The Birth of an Hand-Made Rug

The weaving of pile rugs is a difficult and tedious process which, depending on the quality and size of the rug, may take anywhere from a few months to several years to complete.

To begin making a rug, you need a foundation consisting of warps - strong, thick threads of cotton, wool or silk which run the length of the rug and wefts similar threads, which pass under and over the warps from one side to the other. The warps on either side of the rug are normally combined into one or more cables of varying thickness that are overlapped to form the selvedge.

Weaving normally begins by passing a number of wefts through the bottom warp to form a base to start from. Loosely piled knots of dyed wool or silk are then tied around consecutive sets of adjacent warps to create the intricate patterns in the rug. As more rows are tied to the foundation, these knots become the pile of the rug. Between each row of knots, one or more shots of weft are passed to tightly pack down and secure the rows.

Depending on the fineness of the weave, the quality of the materials and the expertise of the weavers, the knot count of a hand made rug can vary anywhere from 16 to 550 knots per square inch.

When the rug is completed, the warp ends form the fringes that may be weft-faced, braided, tasseled, or secured in some other manner.

Abrash - A slight difference or shift of color and tone in large color fields. An “abrash” was originally caused by nomadic changes-of-residence, or the weaver’s decision to complete the rug at his new location. Many nomadic tribes must wait for the next "crop" of wool for example, which can have a dramatic change in the hue and color of the finished rug. Many times an "abrash" can be intentionally included in the piece to instill a tribal or nomadic feel.

Final Wash - The finishing "Wash" is the final step in giving a Oriental rug it's final character. Many different kinds of "washes" are used today, though their formulas are often closely guarded secrets. In the ’20s and ’30s thousands of rugs were washed in coffee, a natural dye. Today some rugs are washed in tea, acids, dyes, and even scorched. An "herbal" wash is sometimes used; it can be a combination of tea and henna, Or sometimes madder, a natural dye, is used in the final wash of an entire rug to "sadden" it. Many rugs of the '70s were washed and treated with battery acid for a "Golden-look" popular in America at the time.

Foundation - An interlaced combination of warp and wefts in the rug's body. Like the pyramids, the foundation is the key to the longevity of a fine Oriental rug. 

Handspun - Hand spinning is the process of twisting together and drawing out massed short fibers into a continuous uneven strand or yarn, often through the use of a drop spindle. Handspun fiber tends to have a much more uneven dying pattern than that Machine-spun fiber. This uneven tension throughout the fiber gives Handspun fiber it's unique texture and look. Handspun fiber rugs can cost up to 30% more than Machine-spun fiber rugs due to the sheer labor involved in the long tedious process. Handspun fiber is most often found in Nomadic and Tribal rugs.

K.P.S.I. - Knots per square inch.

Loom - A frame or machine for interlacing at right angles two or more sets of threads or yarns to form a rug.

Machine Spun - Machine spinning is the mechanical process of twisting together and drawing out massed short fibers into a continuous uniform strand or yarn. Machine-spun fiber tends to have a much more even dying pattern than that Handspun fiber. Machine-spun fiber is used in about 98% of all City rugs and in most Oriental rugs worldwide since World War II.

Natural Dye - Natural dyes can be made from any organic material, such as Fruits, Berries, Algae and even in rare cases, Insects. Naturally dyed Oriental rugs are the most prized, due to the unique colors that are acquired over time, making some of the older pieces priceless.

Natural Fiber - Any natural organic fiber. The most common used is Cotton, Wool and Silk, which have been used throughout the millennia for the manufacture of fine Oriental rugs all over the world. Coveted for its natural beauty, texture and longevity, a quality rug made of all natural fibers can last for generations.

Pile - The surface of a rug composed of an infinite number of loops of warp threads, or else of an infinite number of free ends of either warp or of weft, or filling, threads that stand erect from the foundation. In a looped pile rug the loops are uncut; in a cut pile rug the same or similar loops are cut, either in the loom during weaving or by a special shearing tool.

Positioning - The position of a rug relative to a light source can have a dramatic effect on the look of a rug due to its texture, grain and pile. Many large estates change the rotation of their rugs every year with the change of the seasons.

