FAMOUS RUG AND KILIM REGIONS
Weaving oriental rugs and kilims was a necessity for ancient civilizations. Rugs were mostly used for decoration and for floor coverings; however, kilims were used as storage bags for grains, blankets and other required items. Hence, it is not a coincidence that the best rugs and kilims come from the oldest civilizations of the world. Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, China and Nepal have been producing the best oriental rugs and kilims.Geography and people describe the lifestyle of rug weavers whose way of life has a direct influence on their weaving. The lifestyle of many weaving tribes such as Turkomans, Baluchis, Lurs, Bakhtiaris, Kurds, Qashqais, Afshars, North Africans, Tibetans and Native Americans in addition to some tribes of Anatolia, Turkey and the Caucasus can clearly be seen in their woven work; on the other hand, Indian, Chinese, Pakistani and some Iranian weavers are mainly city weavers whose lifestyle does not affect their weaving. Their weaving is affected by the demands of the Western market.
TURKEY
Turkey weaves some of the best new rugs on the market today. Their wool is commonly of good to excellent quality. In the last dozen years, weavers in the villages have been encouraged to return to natural vegetable dyes to produce rugs with native Turkish, Persian, and Caucasian designs. The best of these rugs bear a remarkable resemblance to their ancestors, and are simply wonderful.Turkey has been famous for its handwoven rugs since the 17th Century when Venetian traders introduced "turkeywork" carpets to wealthy Europeans. Many, many Turkish rugs in a variety of qualities come from Anatolia in western and south-western Turkey. Village rugs with medium weave and with wool pile (and often with wool warp and weft and some vegetable dyes) come from areas like Kozak, Bergama, Milas, Dosemealti, and Malatya. Fine wool rugs on cotton and even silk rugs are woven in Kayseri, and of course Hereke has a centuries-old reputation for producing some of the finest silk carpets ever made. Kars, in extreme north-eastern Turkey, is noted for rugs in designs very like the Kazaks.
IRAN
In general, we do not recommend that you buy a new or newish Iranian rug unless you trust your dealer. Although "Persian" used to be almost synonymous with beauty, quality, and value in Oriental rugs, that has not been the case for the last 30 to 50 years. Many of the great old Persian rugs were distinguished by the superb quality of their wool and dyes. In the last 50 years, many new Iranian rugs -- even finely woven ones from Tabriz, Isphahan and Nain -- were made with soft, dry wool, garish or insipid chemical dyes, and trite designs. Many of the newer coarsely woven Heriz carpets we have seen are just dreadful, with dry, dull wool, grey recycled cotton wefts, and muddy or neon-like colors. (If you see grey cotton wefts used in a rug, you can be sure that other corners have been cut in making that rug.)The good news is that a very few weaving groups in Iran are again making beautiful rugs, using handspun, Iranian wool, vegetable dyes and traditional, mainly nomadic, designs.
INDIA
India weaves Persian-design rugs in qualities ranging from awful to superb. Indian wool tends to be somewhat fine and dry, and some rugs receive a "luster-wash" to give them sheen. Quality New Zealand wools are frequently imported -- a practice that was once prohibited to protect the domestic sheep industry -- and are used alone or mixed with Indian wool. The dyes used in Indian rugs are usually good, and the better rugs are well made. Overall, these rugs represent an important replacement for the low- to medium-priced Persian rugs that used to be the mainstay of the Oriental rug business. The better grades of Indian rugs tend to be of good value, while the lower grades should be avoided at all costs -- even if their cost is very low.PAKISTAN
Pakistan produces some impressive versions of Persian designs. Some are finely woven, and the pile in the better examples includes excellent imported wool. Though fairly expensive, the best of these 16/18 and 17/17 quality rugs are currently the best available examples of classic Persian designs, such as Kashan and Isfahan, and European designs such as Savonnerie. ("16/18" and "17/17" refer to the rug's knot density. 16/18 means 16 knots/inch horizontally by 18 knots/inch vertically, for a knot density of 288 knots/square inch. Less fine Persian design rugs from Pakistan have also improved in quality, but many are poorly made. A few groups have begun weaving wonderful examples of classic Persian designs (Sultanabad, Mahal, etc.) with handspun wool and vegetable dyes. Rugs woven in the ubiquitous Bokhara designs are too often thin, containing very soft wool that does not wear well. They commonly use a knotting scheme, which distorts designs, and the workmanship may show other deficiencies, particularly in uneven trimming of the pile and poorly attached rather than woven selvages. The better-quality Bokharas are easy rugs to decorate with, however, and their popularity has been enhanced by the wide range of colors available.CHINA
Now the leading exporter (in terms of square footage) of Oriental rugs to the U.S., China used to be known for rugs with large areas of solid color decorated with Chinese, Aubusson or art deco designs. These traditional Chinese rugs can be hard to live with, as the large areas of open field tend to show stain or soil and the wool sometimes seems more appropriate to sweaters than rugs. Rugs of this sort have steadily dropped in price (and quality) over the last 15 years but now are largely out of fashion - it's a classic case of poorer, cheaper goods destroying a market. The Chinese also now produce large quantities of medium to finely woven Persian design rugs in a range of qualities. Some of these rugs have stiff designs and poor wool, but others are quite beautiful and represent very good value. Finely woven rugs may include silk detailing, which should not add greatly to the price. Some of the soumak weaves from China work particularly well with antique rugs.AFGHANISTAN
Afghan rugs (and more particularly, rugs woven by Afghan refugees in camps in Pakistan) come in a range of designs and qualities. Traditional rugs are dominantly red and very dark blue or black in coloration, although shades of brown and gold also exist. Better Afghan rugs have excellent wool and strong geometric designs from Turkomen and Belouchi sources. Vegetable-dyed rugs in traditional Ersari designs woven as part of the non-profit Cultural Survival project are often very nice, and in the last several years traditional Persian (Heriz, Bakshaish, and recently some fine Feraghan) and Caucasian (Kazak, Shirvan, etc.) designs done with handspun wool and vegetable dyes on wool and cotton warps have appeared. Some of these are exceptionally beautiful and are excellent values.TIBET/NEPAL
Rugs woven in Tibet and Nepal by Tibetan refugees commonly display soft colors and simple Chinese-like designs. Modern and abstract designs are also popular, some with stronger colors. Lower priced Indian versions of Tibetan rugs have also become common. A new trend is for weaving companies to move their production from country to country to take advantage of low labor costs and political stability. Thus, one may see rugs in traditional Persian designs woven in China or Rumania with Turkish hand-spun, vegetally-dyed wool. What do you call the resulting rug -- a Sino/Turko/Bidjar?Weaving with child labor is also an ongoing problem in India and Pakistan. In the most serious cases, children are indentured to a weaver and function as forced labor. Because of the near impossibility of monitoring weaving operations in these countries, however, the certifications of child-free labor you may sometimes see are simply not believable, and are a marketing gimmick rather than a statement of fact. Unfortunately, given the severe overpopulation problems in India and Pakistan, workers must too often choose between weaving under bad conditions or starvation. Most reputable Oriental carpet dealers try to avoid buying rugs woven with child labor, with the exception of tribal rugs which have always been woven by family groups. Home | Site Map | Contact | Security & Privacy | Customer Service | FAQ's About Rugs
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