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How are Oriental Rugs Made ?
Oriental rugs refer to those rugs
that are either knotted or hand woven from the countries like
China, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Tibet, Persia, Turkey, Morocco,
Afghanistan and North Africa (Algeria). Under the influence of
Arab, Spain has also come up with some great hand woven rugs.
The special equipment required for making such rugs is a huge
wooden frame that contains evenly spaced pegs on ling and
parallel beams. Known as looms, the vertical wooden frames are
more widely used than the horizontal and flat ones. The fabrics
used are wool, silk and also yak hair.
These rugs can easily fit into any home décor – they can be used
in the entrance ways, foyers, children’s rooms, kitchen, living
room, dining room and on wooden floors. In fact from the last
century these rugs have been considered as a piece of art. Due
to the rich heritage and bright colors, oriental rugs are often
called the aristocrat of rugs. With the use of the right kind of
rugs for your home, you can succeed in creating magic in your
house.
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The process of making oriental rugs
includes stretching of the warp threads on the loom and then
knotting the pile to these threads. Once one row of knots is
completed, a weft thread is inserted. After the knotting of the
whole carpet the pile is clipped. The beauty of the end design
is dependent on how tightly the rug has been knotted and how
short the pile ahs been shorn. The number of knots tied in one
square inch, more technically known as the density of the rug
can help one to determine its longevity and durability; so
greater the number of knots, higher is it’s durability. A best
quality rug will have over 1000 knots in one square inch.
Weaving of rugs in Afghanistan
The rugs hailing from the country of
Afghanistan can be divided in to two categories – those woven by
the Afghans and those done by the Balouch weavers. |
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The good quality afghan rugs
generally come from states like Daulatabad, Herat and Kunduz;
superior quality Balouch rugs also come from Herat. Let me know
give you the points in which Afghan and Balouch rugs differ from
each other.
• The Afghan rugs are usually made
of wool; weft with fairly thick nap and have a very firm
structure. The Balouch rugs on the other hand are also made of
wool, weft with closely clipped nip and have a soft and more
flexible structure.
• While Afghan rugs are usually large, 10’ by 14’ and even
bigger, the Balouch rugs are generally small, 6.6’ by 9.6’.
• The Afghan rugs come in bright colors like red, black, ivory,
orange and green with small designs all over the body; Balouch
rugs come in softer hues with geometric designs and abstract
floral designs.
Weaving of rugs in China
Oriental rugs from China can be dated back to as early as the
seventeenth century. By the end of nineteenth century, there
were special classes in Beijing teaching rug making for the
royals and aristocrats. In 1920’s and 1930’s, factories started
producing rugs especially for the American and foreign markets.
These factories were controlled by the foreign organizations
that monitored all the stages of rug production. During the
1950’s and 1960’s, the Government of China took control of all
the carpet producing factories in the country and started the
production of authentic Chinese rugs that had thick textures and
had “Chinese” designs in pastel hues. Later on, in the 1980’s,
some of these factories started the production of much finer and
delicate rugs, somewhat in the lines of Persian rugs; however,
these floral designed and closely clipped nap rugs were not hand
woven like the authentic oriental ones.
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Weaving
of rugs in India
India has two centers that excel in the art of rug making – the
Varanasi region in the east-central part and Jaipur, in the
south west region of Delhi. Both these areas produce the finest
quality woolen rugs in different sizes and patterns. Though they
are generally found in the Persian patterns, Aubusson,
Savonnerie as well as Dhurries, the flat woven tapestry method,
is also very popular. The rugs woven in Jaipur have nice floral
designs and come in all sizes – from small mats to large
carpets.
Besides these two cities, oriental rugs were also very common
from the northern part of the country, Srinagar. Srinagar also
produced very superior quality of silk and woolen rugs;
unfortunately due to political tensions between Pakistan and
India, this industry has almost come to a stop.
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The
differences between the rugs woven in the Varanasi region and the
Jaipur region
• Those woven in the Jaipur regions come in all sizes – ranging
from small scatters to large mats; the rugs woven in Varanasi
generally come between 12’ by 20’ sizes.
• The weavers of Jaipur use designs like simple floral prints in
smoky and delicate colors. They generally use Persian designs though
there are some amount of European Aubussons. The weavers of Varanasi
on the other hand use almost all kind of designs and colors. There
is a predominance of Persian designs though the European Aubusson,
Chinese patterns and other designs are also used.
Weaving
of rugs in Persia or Iran
Iran has one of the biggest producers of oriental rugs and the rugs
are popularly known as the “Persian rugs”. In fact, according to a
lot of people, ‘oriental rugs ‘are synonymous to Persian rugs. The
reason of its wide spread popularity can be attributed to the large
amount of Iranian rugs being sold in the European and American
markets. Not all Persian rugs are magnificent in quality; in fact
some are made from old and junky pieces. Some of the rugs producing
regions of Iran are Shiraz, Kurd, Herez, Hamadan (coarsely woven
rugs), Isfahan, Nain, Tabriz and Qum (regions producing the finest
quality of rugs).
Weaving of rugs in Pakistan
Bokhara region is one of the major producers of Oriental rugs in
Pakistan. These rugs also come in a wide variety of sizes – from 1’
by 1’ mats to large carpets. The rugs are made of cotton and almost
always weft on a wool foundation; they also come in a huge range of
qualities, from poor quality (with less than 50 knots per square
inch) to very tightly woven with nearly 300 knots per square inch.
Majority of Bokharas are made of soft and very finely spun wool. For
this New Zealand wool is generally used that gives a very delicate
and shiny finish, somewhat like silk. The superior quality Bokharas
are very closely clipped so that the intricate designs are extremely
clear. The colors used are generally shades of red and rust though
colors like green, ivory, teal, orange, navy, peach and rose are
also common. The most common design is rows of medallions or “Tekke”
guls.
Weaving of rugs in Turkey
The hand-woven rugs of Turkey became popular from the 17th century.
These rugs were sold to the affluent European society by the traders
as “Turkey work carpets”. The regions in Turkey famous for rugs are
Kozak, Bergama, Milas, Dosemealti, Malatya, Kayseri and Hereke that
is known for its production of some finest quality silk rugs.
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Article Contributed By: Sukanaya
Banerjee
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