Selvedge - The edge on either side of a woven rug so finished as to prevent unraveling.

Synthetic Fiber - Any man-made fiber such as Nylon, Polyester or Polypropylene. High-quality polypropylene rugs are ideal for "living space" areas, such as bathrooms, kitchens and dinning rooms, where spills and mishaps occur the most.

Under Padding - Under padding is a material used to provide airflow between floor and the rug, in addition to stabilizing and extending the life of the rug by cushioning the pile.

Warp - A series of yarns extended lengthwise in a loom and crossed by the weft.

Weave - To make a rug on a loom by interlacing warp and weft threads.

Weft - Also called filling, in woven rugs, the widthwise, or horizontal yarns carried over and under the warp, or lengthwise yarns, and running from selvage to selvage. Filling yarns are generally made with less twist than are warp yarns because they are subjected to less strain in the rug weaving process and therefore require less strength.

Persian Rugs

Generally, Rugs from Iran (formerly Persia) are classified by the region in which they are made. For example, a rug would be identified in the market as a Tabriz if it was woven in or near the city of the same name. A major rug-producing center such as Tabriz may also have subcategories, such as the famous Tabriz Mahi.

Every city, village, or tribe has their own design that they incorporate into their rugs, much like a trademark. If a design becomes famous, other centers may attempt to imitate the design though it seems imitators never quite match the quality of the original.

Persian rugs aren't always from the city they are identified as quality is also an identifying factor. For example, in the holy city of Mashad, when finer pieces are woven, they are often referred to as Moods. Although Mood is a village near Mashad, the name doesn't necessarily mean that the rug was woven there.

Another way Persian rugs are classified is by the city in where they are marketed. For example, Arak is a small rural town that has an incredibly large rug trading industry. It is surrounded by dozens of other villages that all produce rugs of their own. All these rugs are marketed in Arak, and thus many of them are referred to as Araks.

Likewise Birjand is a town in the province of Khorassan a fair distance south of Mashad, but some rugs of a certain quality marketed through Mashad are referred to as Birjands. This system of geography and quality of the Persian rug industry is common throughout Iran.

Tribal or City

Typically there are two types of rugs made in Iran: tribal rugs and city rugs. Tribal rugs are those woven by nomads and inhabitants of small rural villages. For the most part, these rugs are inferior in quality to the ones made in the cities. However the materials such as the wool and dyes used are often of excellent quality and occasionally a tribal rug turns out surprisingly fine.

The dyes used in tribal rugs are still mainly natural vegetable dyes, which is superior to chemical or chrome dyes.

There are many different designs found in Persian rugs. Tribal rugs tend to have geometric designs with little detail, only a few bright colors. City rugs and finer pieces usually have a more detailed design and much more color. Also, some cities will have very few designs and others such as Tabriz will have a great number. A rug expert can usually determine the origin of a rug simply by analyzing the design.

Quality 

Persian rugs are categorized by quality first and design second. Quality refers mainly to the knotting of the rug plain and simple: the higher the knot count, the higher the quality. Other factors that contribute to the grading of rugs are the quality of the wool or silk, the dyes used, and the symmetry and accuracy throughout the design.

You may come across coarse Persian rugs that aren't perfectly square or contain a main color that varies in tone from one end of the rug the other. These imperfections, however, are what give these rugs their character and authenticity. A machine made rugs may be perfectly square, but the quality of these mass-produced rugs is otherwise inferior to handmade rugs in every aspect.

Surprisingly, a fine Persian rug will almost always include intentional imperfections. In fact, there's an old Persian proverb that says, "A Persian Rug is Perfectly Imperfect, and Precisely Imprecise". This notion of intentionally including slight and minor irregularities is derived from the religious belief that God is the only perfect being and that attempting absolute perfection would be claiming the position of the Almighty.

Size 

The most popular sizes for Persian rugs are seven by ten feet, eight by twelve feet, and ten by thirteen feet. These standard sizes each have names in Iran, and most regions will usually produce only one size. In larger centers, however, you can find rugs of non-standard dimensions ranging from a small two by three foot mat to carpets as large as a city block.

