Regional Weaving and Uses of Oriental Rugs

Regional Weaving and Uses of Oriental Rugs

In 17th Century Persia, during the Golden Era of Oriental rug making in the Safavid dynasty most homes had a loom. This was a craft that was highly regarded in every economic level of society.The lifting of the Islamic religious ban for depicting living creatures in the Oriental carpets gave the weavers new opportunities to create more artistic weaves.

However, in Turkey, the rural peasants were responsible for much of the Oriental rug weaving. Their creations were different than those crafted in Persia. The rugs were more coarsely woven using angular designs and vibrant colors. As the Turks complied with the religious ban of depicting living creatures on the Oriental rugs, they fashioned their rugs with geometric designs and other interpretations of trees and flowers in place of the birds and beasts that were forbidden.

The Chinese Oriental carpet weaving had a different tradition altogether although they shared a similar craftsmanship with their western neighbors in Caucasus and Turkmenistan. What distinguished the Chinese carpet from the Persian was how the Orientals was how they functioned. In the Islamic countries, the rugs served as home furnishings. In China, they started using furniture in the conventional Western manner, so the rugs were used more as decoration. Whereas weaving was done in many homes, in China it was more organized, with the Oriental carpets produced in a centralized location under the stewardship of the Chinese royal family and its nobility. These rugs were only for the very wealthy and the designs were influenced by Buddhism and Taoism instead of Islam.

The Oriental rugs in India were even less functional than those of China. When the Moguls from the Mongol lands invaded India in the 16th century, they brought the rug making craftsmanship from Persia with them. Once the Moguls were settled, they taught the natives this craft and encouraged them to emulate this craft and adapt it to their culture. As with the Chinese, the Oriental rugs created were exclusively for the Indian nobility.

Although it appears that Oriental rug weaving was created and refined in the Eastern and Islamic countries, the Europeans had a influence and interest in Oriental rug weaving as well. When the Crusaders returned from the Holy Land, carpets were among their booty of war. Traveling through Turkey in 1271, Marco Polo declared that "the best and handsomest carpets in the world are wrought here."

Verification of the European interest can be found in the artwork. From the 13th century onwards,paintings depicted carpets on tables, over balconies, and before religious figures and royalty. The painter Hans Holbein the younger (1497-1543) used a predominantly red Oriental carpet in his paintings so much, the artworks became known as "Holbeins".

The depictions of Oriental Rugs in paintings confirmed the rugs as status symbols with the rug owners freely displaying the Oriental rugs in their homes to reflect the vast sums paid to obtain them.

However, the French put their own stamp on Oriental Rug weaving. When Henry IV set up Oriental carpet workshop, he commissioned court artists to create designs for them in the French style.

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