☼The History Of Oriental Rugs

The art of rug making reaches back into pre-history. The majority of pieces available today at dealers, auctions, antique shops, department stores and even museums are mostly products of the 19th and 20th century.

In order to meet the demands of western markets new materials and dye processes were initiated to speed up the production of rug making after the second half of the 19th century. Although the methods of production have become more organized and standardized, many aspects of weaving remain unchanged in many of the traditional places of rug making.

Unfortunately very little is known about the earliest examples of knotted rugs. A small number of these have been preserved in museums and private collections, but the sadly the vast majority of older rugs have disappeared.

The survival of the earliest knotted rug, the Pazyryk carpet, is owed to the Siberian ice in the Altai mountains near the outer Mongolian border. This rug, discovered by Soviet archaeologist S.I. Rudenko in 1949, was covered by ice in a burial chamber and had been preserved that way for over 2500 years. The Pazyryk carpet is of unknown origin, measuring roughly 6 by 5 feet woven with the Turkish knot. The design is of a dominant tile-work central motif surrounded by borders featuring rows of elk and horsemen.

As early as the Eighth Century B.C., wealthy families frequently adorned their homes with magnificent rugs. The great period of creativity in rug making took place in South Asia during the period (1499-1722) From this period came the most glorious and outstanding rugs of historic significance.

Tabriz, Kashan, Herat, and Kerman became busy centers of rug production. Under the Persian king Shah Tahmasp in the late 16th Century, the famous Ardebil carpet was made. Today this priceless work of art is preserved in the Victoria and Albert museum in London. The Ardebil is considered is regarded as one of the most magnificent rugs of the world. It is approximately 17 by 34 feet with over 32 million tightly woven knots.

An interesting fact is that the art of rug weaving flourished in the 15th Century in South Asia. Followed by Indian early in the 16th Century and China in the 17th Century. Even though weaving was common to all humanity, the end result of each ethnic group was quite different. This theme of recurring ideas was coined Volkergedanken by German ethnologist Adolf Bastian (1826-1905).

In addition, paralleling urban weaving centers, nomadic and village weavers continued their centuries-old craft of knotted rugs, with the earliest surviving examples dating from the eighteenth century. In the 18th Century Oriental rugs were first used on floors as well as table coverings and wall hangings.

During the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelpia, Oriental rugs were introduced to America. This rug exhibit made a lasting impression on the Americans who saw it. The founder of W.J. Sloan, William Sloan, bought the entire collection from the exhibition and opened the first major retailing store for Oriental rugs in America.

It was in Europe in the 19th Century that Oriental rugs were first studied by scholars. The first major Oriental rug exhibition in Europe was in Vienna in 1891. The most important collections of Persian rugs are now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.


☼Oriental Rug Design & Artists

Although distinct designs are developed in various regions, several basic formats dominate oriental rug weaving.

A border and a field are the most common format. Rugs usually have several borders in which the main border contains the central motif or it dominates the other borders by size or detail of workmanship.

The field usually features garden designs and floral clusters. A medalian frequently dominates the center, which may be repeated in the corners. In pictorial rugs, hunting scenes, animals, tree of life, a vase or fountain motif may be the design in the central field.
The design of the example carpet (region: Pakistan) shows the motif of trees. The intertwining branches of dark red roses brings the thoughts of hope and peace. It may be a love story that inspired the designer. Deer symbolizes peace and a lion, a symbol of strength suggests the idea of hope, peace and strength, all united in harmony.

☼Materials

The materials used in genuine Oriental rugs are chiefly wool or silk knotted onto a cotton foundation. The breed and age of the sheep, the season when sheared, the climate and surrounding environment are all factors that determine the quality of wool. These qualities are its thickness, texture and color.