Oriental rugs

Oriental rugs refer to those created anywhere on the continent of Asia. While most people think of "Oriental rugs" as primarily Chinese, Japanese or any other such far east culture, Europeans generally refer to most of Asia as "The Orient". It is that same thinking that applies to Oriental rugs.

Any study of Oriental rugs must certainly take into consideration the incredible history and culture of a vast area stretching from the Black and the Mediterranean Seas eastward to the People's Republic of China.

This remarkable area, which many call the cradle of civilization, includes those southern regions which are now part of Russia, plus Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Kirgizstan, Nepal, Tibet, China, Turkey, Mesopotamia, Persia (Iran), Afghanistan, India, and Pakistan. Other nations with established rug weaving histories include Egypt and Morocco.

Many believe, however, that no rug comes close to the utmost superiority of Persian rugs. And today, Iran produces more handmade rugs than all other rug producing countries combined.

In Asia apart from China and Tibet which produce a distinct series of Oriental rugs the cultures of all the other regions are linked by ethnographic ties and, most importantly, by a common religion: Islam.

The development of the art of handmade Oriental rugs and Persian rugs in these countries may be seen basically as an interaction between religious and ethnic structures dating back long before the advent of Islam. Economic, social, and significant political movements caused by the development of religious beliefs helped shape this art into what it is today.

It is safe to define the cultures of the major Islamic countries and regions mainly in terms of a few major ethnic groups: the Mongolians, the Persians, the Turks, and the Arabs; and their spread through the empires of Asia.

The most famous designs found in Oriental rugs today include the numerous Persian designs, the Turkoman allover designs, the geometric and plain tribal designs, the modern Tibetan designs, and the Indo-Persian designs which are Persian designs imitated in Indian Oriental rugs.

Throughout the continent, Persian designs are often imitated. However, the quality is different and any rug expert can easily distinguish a genuine Persian rug. Of course, in Iran, designs of other countries are almost never woven unless by special request for a custom-made Oriental rug.

In countries like Afghanistan and Nepal, Oriental rugs are woven mainly by nomadic tribes. Countries like China, Pakistan, and India have modern Oriental rug weaving industries combined with tribal pockets. In Iran the rug industry is modernized though a large percentage of the rugs are still produced by nomads.

Today, almost all of the Oriental rugs of the world are made in Asia. Other countries either don't have the skill to weave such carpets or higher wages for workers make it almost impossible to compete with the prices of Oriental rugs.

It's important to note that any handmade Oriental rug is completely superior in quality to a machine made Oriental rug because each knot has been individually tightened by the hand of a master weaver.

 Central Asia

Besides Iran, other countries such as Afghanistan, India, and Pakistan also produce handmade Oriental rugs for export. Both Pakistan and India have developed fairly modern Oriental rug and textile industries while Afghanistan still remains a nation whose Oriental rug export industry is rather limited.

Each of these countries creates a distinct quality and style of Oriental rug, and pieces made in any of the countries, although well made, can always be distinguished from finer Persian rugs.

India

India, located in South Central Asia, is bordered by China, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Burma, Pakistan, and the Indian Ocean. Geographically, the country covers about three million square km and has a population of about 980 million people making it the second most populated country in the world after China.

India gained its independence from Britain in 1947 and has its federal capital in New Delhi.

Oriental Rug weaving isn't as ancient a tradition to India as it is to Iran. In the sixteenth century the art of Oriental rug weaving was introduced to India mainly by the Persian Empire under Mongolian rule, and then under the Persian Safavian rule.

The Moghul dynasty of India was, as its name implies, ruled by emperors proud of their Mongol descent. Babur, the first Moghul Shah (king) (1526-30) was a fifth generation descendant of Tamerlaine and was thus related to Chengiz Khan. Formerly ruler of Afghanistan, he overthrew the Hindu Delhi Sultanate and conquered India.

During this period, the Indian rug weaving industry began to grow. By the end of Mongol rule in Persia in the end of the fifteenth century, India had developed quite a talent for weaving Oriental rugs. After the Safavid Dynasty came into full power in Iran in 1501, the Persian government set up professional workshops in India to weave Oriental rugs and often had expert Persian weavers supervise the weavers at work in front of the looms.

