied, the raw materials undergo long and careful preparation, and depending upon where the carpets are woven, the degree of sophistication at this stage varies.

Persian wool is considered one of the world's best because fluctuations between day and night temperatures in the higher pastoral areas of Iran are so extreme that the sheep are hardier, with more lanolin (sometimes called `wool fat') in their coats. Thus, when the shorn wool is washed and tied, it does not become dry.

The best silk (which comes from the cocoon of the silk worm) is found in Rasht, an area in Persia on the edge of the Caspian sea, which boasts the best mulberry bushes on which the silk worms feed.

In nomadic and rural communities, vegetable dyes are used to produce colours.

In old examples, blue came from the indigo plant, red from madder plant roots, brown from tree bark or nut husks, yellow from the weld plant, and green from a mixture of green and blue dyes. Because crimson was obtainable only from the cochineal insect, and then only amounts the size of a pinhead, supplies were expensive.

Then there are the designs themselves. Incredibly intricate and detailed, the greatest influence on those of Persian origin is the topography of Iran itself.

"Eighty per cent of Iran is desert, and therefore very dry,'' Mr. Wennek explains, "so the people's idea of paradise is a carpet/example with flowers, birds, trees and leaves. They are bringing the garden into their homes.'' Using the example shown in the photograph at right, Mr. Wennek says that, by using two to three kinds of silk in its weaving, the designer has made the flowers and leaves appear to be blooming before the viewer's eyes.

"Every little leaf and flower is accurately drawn out as if it has been looked at through a magnifying glass,'' he notes.

In fact, the more one looks into a design, the more one sees -- a process that always portends new discoveries, no matter how often it is repeated.

Some motifs are so complicated that it can take a master designer half a year or more to plan the initial design, as well as the corners -- a process that includes choosing all of the colours to be used in the weaving.

The design in the photograph, for example, was drawn by a Mr. Mehdi, whom Mr.

Wennek describes as "probably one of the great designers of the Pahlavi period. All of his examples are unique.'' The history behind the origins and designs of Persian and Oriental examples is too long and detailed to go into here, but basically examples can be divided into three groups: nomadic, rural and town.

"Nomadic examples were always named after the tribe that made them, and the tribes were named after their prehistoric names -- Kashgai, Balouch, Yalemeh and Loristan, for example,'' Mr. Wennek explains. "They were always made by hand on horizontal looms, which the nomads could roll up and put on the back of a donkey or camel as they roamed from place to place looking for pastures for their animals. Designs were handed down from mother to daughter, and the examples were made for use in their own tents.'' Rural examples, the Dutch-born specialist explains, are made in little villages such as Hamadan, Bourjabou, Taffrish, and Abedeh, on vertical looms, with designs again being handed down from mother to daughter, and father to son.

An interesting feature of village manufacture, Mr. Wennek says, is that because many of them are without electricity, work at the loom of the mud-brick dwellings depends on sunlight coming through a hole in the roof directly above it. Therefore, the sun at the wrong angle, adverse weather conditions, or other contraints, such as a woman's domestic duties, may all impinge upon the time it takes to complete one example.

On the other hand, town examples, hailing from such places as Tabriz and Ispahan, are made by completely different criteria: in organised workshops which include a master weaver and a team of designers. Once a designer has devised and drawn out an example, the master weaver, himself an expert knotter, is responsible for ensuring that the specifications are carried out throughout production.

Naturally, the finishing process in town examples is also more sophisticated than in other regions.

"Everybody is an expert, and they are very efficient at what they do,'' Mr.

Wennek explains. Once an example comes off the loom, a master clipper, working with special shears, clips flat against the pile to achieve the renowned, perfectly even finish, and the master washer then carefully cleans it.

The history of Oriental carpets All weaving begins with a warp -- longitudinal strands of cotton or wool -- affixed to the loom, to which the silk or wool strands forming the eventual design are knotted.

Because hand knotting is an art, it plays a vital role in determining an example's history, age and value. Again, space precludes the finer details, but Mr. Wennek and his fellow researchers, who have devoted decades of time and energy to this aspect of Persian and Oriental examples, believe that knots fall into four "streams'' or ancestral periods, the first and oldest of which is the Achaemenian, traceable to 500 BC, from which the other streams and sub-streams are adapted or descended.

Knots are tied in one of two styles: Persian or Turkish, depending upon their cultural descent.

"Pure'' examples are deemed to be those which reflect their ancestral lineage as an art form.

Mr. Wennek is a professional specialist, advisor, lecturer, author, managerial supervisor and marketing consultant in the field of old, antique and contemporary Oriental carpets, rugs and related textiles. He is giving an invitational talk entitled "The art wealth of the pure knot in the 21st century'' tomorrow evening at the Bermuda National Gallery, beginning at 7.30 p.m. To make a reservation telephone 292-4990.

Photos by Ras Mykkal Persian Perfection: Renowned Oriental carpet authority Mr. Samuel Wennek shows off a magnificent example of the Persian master weaver's art. With approximately 10 million knots, this Tabrizi masterpiece, inscribed and inlaid, is a superb example of hand-knotting virtuosity. Made of Maku wool and Caspian silk, and using a palette of infinite colours, its complex design is beauty personified.

Close Corner: Medallions, and leaf and rosette emblems are just some of the elements contained in the striking corner design, seen here in close-up, of the unique Tabriz example above.