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A short history of Rug-making

By: Hoyt Pacol

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The craft of rug-making is one of the oldest skills in human culture that we are aware of from antiquity, and has been practised for generation on generation throughout the world. Used to cover walls and floors, whilst adorning dwellings with unique style, the rug is a low-tech product from the past that is still in great demand today.

As far back as 7000 BC our ancestors were producing rugs, often to compliment the sheep and goat skins used within their dwellings that were a natural part of the primitive herding lifestyle. In European terms, the Anatolian peninsula in what is now modern Turkey was one of the first places that rug making culture developed in earnest, and this long tradition has survived and continues to this day with the production of ornate Kilims.

The origins of rug making technique have been shown archaeologically to be the flat weaving style. Warp and Weft; that is, vertical fibres (Warp) interwoven with horizontal fibres (Weft) combine to produce flat surface which is pile free. It is this technique that is still utilised in the construction of Kilims and other ancient ethnic rugs such as the Indian Dhurrie.

Flat weaving developed as a technique with the later addition of the technique of hand knotting. This consists of hand knotted wool strands being added on to the ''skeleton'' of Weft and Warp, and results in thicker pile. As with Kilim making, hand knotting survives as a technique in the modern era.

At the same sort of time that Anatolia was coming to prominence with regards to rug making, the craft was also developing in Central Asia. The Persians took the techniques of hand knotting to the next level, and perhaps had a cultural advantage in the development in the craft ? traditional Europeans distinctions between craft and high art did not exist as readily in Persia, where often the two considerations where seen as part of an aesthetically and functionally holistic process.

The Orient also has a rich history of Rug Making, and these skills were first made popular in Europe after Marco Polo brought back samples from his journeys in the 11th Century. Trade in rugs from the Orient and Persia quickly developed, and by the time of Renaissance, fine rugs and carpets were a must have interior accessory in the homes and palaces of the wealthy European elite.

At a similar time, the Moghul princes ? who ruled large parts India ? introduced hand knotting to the sub-continent, and through this transformed local methods of rug making. It was Persian rug makers brought by the Moghuls who first introduced the hand knotting style to Indians, and at first these their styles were copied; but soon an indigenous Indian style developed.

Europeans eventually got serious about constructing, rather than buying in rugs in the 17th Century, particularly in France; and England, where one of the first carpet factories opened in Wilton. The tradition thrives to this day, with suppliers like Modern Rugs making available a wide range of rugs online, from imported traditional to contemporary original designs.

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

This article was written by Hoyt Pacol. Modern Rugs range features a stunning variety of quality thick handmade wool rugs and hard wearing synthetics.

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