Tutorial

Perhaps the only distinguishable feature that all real uniquely designed Oriental rugs have in common is that they are woven. Oriental piles rugs are constructed by first stringing warp threads, which will run the length of the finished rug, onto a loom. Weavers often choose cotton for the warps, particularly for larger carpets; because it stretches less than wool, cotton can be strung on the loom more easily and evenly. Some areas traditionally use wool to produce their warps; however, with skill wool can generally produce some very satisfactory work. The number of warps per inch of width largely determines the fineness of the rug. Passing wefts through the warps to produce a grid-like fabric is called a flat weave that stabilizes the end of the rug.

Two types of knots are used: the symmetric (or Turkish) knot and the asymmetric (Persian) knot.

In the Persian knot, the supplementary weft yarn passes behind one warp yarn, and the two ends emerge on either side of a warp yarn. The Persian knot is sometimes called a Seneh knot; it has an asymmetrical structure that is common in Seneh style rugs.

In the Turkish knot, the supplementary weft yarn passes over the two warp yarns, and emerges to form the pile coming between them. The Turkish knot is also sometimes referred to as a Ghiordes knot.

Oriental rug designs may be geometric or curvilinear (floral), depending on the type of lines used to construct the design, but all gradations between the two types exist. Modern floral rugs descend from rugs woven in the medieval court workshops of Persia, Turkey, and India. The villagers and nomads of the Middle East, on the other hand, have woven geometric rugs, for at least 3000 years. Simply daughters watching mothers weave passed along many tribal and village rug designs. Intricate floral rugs must be woven from a "cartoon" or plan, a schematic drawing that shows where knots of different colours should be placed. Floral rugs must be fairly finely woven -- more than 100 knots/sq. in, and often more than 200 knots/sq. in -- in order to carry off the intricate design. Geometric rugs are commonly and appropriately woven with knot densities of 40-75-knots/ sq. in.

Oriental rug designs usually contain two elements: the border and the field (see graphics below). The border typically consists of a wide main border and 4 to 6 (or more) subsidiary or guard borders, each displaying a repeating design motif. The field generally contains either a medallion, with or without related corners (spandrels), or a repeating (all-over) design. Since the field is the background for the design, its colour determines the overall colour tone of the rug. Rug designs are usually symmetrical; only certain tribal pieces, folk art rugs, and prayer rugs are intended to be viewed from one direction. Most modern rugs are woven from some sort of cartoon, but in a number of the smaller villages in Turkey, Iran, and Afghanistan, weavers produce from memory the same designs their ancestors used.

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Although almost any colour can be found in an Oriental rug, the traditional field colours are reds, blues, and ivory. Almost every shade of red is used; from pale pink, salmon, magenta, or liver. Blues range from light to nearly blue-black. Pale colours were commonly used in 19th century Oushaks from Turkey and several districts in Persia. Many more colours, particularly soft shades such as dusty rose and grey-green, are available as field and accent colours in modern rugs. These rugs, while upsetting to traditionalists, can be pleasing from a decorative viewpoint; they allow Oriental rugs to coordinate with colour schemes when traditional colours might clash.

Dyes used in antique Oriental rugs were derived largely from vegetable matter: blue from indigo, red from madder root, yellow from various plants, green from over dying blue on yellow, etc. When these rugs were new, the colours were bright and sometimes harsh -- the soft, rich colours we see today resulted from the fading and aging of the dyes. Chemical dyes, developed in the 1870's, are easier to apply than natural dyes. By the 1890's to the 1930's -- the time depends upon the location -- they had largely replaced vegetable dyes in the dyers' cauldrons. Early chemical dyes were generally poor, and many faded quickly. The modern chrome dyes used in most good-quality new rugs, however, are very stable and provide a vast range of colours. They sometimes face criticism on two grounds, though. First, the colours may be garishly bright or simply inappropriate: i.e., bright green, orange, and plum Pakistani Bokhara. Such rugs are easily avoided. Secondly, the colours may approach but rarely match the soft richness seen in (much more expensive) old rugs. The recent revival of vegetable dyeing in Turkey, Pakistan, and India appears to be the beginning of a trend back to more "authentic" colours. The best of these rugs are among the most exciting Oriental rugs produced in this century. A recent craze has been tea washing, which gives a brownish cast to some colours. The result may be attractive, but cheaper tea-washed rugs tend to simply look muddy.

As with dyes, there is a modern and a traditional way of spinning the wool (twisting the straight fibres together to produce a yarn). Hand spinning has been practiced for millennia, but had largely been supplanted by machine carding and spinning, which produce a much cheaper, more even yarn. Though even yarn might seem to be a good thing, many rug enthusiasts object to that evenness, particularly in tribal and nomadic rugs where some irregularity is often charming.

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The weaving of pile rugs is a difficult and tedious process which, depending on the quality and size of the rug, may take anywhere from a few months to several years to complete.

To begin making a rug, you need a foundation consisting of warps strong, thick threads of cotton, wool or silk which run the length of the rug and wefts similar threads, which pass under and over the warps from one side to the other. The warps on either side of the rug are normally combined into one or more cables of varying thickness that are overcast to form the selvedge.

