subject: Oriental Rugs are your connection to History [print this page] Oriental Rugs are your connection to History
When you look at the Oriental rug lying on your floor, you are not only looking at a beautiful floor covering but a piece of ancient history. No one knows when Oriental style rug weaving began but a discovery in the Pazyrk Mountains in Siberia in 1949 began to give us a clue. Found in a tomb, preserved in ice, dating to 500 BC was an intricately woven rug. Its discovery not only meant than rug weaving was done not only in that time but by the delicacy of the design, revealed that the craftsmanship was long standing. A variety of rugs and rug fragments found in the Middle East in the 7th century confirmed that Oriental rug making had been around at least two thousand years.
The advent of the Islam religion and the Oriental rug weaving process seemed to develop hand in hand. Invading armies and traders spread the word of Islam and the carpet weaving techniques throughout the Near East and Central Asia. The Oriental carpet weaving and the conversion to the new religion seemed to unify the residents of the territories. Instead of putting their efforts into territorial squabbles, the residents were now concentrating their efforts on advancing artistic and social issues, spotlighting the Oriental Rug weaving as part of the Arts.
Persia, considered the center of the greatest Oriental rug making, found its peak in the sixteenth and seventeenth century in what was called the Golden Era of Safavid patronage. It was at this time, in Persia, that the religious ban of not depicting living creatures in Oriental rug weaving was over turned. Now birds and beasts were introduced into the designs and the graphic patterns evolved into the arabesques and curlicues designs that we see still being used in the Oriental carpets sold today.
In Persia, and other countries in the near east, Oriental rug weaving was a home craft. Almost every home had a loom and colors and designs for these carpets were passed down from generations. When the daily chores were completed, the women of the family took to their looms. These Oriental rugs not only served as decoration, but a form of currency, to be sold when money was needed, to use as a dowry or to just use to pay a debt. In the 20th century, the Iranian Inland Revenue was still accepting Oriental carpets as payment for taxes because like many of the luxury cars today, kept their value and were easily sold.
So the next time you walk on your walk on your Oriental rug, celebrate your connection to its history.