As a result, almost all Indian Oriental rug designs of today are imitations of famous Persian designs, such as Kashan and Kerman. The only thing that sets them apart is the difference in quality of the wool and the weave.

In the 15th to 17th centuries, most Oriental rugs made in India were almost as fine as Persian weavings, but this art almost came to an end in India in the late 17th century. The industry was reestablished by the British in the 1800s but later carpets weren't nearly as fine.

The wool used in Indian Oriental rugs is coarser than that used in Persian rugs. It is also more difficult to fold an Indian Oriental rug because of its stiffness.

However, they sit very nicely on the floor and they tend to last a very long time.

Pakistan

Most of what was said about India's Oriental rug industry can also be said about Pakistan's.

Pakistan is located west of India, covers a geographic area of about 800,000 square km, and has a population of approximately 140 million people.

Like India, Pakistan was also subject to British rule for many years and it, too, gained its independence at the same time as India. Pakistan is mainly an Islamic country and has its capital in Islamabad.

As is the case with India, Pakistan's Oriental rug industry has been greatly influenced by the Persian Empire. The Iranian government set up royal rug manufacturing facilities in Pakistan and by the 16th and 17th centuries, Oriental rug weaving had developed considerably in the region.

Today the styles and patterns of Pakistan's Oriental rugs follow either famous Persian designs or Turkoman and Caucasian (Bokhara) designs.

Bokhara Oriental rugs are high in quality and have incredibly soft and lustrous wool. In the finer Bokharas, virgin lamb wool is used to give the carpets an extraordinarily soft feel. In these designs, only about two to four colors are used, and they are usually different shades of green, blue, or red. The styles resembling Persian designs are also high in quality and often higher in price.

Today, Pakistan is the fourth largest Oriental rug producer in the world.

Afghanistan

Afghanistan is a small country located north west of Pakistan and China, northeast of Iran, and south of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Over 25 million people live in this land that covers an area of a little over 650,000 square km.

Afghanistan's Oriental rug industry isn't as great as it was before the country began facing political problems. Today, even though there are many Oriental rugs produced in the country, export is extremely difficult, so Afghanistan markets their Oriental rugs to the rest of the world through Pakistan and Iran.

Afghan Oriental rugs usually resemble Caucasian style rugs and are similar to those made in Turkey, and East Turkmenistan and the Caucasus. The color scheme used in Afghan Oriental rugs consists of a few exciting colors that are exclusive to their style of Oriental rug. Afghan nomads such as the Chechen tribes still produce Oriental rugs but in very little quantities making them rare and hard to find.

Northwest Asian Weaving

Caucasian Oriental rugs come from the region northwest of Iran and south of Russia between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, an area of approximately 160,000 square miles. This is also the area believed to be responsible for the production of some of the world's first pile Oriental rugs.

Caucasian Oriental rugs mirror the complex ethnography of their creators. Until the Russian conquests of the late 18th and 19th centuries, the area had been an ethnic, cultural, and religious melting pot and a ceaseless battleground for over 800 hundred years. Surrounding civilizations were constantly seeking to make the Caucasus their own, either for political or religious reasons.

Caucasian Oriental rugs all bear a striking similarity to one another and resemble the Turkoman Oriental rugs and those made by the nomads living in southeast Turkey.

The main characteristics that distinguish Caucasian Oriental rugs from Persian rugs are their color schemes of bright shades of red, rust, or burgundy, and their border and medallion motifs. Caucasian Oriental rugs tend to have a lot of octagonal motifs with bold geometric elements and narrow borders.

Today, all the countries in this area combined do not produce even half as many Oriental rugs as Iran does. But because of their scarcity, Oriental rugs from these countries are considered to be quite valuable.

Far Eastern Weaving

Some of the most distinct Oriental rugs in the world are those made in the Tarim Basin located in the far eastern regions of Asia. Countries in this area include China, Mongolia, Tibet, East Turkmenistan, Nepal, and many countries once part of the Soviet Union, including Kirgizstan and Uzbekistan.

The Tarim Basin is a very old area, often times referred to as Eurasia the precise half-way point between the Far East, and western Europe. Some of the oldest Oriental rug fragments ever discovered have been unearthed in the Tarim Basin.

