Rug Guides: Oriental Rugs

Carpet-making in India goes back as far as the Mughal emperors of the 16th and 17th centuries. Carpets were woven by Persian craftsmen who traveled to India at the invitation of the Mughal Emperor Akbar (1556-1605). Agra is a city in India, south of Dehli, and has been a key carpet manufacturing center.

During the 19th century, British merchants for the East India Company set up many more carpet factories in several Indian cities, including Agra. The merchants specified designs that were in line with and adapted to Western taste, creating a synthesis of Persian and Indian motives. Motives, such as central medallions are clear evidence of Persian influence, while many other Agra designs presents all-over and centralized patterns.

Antique Caucasion rugs were woven by tribal weavers of the south Russian region, near the Caucasus mountains, between the Black and Caspian seas. Although, Caucasion carpets were made by many different tribal groups, they have many common characteristics. Sought after by collectors and designers, these carpets are characterized by their colorful and bright palette. Colors of blue, red, yellow, green, navy, black, and beige can all be combined in one rug. The patterns are very geometric, assertive, and bold, and the common designs tend to be stripes, crosses, squares, diamonds, hexagons, triangles, or even some geometric animal or human figures. Some of the most famous Caucasion styles includes sub-categories such as Kazak, Karabagh, Gendje, Talish, Shirvan, Baku, Kuba, and Daghestan.

The old province of Karabagh lies to the north of the Aras river, just north of the present Iranian border. Karabagh rugs are known for their exceptional quality and highly desired designs sought after by collectors and designers. Their designs and color schemes are closely related to Caucasian rugs with tribal geometric and large medallion patterns. Certain Karabagh rugs also resemble Persian designs and colors with flower ornaments and more traditional designs. Commonly stout and comparatively coarse, Karabagh rugs are all made of wool, are double wefted and have a higher pile than rugs found elsewhere in Caucasus.

Sivas is a city in North Central Turkey, which is a major production site of Turkish rugs based on Persian designs. Often finely woven, Sivas rugs and carpets are highly appreciated as some of the best-made and decorative rugs from Turkey. They are classically derived from Persian designs, exploiting all-over patterns and medallions using palmettes and vine scrolls. Sivas rugs tend to have soft color tones with an emphasis on ivory earth tones and pastel coloration in the accent colors. They are excellent decorative rugs for elegant room settings.