Persian Rugs: The Origin, History, And Technique
A Persian carpet is an essential and colorful part of Persian art and culture
. One of the oldest and more distinguished crafts in the world is carpet weaving, as it has so many different purposes, functions, and a broad range in variety.
Expertly hand woven rugs can go for as much as four hundred and twenty million dollars on today's market. There is an estimated number of over one million weavers in Iran who produce carpets for domestic and international export around the world.
Iran is the biggest country to participate in this tradition, and exports their crafts to more than one hundred countries. It is the main non-oil export item.
Believe it or not, they produce more than five million square meters of carpets annually, eight percent of which are sold through international markets. These pieces of art are absolutely stunning, and nothing quite compares to them.
While there are cheaper imitations and knock-offs of these original pieces of art, the difference in design, quality, and majesty can easily be identified. The history of these rubs can be traced back to as far as five hundred B.C.
This form of art underwent many changed throughout history, as it passed through different Islamic eras, and Mongol invasions. The material in these rugs is generally wool, silk, and cotton, which tended to decay in the past-that is why their existence and true origin is so hard to date, because they are rarely found.
However, archeologists think they have found the very first Persian rug, during a unique archaeological expedition in the year 1949. The carpet they discovered was named the Pazyrk rug.
The carpet was found in the grave of a Scythian prince. Radiocarbon testing indicated that the Pazyryk carpet was woven in the 5th century BC.
This carpet is 283 by 200 cm (approximately 9.3 by 6.5 ft), and has 36 symmetrical knots per square cm (232 per inch). The advanced weaving technique used in the Pazyryk carpet indicates a long history of evolution and experience in this art.
Pazyryk carpet is considered as the oldest carpet in the world. Its central field is a deep red color and it has two wide borders, one depicting deer and the other Persian horseman.
Historical records show that the Achaemenian court of Cyrus the Great at Pasargadae was decked with magnificent carpets. This was over 2,500 years ago, while Persia was still in a weak alliance with Alexander the Great, who would later betray her.
By the sixth century, Persian carpets of wool or silk were renowned in court circles throughout the region. Although carpet production is now mostly mechanized, traditional hand woven carpets are still widely found all around the world, and usually have higher prices than their machine woven counterparts due to them being an artistic presentation.
Iran exported five hundred and seventeen million dollars worth of hand woven carpets in 2002. In recent times Iranian carpets have come under fierce competition from other countries producing fakes of the original Iranian designs as well as genuine cheaper substitutes.
Most of the problems facing this traditional art is due to absence of patenting and branding the products as well as reduced quality of raw materials in the local market and the consistent loss of original design patterns. Wool is the most common material for carpets, but cotton is frequently used for the foundation of city and workshop carpets.
There are a wide variety in types of wool used for weaving. Those of which include Kork wool, Manchester wool, and in some cases even Camel Hair wool.
Silk carpets date back to at least the sixteenth century in Sabzavar and the Seventeenth century in Kashan and Yezd. Silk carpets are less common than wool carpets since silk is more expensive and less durable; they tend to increase in value with age.
Due to their rarity, value and lack of durability, silk carpets are often displayed on the wall like tapestries rather than being used as floor coverings. Design can be described in terms of the manner in which it organizes the field of the rug.
One basic design may serve the entire field, or the surface may be covered by a pattern of repeating figures. In areas using long-established local designs, the weaver often works from memory, with the patterns passed on within the family.
Each square thus becomes a knot, which allows for an accurate rendition of even the most complex design. Designs have changed little through centuries of weaving.
Today computers are used in the production of scale drawings for the weavers. As you can see, these beautiful fabric canvases are anciently revered, and have not lost their place in today's world of renowned crafts.
by: Terry Daniels
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