Sheep from mountain regions have longer fleece. Winter fleece produces thicker and heavier wool, while spring fleece is softer and finer. Lambs aged 8 to 14 months produce some of the finest wool called kork. This kind of wool, very thin and silky.
Live wool is wool sheared from living sheep. Good live wool is durable and soft, it retains its lanolin and essential oils giving the rug resilience. Good wool captures the light and diffuses it among its fibers. Using a good wool carpet over the course of time gradually polishes the wool and the natural oils come to the surface lending a wonderful sheen. In fact, an older rug sometimes looks as though it is made of silk instead of wool. Rugs of wool are more durable and wear longer than synthetic fabrics. Wool is more resilient, cleans better and stays clean longer.

Dead wool taken from slaughtered animals by chemicals is dry, brittle and abrasive. The colors are cloudy, light is reflected off the surface of the wool. Such rugs do not wear well and have no resilience.

The preparation of the wool has much to do with the appearance of the final product. Proper shearing guarantees the maximum length of fiber. Then the fibers are washed, sorted, teased, fluffed and combed to be ready to be spun on a spindle, spinning wheel or spun with hands. After the spinning process the yarn can be dyed.

☼Dyes

Most rugs contain either natural or synthetic dyes. Natural dyes are made from vegetable or mineral sources. Synthetic dyes are made from either aniline or chrome.

The two most common agents used for natural dye were madder for red color (extracted from roots of 3-9 year old plants grown over the Near East and Central Asia), and indigo for blue (extracted from indigo plant imported from India. Saffron produces the brightest and also the most expensive yellow. Sumac, turmeric and pomegranate also supply various yellow dyes. Green can be made from a dying of indigo followed by a bath of yellow.

The art of dyeing has had a tradition of prestige and mystery. Practically every family has its own special formula which is carefully guarded and passed on through generations.

Aniline dye was invented in 1856. Aniline dyes are acid and coal tar derivative while making the wool stiffer, drier, and the color would run and fade.

Around 1940 chrome dyes were developed. Chrome dyes use potassium bicarbonate comes in a wide range of rich colors. They are colorfast and do not hurt the wool.


☼The Oriental Rug Weavers

From Stone-Age man who dressed in the hides and pelts of animals it was only a matter of time before wool was obtained by fleecing. Next probably came a rudimentary form of weaving using twisted strands laid side-by-side and interspersed with similar cross running strands. Later the knot was invented.

Modern Oriental Rugs are woven the same way as they have been for thousands of years. Pile rugs, the most common of Oriental rugs combine weaving and knotting. Rows of silk and or wool knots are tied on a foundation usually of cotton. These rows of knots become the pile of the carpet.

Kelim rugs employ simpler methods and more ancient techniques than pile rugs. A Kelim is a rug without knots to form a pile and is usually made of wool or wool and goat-hair. A Kelim can be reversible and because of it's thin width is used as a ground cover or wall hanging.

There are two basic knots used in Oriental rugs: the Ghiordes or Turkish (symmetrical), and the Senneh or Persian (asymmetrical). The Turkish knot is more sturdy than the Persian knot, but produces a less fine weave. The Turkish knot and Persian both can be found in almost all village or nomad carpets in South Asia. The Persian knot with very few exceptions is used only in carpets woven in the larger parts of south Asia ( Pakistan, Iran and India ).

Horizontal looms are part of the Nomad heritage. Carpets made on these looms are unusually sturdy. The Nomadic horizontal loom is portable and dismantles easily. Its size limits the finished carpet size to a width of four or five feet.

A much finer weave is possible on a vertical or upright loom. The weaver requires few tools: a knife to cut the yarn once the knot is tied; a metal comb packs down each row of wefts and knots; and a pair of shears for final trimming after the carpet is removed from the loom.

Today the art of weaving continues to be passed down to future generations. Child labor is used in some countries but is forbidden in Pakistan. In larger shops the weaving might be under the guidance of a master who knows scores of patterns by heart and calls them out in a chant. In the Caucasus, Turkestan and among Nomads, only women weave, whereas in Pakistan, China and Persia men sit at the looms and the women and children do the finish work.