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Introduction
During the past century, the Oriental rug has become valued
throughout the world as a work of art. With its rich history and
color, the Oriental rug often is called the aristocrat of
carpets. Although the Oriental rug of today may not soar through
the air like the magic carpet of Arabian legend, the Oriental rug
does perform magic, transforming interior spaces into
extraordinary spaces.
The term, Oriental rug, traditionally has been used to describe
hand-knotted rugs from the East. The process typically involves
stretching warp threads on a loom and knotting the pile to these threads. When a row of knots completed, a weft thread is inserted. Once the entire
carpet is knotted, the pile is shorn. To a large degree, the
precision of the design depends on how tightly the rug has been
knotted and how short the
pile has been cut.
The rug's density, or number of knots per square inch, can be a useful indicator of the
fineness and durability of the rug -- the more knots the better. A
superb Oriental rug may have more than 500 to 1,000
knots per square inch.
Historically, the great carpet-producing areas include Turkey,
Persia, the Caucasus and Turkestan. Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal,
India and China also must be added to the list. And under Arab
influence, Spain, too, has produced hand-knotted rugs of
distinction.
History
Although there are references to carpets by early Greek and
Arab writers, just when the first Oriental rug was woven is
unknown. In 1949, a Russian archaeological expedition to the Altai
mountains in southern Siberia excavated a royal burial mound that
contained a miraculously preserved frozen carpet, Known as the
Pazyryk carpet, it was used as a saddle cover for a horse
interred in the burial mound. Beautifully designed, the rug dates
from the 4th or 5th century B.C. and is the earliest-known
surviving example of
a hand-knotted carpet.
One theory is that the technique of knotting carpets was begun
by the nomadic tribes of Central Asia. These tribes produced small
rugs typically decorated with geometric motifs inspired by plant
and animal forms. For the nomad, the rugs were both decorative and
utilitarian, serving as floor covers, wall hangings, curtains and
saddlebags.
Because the nomadic carpet-makers were forced to dismantle
their looms and move on whenever their security was threatened by
natural elements or human foes, their creations may contain
irregularities in weave, selvages and design. The wandering nomads
are credited with spreading the art of carpet-making to new lands
and peoples.
Some of the greatest carpet-making centers developed in
Persia and Turkey. Persian manuscripts from the reign
of Chosroes I, the king of Persia from 531 to 579, describe the
Spring Carpet of Chosroes. This rug was woven of wool, silk, gold
and silver. It was studded with precious stones.
The period from the 16th century through the first half of the
18th century is known as Persia's golden age of carpet-making. A
number of carpets survive from this era and are recognized for
their harmony of colors and originality of designs.
Carpet-making probably has been taking place in Turkey at least
as long as in Persia. After his visit in 1271 to the Turkish
region known as Anatolia, Italian traveler Marco Polo described
the area's carpets, with their geometric designs and
animal figures, as the most beautiful in the world.
Turkish rugs appear frequently in the paintings of well known
artists. In fact, German artist Hans Holbein the Younger
(1497-1543) painted the geometrically patterned rugs so often that
they came to be known in the West as Holbein carpets.
It was primarily through Italian merchants that the Oriental
rug became recognized and valued in Europe. Venice early
established itself as a major trading trader with the East.
Venetians spread Oriental rugs along their narrow streets, hung
the rugs from windows and used them to decorated their gondolas.
By the early 16th century, Oriental rug collections could be
found in the great courts of Europe, including those of Catherine
de Medici and Charles V. The Lord Chancellor of England, Cardinal
Wolsey, is reported to have purchased 60 Turkish carpets from a
Venetian dealer to furnish his palace at Hampton Court.
Western interest in Oriental rugs waned during the 17th and
18th centuries. But after the great exhibition of 1891 in Vienna,
Europeans had renewed enthusiasm for the carpets. Americans soon
followed suit. Western importers began asking the carpet-makers to
modify dimensions, and sometimes color and design, to satisfy the
tastes of Europe and the Americas. In the 20th century, the appeal
of the Oriental rug continues to grow.
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