Everyone knows what a Persian rug is but what it is really, where did it originate, and how was it made when it first came about. When you think of Persian rugs you think of outstanding quality and a craftsmanship that is hard to beat. These rugs are made completely by hand, the weaving and the dying of the materials all done by a person. That alone makes the Persian rug an outstanding thing.
First created in Iran the Persian is perhaps the oldest known rug. At that time it was called the Pazyryk carpet thought. The first one known to be made half a millennium ago. At the time that this rug was made it had 232 knots, that’s a lot, over a square inch. With more study it was shown that rugs lost a bit of popularity over the next millennium. Fewer drawings were shown of rugs. Perhaps the best known Persian is the Ardabil, a classic style that showed not only a beautiful arabesque design, but also had a nice poetic inscription on it.
There are different sizes of Persians, just like any other rug. The names for these sizes and the category they go in are as follows. A Persian that is 6 x 4 is known as a Qalicheh. If the rug is larger than that it is in the category known as Qalii. For those Persians that are created by other groups of people such as those that live in Southeastern Europe or Pakistan these will be placed in the Kilim category.
There are different sizes that are created for a Persian rug, and each has its own class name. For a rug that is over six foot by four foot, the class is known as Qalii, rugs that are under that size and that size exactly are known as Qalicheh. One other class of Persian rugs is known that is Kilim, which are rugs that are produced in other parts of the world.
As stated above a true Persian is woven by hand, and it is a very long process. Imagine a rug that is huge can take years to make. The base of a Persian is made up of wefts that will pass through a warp to form the bottom of the rug. Than lose knots of thread will be passed through and attached to warps that are adjacent. This is how the elaborate designs appear on the rugs. These rugs now have up to 550 knots per every square inch.
These rugs are a huge and popular industry. Just in 2008 alone it is said that $420 million of these rugs were exported to other countries. There are thought to be around 1.2 million people in Iran who work as weavers of these Persian rugs.
These Persian rugs are sure to remain a classic item for many in their homes. The art has been passed on from generation to generation and will continue to go on.
Persian rugs remain a premium and classic item for dcor, not just because they’re attractive themselves but because of the centuries of heritage that they represent. No matter what theme or motif you’re doing in your home, a Persian rug will definitely fit in – and stand out – among your decor.
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