top of page
Historical mystery of an art form
Over a thousand years ago in old Persia, when nomads had to move to multiple areas in different seasons, in search of habitable climate and land, they would have to take their herd of sheep and goats with them. And one of the crafts that they would make with their animal’s wool and hair besides clothing and bedding, was a piece of rug. And that becomes a tradition which has lived proudly into modern times.
In the land of old civilizations, where architecture and poetry, where highly appreciated and novelty was rewarded, there were people who would create something exquisite to the world and handmade rugs were designed by talented artists and woven by skillful weavers. To these days many of gypsy, nomadic and cottage carpets are woven by the strong and mindful women who not only were responsible to take care of their offspring and men, but also put their heart and soul into creating something original and everlasting, knot by knot.
As time went by, handmade rugs were welcomed by other cultures and countries, to the point that some of them started that artistic industry between their people and added the spice of their own culture, history, and language to it. Besides Persia (Iran), Oriental rugs come from other countries such as Turkey, Central Asian countries (Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal), some countries which were parts of old Soviet (Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan) and even north Africa especially Egypt and Morocco.
The colour of the wool comes from natural dyes. Back in the day, people used to boil the wool with flowers, vegetables, and minerals in a big pot and stir them for hours. One of the most common dyes was red, which is still the dominating colour in many of Persian rugs whereas colours like white, ivory, duck egg blue and green would be considered luxury and were used on very fine wool, in famous designer carpets which mainly came from bigger cities.
Because the art of weaving was passed down from one generation to the next, most rugs from one tribe tend to have similarities in the patterns woven into the rugs as well as the colours used. This makes it easy to distinguish the different rugs and identify exactly what type of rug it is. Steeped in history and geography, symbols reach far back and have meaning to the different designers and weavers alike. Traditionally, their meaning is linked to their experiences living on harsh lands in trying times, to make a living.
Every single Oriental rug has a story to tell. It is a product that takes years of dedication, consistency, motivation, and love for one person to create it on a loom. Every detail has been knotted by fingers of a person who has faith in their hard work, to gift the world with marvellous magic.
bottom of page