Weaving normally begins by passing a number of wefts through the bottom warp to form a base to start from. Loosely piled knots of dyed wool or silk are then tied around consecutive sets of adjacent warps to create the intricate patterns in the rug. As more rows are tied to the foundation, these knots become the pile of the rug. Between each row of knots, one or more shots of weft are passed to tightly pack down and secure the rows.

Depending on the fineness of the weave, the quality of the materials and the expertise of the weavers, the knot count of a hand made rug can vary anywhere from 16 to 550 knots per square inch.

When the rug is completed, the warp ends form the fringes that may be weft-faced, braided, tasselled, or secured in some other manner.

Horizontal Looms

The simplest form of loom is a horizontal; one that can be staked to the ground or supported by sidepieces on the ground. The necessary tension can be obtained through the use of wedges. This style of loom is ideal for nomadic people as it can be assembled or dismantled and is easily transportable. Rugs produced on horizontal looms are generally fairly small and the weave quality is inferior to those rugs made on a professional standing loom.

Vertical Looms

Vertical looms are undoubtedly more comfortable to operate. These are found more in city weavers and sedentary peoples because they are hard to dismantle and transport. There is no limit to the length of the carpet that can be woven on a vertical loom and there is no restriction to its width.

There are three broad groups of vertical looms, all of which can be modified in a number of ways: the fixed village loom, the Tabriz or Bunyan loom, and the roller beam loom.

The fixed village loom is used mainly in Iran and consists of a fixed upper beam and a moveable lower or cloth beam which slots into two sidepieces. The correct tension is created by driving wedges into the slots. The weavers work on an adjustable plank which is raised as the work progresses.

The Tabriz loom, named after the city of Tabriz, is used in North Western Iran. The warps are continuous and pass around behind the loom. Tension is obtained with wedges. The weavers sit on a fixed seat and when a portion of the carpet has been completed, the tension is released and the carpet is pulled down and rolled around the back of the loom. This process continues until the rug is completed, when the warps are severed and the carpet is taken off the loom.

The roller beam loom is a traditional Turkish village loom, but is also found in Iran and India. It consists of two movable beams to which the warps are attached. Both beams are fitted with ratchets or similar locking devices and completed work is rolled on to the lower beam. It is possible to weave very long rugs by these means, and in some areas of Turkey rugs are woven in series.

In order to operate the loom, the weaver needs a number of essential tools: a knife for cutting the yarn as the knots are tied; a comb-like instrument for packing down the wefts; and a pair of shears for trimming the pile. In Tabriz the knife is combined with a hook to tie the knots which lets the weavers produce very fine rugs, as their fingers alone are too thick to do the job.

A small steel comb is sometimes used to comb out the yarn after each row of knots is completed. This both tightens the weave and clarifies the design.

A variety of instruments are used for packing the weft. Some weaving areas in Iran known for producing very fine pieces use additional tools. In Kerman , a sabre like instrument is used horizontally inside the shed, and in Be jar a heavy nail like tool is used. Bijar is also famous for their wet loom technique, which consists of wetting the warp, weft, and yarn with water throughout the weaving process to make the elements thinner and finer. This allows for tighter weaving. When the rug is complete and dried, the wool and cotton expand to make the rug incredibly dense and strong.

A number of different tools may be used to shear the wool depending on how the rug is trimmed as the rug progresses or when it is complete. Often in Chinese rugs the yarn is trimmed after completion and the trimming is slanted where the colour changes, giving an embossed three-dimensional effect.

Regions

Generally, Persian rugs are classified by the region in which they are made. For example, a rug would be identified in the market as a Tabriz if it was woven in or near the city of the same name. A major rug-producing centre such as Tabriz may also have subcategories, such as the famous Tabriz Mahi.

Every city, village, or tribe has their own design that they incorporate into their rugs, much like a trademark. If a design becomes famous, other centres may attempt to imitate the design though it seems imitators never quite match the quality of the original.

Persian rugs aren't always from the city they are identified as quality is also an identifying factor. For example, in the holy city of Mashad, when finer pieces are woven, they are often referred to as Moods. Although Mood is a village near Mashad, the name doesn't necessarily mean that the rug was woven there.

Another way Persian rugs are classified is by the city in where they are marketed. For example, Arak is a small rural town that has an incredibly large rug trading industry. It is surrounded by dozens of other villages that all produce rugs of their own. All these rugs are marketed in Arak, and thus many of them are referred to as Araks.

Likewise Birjand is a town in the province of Khorassan a fair distance south of Mashad, but some rugs of a certain quality marketed through Mashad are referred to as Birjand. This system of geography and quality of the Persian rug industry is common throughout Iran.

Tribal or City

Typically there are two types of rugs made in Iran: tribal rugs and city rugs. Tribal rugs are those woven by nomads and inhabitants of small rural villages. For the most part, these rugs are inferior in quality to the ones made in the cities. However the materials such as the wool and dyes used are often of excellent quality and occasionally a tribal rug turns out surprisingly fine.

The dyes used in tribal rugs are still mainly natural vegetable dyes, which is superior to chemical or chrome dyes.

There are many different designs found in Persian rugs. Tribal rugs tend to have geometric designs with little detail, only a few bright colours. City rugs and finer pieces usually have a more detailed design and much more colour. Also, some cities will have very few designs and others such as Tabriz will have a great number. A rug expert can usually determine the origin of a rug simply by analyzing the design.