Articles: Oriental Rugs & Persian Rugs

Welcome to our articles page! In addition to general articles on Oriental and Persian rugs, below are a number of articles specific to particular rug designs. These are occasionally featured on our home page.

1.	Oriental Rug Weaving
Rows of knots are tied on a foundation of warp and weft and become the pile, which consists of upright yarn. The warp runs along the length of the carpet and the fineness of the weave depends on its thickness and the proximity of the warps to one another...Read Article

2.	Oriental Rugs in the Subcontinent, A Brief History
The Moghul dynasty of the subcontinent was, as the name implies, ruled by emperors proud of their Mongol descent. Babur, the first Moghul Shah from 1526 to 1530, was a fifth generation descendant of Tamerlaine, and was thus related to Ghengis Khan. Formerly the ruler of Afghanistan, he overthrew the Delhi Sultanate...Read Article

3.	Oriental Rug Knot Types
The Ghiordes knot is also referred to as the single knot, symmetrical knot, and Turkish knot. With the symmetrical knot, the yarn is passed between two adjacent warps, brought back under one, wrapped around both forming a collar, then pulled through the center so that both ends emerge...Read Article

4.	Oriental Rug Knot Counting
The most common method of calculating a rug's knot count is to determine the knots per square inch (KPSI). Using a measuring tape or ruler, the knots along one inch widthwise are multiplied by the knots counted along one inch lengthwise. The total constitutes the knots per square inch. Below are examples of two rugs...Read Article

5.	Caring For Oriental Rugs, Persian Rugs
A new hand knotted rug placed in an area of moderate to heavy traffic in an average household will usually need a gentle vacuum clean about once per week. Rugs with longer piles may also be beaten gently from the back to remove any grit that is caught in the pile...Read Article

6.	A Brief Introduction To Kashan Rugs
In the carpet world, Kashan is used to describe a hand knotted rug that usually contains a diamond-shaped medallion on a Shah Abbas field. Shah Abbas fields take their name from a Mogul ruler who significantly contributed to the rise of Persian textile art in the 16th and 17th centuries. Shah Abbas fields, which are used in a variety of...Read Article

7.	A Brief Introduction To Hatchlu Rugs
The Hatchlu rug is a very unique design falling under the Enssi category of rugs. Enssi refers to rugs that were traditionally used as entrance hangings to tents by Turkoman nomads in Central Asia. Today Enssi rugs are almost always associated with the popular Hatchlu design. There are many variations of the Hatchlu design, yet almost all share a fundamental characteristic....Read Article

8.	An Introduction To Bokhara Rugs
Bokhara is a term commonly used to describe Tekke-faced rugs. Tekke was a tribe from the area of Bokhara in Central Asia. The design is dominated by rows of guls and surrounding geometric patterns. The Tekke tribe is also thought to have incorporated some design aspects of the Salor tribe, also from the area of Bokhara in Central Asia. Some...Read Article

A Brief Introduction To Bakhtiar Rugs

The Bakhtiari design is also known as the paneled-garden design, which is the most popular and unique variation of the Bakhtiar. The field of the Bakhtiar rug is divided into compartments or panels, containing individual motifs or patterns. Often a set of 3-4 compartments is repeated throughout the field. Bakhtiars are sometimes made in conjunction with medallions but usually are all-over...Read Article

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