History

The origins of hand-woven rugs from the “rug belt”, contained within the borders of Anatolia, Caucasus, Kurdistan, Syria, Iran and Turkestan, are a mystery due to the very nature of carpet use, materials, and structure. The rugs were originally produced to be used in the rugged daily life of nomadic people, there are few surviving examples of the early pieces to show carpet evolution. Egyptian stone carvings from 2,500 years ago show that hand-woven rugs were considered to be among the most valuable gifts that could be offered to royalty at that time. By the fifteenth century A.D., the demand in Europe for hand woven rugs created the need for commercial production. Nomadic weavers then settled into villages and cities to satisfy the demand. The commercial production of hand-woven rugs was virtually destroyed by war in the early eighteenth century. Production was restored in the late nineteenth century, and the world wide demand for quality hand-woven rugs has grown ever since. The Adib family became involved in the production and sale of hand-woven rugs in the major Persian production center of Kashan in the early twentieth century. One dimension of the value of hand-woven Oriental rugs is defined by their age. At Adib’s Rug Gallery, you will find excellent examples of rugs of all ages from new to antique.

Structure

The basic structure of a rug is made up of it's foundation, pile, fringe and selvage.  The foundation is a web or grid of longitudinal threads called warp threads and interwoven lateral threads called weft threads. The foundation threads of most rugs are cotton. The pile is created by tying a strand of wool thread around adjacent warp threads and forming a knot. The loose ends of the wool thread form the pile. Warp threads are then woven laterally through the weft threads to hold the knotted wool threads in place. Typically, the pile is the face of the rug. The fringe is formed at the ends of most rugs by tying off the warp threads beyond the beginning and last row of pile and cutting the loose warp threads to an even length. The selvage is formed by overcastting the tied-off weft threads at the right and left edges of the rug.

Materials  

The primary material for rug making is wool. Because nomadic survival in arid desert regions was inexorably linked to the survival of their flocks and herds, the use of animal skins for tents and ground covering was not a viable option. The shorn coats from the sheep herds provided the wool that was spun into yarn. The quality of the wool yarn is influenced by the variables of the breed of the sheep, the season of shearing (winter or spring) and the locale (mountain or desert). Wool remains today the preferred material for the pile of hand-woven rugs that will be used in high traffic areas. Cotton evolved as the material of choice for the foundation of the rug. Wool foundation threads proved to be too flexible to support the pile and shortened the life of a rug. Cotton is much more stable and does a superior job of holding the pile in place. Silk is also used to produce hand-woven rugs, but due to its expense and lack of durability, it is usually found only in rugs intended for low traffic areas or for display. Finally, very few rugs are made from the hair of goats and camels due to the relative scarcity of animal hair. Adib’s has a wide selection of wool rugs and a select collection of silk rugs.

Knots  up

Two basic types of knots are used. They are known as the Turkish knot and the Persian knot. The Turkish knot is so called because of its wide usage in Turkey. It is also referred to as the Ghiordes knot or the symmetrical knot. The knot is formed by laying the pile yarn over adjacent warp threads, wrapping the pile yarn around the warp threads and drawing the two ends up between the warp threads to form the tuft or pile. This knot being large and square is best suited to geometrical designs. The Persian knot is so called because of its wide usage in Persia. It is also referred to as the Senneh knot or the asymmetrical knot. The knot is formed by wrapping the pile yarn around one warp thread and then looping one end of the pile yarn under an adjacent warp thread. This results in the two ends of the pile yarn being separated by one warp thread. The pattern can be accomplished either in a ‘right’ or ‘left’ fashion. This knot is smaller and irregular and is well suited to curvilinear designs. A variation of this knot is the jufti or the ‘false’ knot. In this knot the pile yarn is wrapped around four warp threads, two on each side rather than one on each side. This knot has been used to reduce the time to produce a rug and results in rugs that are much less durable. The expert staff at Adib’s can show you examples of the basic knot and their variations.

Dyes   up

Dyes are generally grouped as ‘natural’ and ‘synthetic’. The natural dyes are derived from plant and insect sources and were used prior to the invention of synthetic dyes. Due to the variability in the source materials it is difficult to obtain an exact match in color from batch to batch. In older rugs it is not unusual to see slight differences in what is intended to be identical color. The variations usually run horizontally through the pattern. The variation is called an ‘abrash’ and does not affect the quality or intrinsic value of a rug. The synthetic dyes are grouped as aniline or chrome. Aniline dyes appeared in the late 1800’s and were quickly adopted. Aniline dyes had the drawback of being strongly acidic and destroyed the natural oils in the wool, resulting in rugs that wore more quickly. This led to the development of potassium bichromated dyes. Potassium bichromated dyes do not attack the natural oils in the wool, are fade resistant, easy to match and are available in a wide variety of shades. You can see examples of each of the dying techniques at Adib’s Rug Gallery.

Washes  up

In the past few decades, the bright colors of some hand-woven rugs were considered to be too bright by some standards. Importers subjected rugs to a chemical wash to subdue the brilliant colors. The process had the undesirable effect of removing the natural oil from the wool and destroying the cotton of the foundation. As a result rugs wore very quickly and in some cases the foundation would break and separate.

Painting  up

To satisfy the color preferences of the growing American market in the first half of the 1900’s, dyes were applied to certain areas of a rug to change the original color in a process called ‘painting’. The colors most often applied were the darker reds, maroons and some greens. The dyes were applied by hand, using brushes, hence the name. The process usually resulted in a loss of sheen in the treated areas and an additional process had to be employed to restore it.

Decoration  up

The two basic elements of decoration in a hand-woven rug are design and color. The designs, or patterns used, are generally divided into geometric, abstract, curvilinear and pictorial. The geometric designs are attributed to the nomadic weavers, the abstract or stylized designs to the village weavers, the curvilinear designs to the city weavers and the pictorial designs to the court ateliers. There is much overlap in these generalizations that can easily be identified. Most hand-woven rugs are rectangular in shape. The designs are usually sympathetic to this shape. The two major subdivisions of the rectangular shape are the frame or border, and the interior or field. Within the border and the field the weavers use a variety of techniques to express themselves and attract the viewer. Design can be directional, non directional, symmetrical, pictorial, and arabesque to name just a few. The use of color is generally related to the center of production.  The nomadic weavers tend to use a few strong contrasting colors. The village weavers have a broader pallet of colors. The rugs from a city have a complexity and blending of colors consistent with the more complex designs they produce. The court ateliers rely on the full harmony of the color spectrum to create majestic pieces of art.

Identification  up

It is traditional to relate a rug to a particular area and time period of production by the elements of materials, knots, dyes and decorations used by the weaver. This relationship is expressed in terms of geographical names such as Persian, Turkoman and Caucasian. Names of cities of production or trade are also used such as Tabriz, Kashan, and Isphahan. Other identification terms rely on the design of a piece, resulting in such names as Herati, Henna, and Boteh. The original intention of the terminology to accurately relate a rug to a region of production has been greatly diluted by the makers of reproductions. Many modern reproductions are identified with familiar names but they have no ties to the heritage of their namesake(s). The experts at Adib’s will show you the difference between the value of an authentic classic and a modern reproduction.

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