The Ancient Art Of Rug Making
by Mark Fardecken
http://www.flagrugs.com
The oldest know rug was woven sometime during the 5th
century BC. This rug was unearthed by a Russian
archeologist Professor Rodenko in 1949 out in frozen
Siberia. It had been part of the burial at a Scythian site
and was well preserved by the freezing temperatures. Prior
to this find, little was know about the weaving methods
because all our knowledge had been gathered from ancient
texts. This carpet showed pile weaving to be a very old
craft.
Called the Pazyrvk rug, this is a carpet of Persia. It's
possible to view it if you make your way to St Petersburg
(formerly Leningrad) and search it out in the magnificent
Hermitage Museum. The Pazyrvk is a square rug, six by six
feet and the weave it uses is symmetrical knotting with a
density of 225 knots per square inch. It's exact origins
can't be known for sure, and it can never be known if it
was important to it's final site or if it was made close
by in Siberia. Scholars think however that is is a rug
from the Achaemenian dynasty, who were Persia's rulers
between 550 and 331 before Christ.
A knot weave known as "Senney" is to be found on yet
another old carpet found in Siberia. This rug is dated to
some point during the final century before Christ. Looking
to the texts gives us carpet dates much earlier in
history, however. King Cyrus, the founder of the Persian
Dynasty and known as "The Great", was known to have
palaces decorated with the magnificent rugs of Persia.
One of the most famous of all rugs has never been found.
This rug is known from the ancient texts, and belonged to
King Khosrau I the ruler of Persia for 48 years up to
579 AD. The rug has a name, the "Spring of Khosrau", and
the texts say that this carpet flat woven and not made in
one piece like most carpets.
Two huge and very famous rugs were designed by Maqsud of
Kashan and made during 1539 and 1540. Designed as a pair,
each rug measures about 36 feet in length and 17 feet in
width. They are made from silk thread and woven with
asymmetrical knots with a density of 300 knots per square
inch. The designer's own name has been incorporated into
the design.
One of the two rugs is on show in London, at the Victoria
and Albert Museum in South Kensington. Here one finds a
perfect looking complete rug, but in fact both had
suffered damage and the V&A's rug features parts taken
from it's sister. The rug used for spares is also on
display to the public, this time in Los Angeles,
California, at the Country Museum of Art. You can see the
holes where patches were taken to make one rug complete.
It is our good fortune that some examples of this ancient
art have come down to us today. Iran is the modern day
name for Persia, and the country continues it's noble
tradition of rug making. It's perfectly possibly to buy
rugs as home furnishing to lend that regal touch that
Cyrus the Great would have known.
Spanish settlers in Northern America brought with them the
non-native sheep in the 16th century. With the wool that
was shorn from these sheep and their descendents, Native
Americans made rugs. Pueblo Indians, the Ute and Navajo
tribes were amongst those specializing in marvelous rugs
during 18th and 19th century. Needless to say any
surviving rugs are now highly collectible.
Magnificent rugs have been made by people all over the
planet. Aside from their beauty, these rugs document the
civilization that made them. Beautiful objects that soften
the footfall have clearly been a common theme for man
through the ages.
Submit An Article
|
|
