HISTORY OF RUGS

The range of Oriental rugs is vast. These can be the Hand Knotted pile type, which are made by village and nomadic craftsmen and women in Iran, Turkey the Caucasus, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan etc.

The term Oriental rug also includes rugs such as the Kelims and the Hand Knotted rugs from India, Tibet and China.

Historians have suggested that the tradition of rug making originated in the tents of the Nomads of central Asia. Russian archaeologists support this evidence as in 1947-9 they uncovered a tomb in the Pazyryk Valley in the Altai Range in Southern Siberia. The entire contents of the tomb had had serve water damage not long after the buriel, the entire contents of the tomb was frozen and preserved. Among which was a superb woollen rug. Closer examination reveals clues to the fact that it is of Scythian origin. The rug known as the Altai or Pazyryk rug can be seen at the Hermitage museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. Measuring 6' x 6' 6", the rug is thought to be over 2400 years old.

One of the worlds most famous carpets is the Ardebil carpet which is dated at 1540 and was made in Persia.

LOOMS

The looms used to weave the rug can be a vertical loom or a horizontal loom.

The loom is used to help maintain consistent tension during the weaving process, and to keep the warps seperated for the knotting.

The Nomadic weavers use a horizontal loom as it is the simplest construction and allows the weaver to take the loom apart for easy transportation. These rugs have more uniqueness, character to them as the rugs are generally made smaller. They do not have the symmetry of city made rugs. As well as rugs they also weaved saddle bags and tent bonds.

The vertical loom is found in city weaving centers and village industries. With these vertical looms it is easier to make larger hand knotted rugs as it has a roller beam in which the completed section simply gets rolled beneath the weaver to continue the rug. They are difficult to move and dismantle and a more consistent weaving tension and shape can be achieved.