Persian rugs, Persian carpets
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Persian rugs, Persian carpets |
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We can't present any more than a superficial introduction to the History of Persian Carpets and Rugs here. This is an enormous topic which has formed the subject of much research and many books.
Originally carpets were made for the practical purpose of covering walls and floors of nomadic tents. This practice started back in the mists of time before any written records began and still continues today. However, as the craft became more sophisticated, fine carpets became symbols of wealth in the courts of kings, queens and emperors.
The Pazyryck carpet: The oldest known surviving piled rug (c 2500 years old)
Historical records state that the court of Cyrus the great, who conquered Babylon about 2500 years ago, was covered in magnificent carpets and that when he died, his tomb was adorned with carpets. No trace of this has been found, but a carpet exists of this age which was discovered in a tomb in Siberia. This is the famous "Pazyryk" carpet. This shows a sophistication of design and production that proves that the craft of rug making was already well developed by this time.
Turkish or Giordes knot
In the 11th century, a Turkish tribe, the Seljuks conquered Persia. They brought their tradition of carpet making and were hugely influential in the development of the Persian carpet. They introduced the distinctive turkish knot. In this knot, also known as the "Ghiordes" knot, the yarn is wrapped twice around two adjacent warp threads and the ends are drawn out between these two threads. The other main knot used for pile rugs is the original Persian or "Senneh" knot.
Persian or Senneh knot
The 16th century through to the early eighteenth century was the golden age of carpet making in Persia, where the finest specimens were made and the craft was encouraged by the rulers for court use. At this time also, Europeans took a great interest and beautiful carpets could be found in all of the great courts of Europe.
This period came to an end in 1722 when Persia was invaded by the Afghans. The production of fine carpets waned as did European interest.
In the late 19th Century, interest was reawakened and carpet making flourished once more with Tabriz merchants exporting carpets to Europe through Istanbul. At the end of the 19th Century some European and American companies even set up businesses in Persia producing carpets especially for western markets. Zeigler is an example of this.
Carpet making is still of enormous importance in Persia and there is a rich abundance of designs and types of carpet still being made by hand using traditional techniques. These carpets continue to bring enormous pleasure into humble homes and palaces and everything inbetween!
Our glossary contains entries on many of the individual Persian tribes. See Shahsavan, Afshar, Balouch, Luri, Qashqai or Mashad for example. The complete list of glossary items can be found in our Keyword Search facility.