Many believe that the first people to ever weave pile Oriental rugs were in fact those nomads living in the area of present day Mongolia.

East Turkmenistan

The area described as East Turkmenistan stretches from the city of Samarkand (Uzbekistan) in the west to beyond the city of Khotan (Sinkiang province - West China) about one thousand miles to the east.

This westernmost area of China wasn't a permanent part of the Chinese Empire until the 18th century. It was, however, in the direct line of the great silk route west, and was one of the first significant areas outside China to rear silkworms.

Until its conquest by China, the area had been subjected to centuries of various political and cultural influences. In the early centuries of Christianity, this area practiced the Graeco-Roman style of art. Evidence of this can be seen through the numerous fresco fragments and artifacts that have been discovered in the area.

The forces of power that were of great influence to this area were Persia and Turkey in the west, India in the south, and China and Mongolia in the north and east. The major religions were Manicheeism, Zoroastrianism, Nestorian Christianity, Buddhism, and Shamanism.

This land is the pivot point of the Eurasian landmass, with the major city of Khotan being precisely halfway between Tokyo and London.

Studies based on archeological artifacts prove that by the 4th century BC the main language spoken in this area was Tokharian which belonged to the Indo-Aryan language group.

Evidence proves that this language was spoken as far as a thousand miles east of Khotan, in Central China; this was the place that Sir Aurel Stein discovered frescoes that could just as well been painted in Italy or Alexandria.

Until the discovery of the Pazyryk Oriental Rug, it was here in the Tarim Basin that the oldest Oriental rug fragments were found.

Mongolia and Mongolian Influence

After being ruled by the Hephtalites, Turks, Chinese and Tibetans, this region fell under Mongolian rule in the 12th century. This was the time that the Mongolian power of Chengiz Khan was at its peak, having also conquered civilizations as powerful as Persia.

In the 17th century the Tarim Basin was conquered by the Chinese, aided in their second conquest by the British who wanted to preserve the borders of India and prevent Russian expansion.

The fact that the Pazyryk Oriental rug, the earliest surviving example of pile Oriental rug weaving, was found in this area of Central Asia close to Mongolia, strongly suggests that the art itself may have originated there by various tribes and dynasties of Mongol descent.

Many scholars believe that the Oriental rug was Mongolian, but others believe it could have been woven in Persia, because of its Assyrian and Persian motifs. What we know for sure is that the weaving of pile Oriental rugs started somewhere between Persia and Mongolia.

China

Evidence suggests that the Chinese did not start weaving pile Oriental rugs until the time of the Sung Dynasty (960-1279). And it's also believed that even those Oriental rugs being made in China were used by the Mongolians because the Chinese looked down on wool as a barbarian material. Instead, the Chinese have preferred silk, a material they have specialized in for over 4000 years.

China never had much of a nomadic Oriental rug weaving population. And when the Chinese did start weaving Oriental rugs, they used unique designs usually containing Imperial five-clawed dragons. Today, China is the leader in the Far East for producing Oriental rugs. However, all of China's Oriental rugs are made in urban centers by weavers who made them strictly for retail or export.

Tibet

From about 600 to 800 AD the entire area of northern India, Nepal, Western China, and of course the Tarim Basin was under Tibetan control. During this time the people of Tibet moved down into the fertile Yarlung Valley, which is on the present border of Nepal, Pakistan, and Bhutan, and formed a strong civilization.

Their great power is said to have stemmed from the fact that they were on diplomatic terms with the great Sassanian Dynasty of Persia. By the time the Arabs expanded eastward to spread Islam, the Tibetans had adopted Buddhism.

Their empire collapsed around 850 A.D. and the Tibetans were scattered throughout the area until the Mongol invasion in the 13th century. And until the Chinese Communist invasion in 1959, Tibet was ruled by religious Buddhist leaders and Dalai Lamas.

Tibetans are believed to have been weaving pile Oriental rugs a little over 900 years, definitely not as long as the Mongolians, Turks, or Persians. Mongolia, Tibet, and East Turkmenistan don't produce many Oriental rugs any more and the few Oriental rugs they make are mainly for export by nomadic weavers.