Oriental and Persian Rugs

One of the most popular types of floor rugs that is high on the list of rug collectors is the oriental rugs. These days we can easily spot these Oriental rugs sale everywhere in offline stores or online thanks to their very distinct look and designs. These rugs hail from many places around the world.

However not all rugs that we see today are considered as the authentic oriental rugs, as most serious collectors would argue that an authentic oriental rug needs to be hand knotted with pile, or hand woven without pile. All other rugs made with the help of a machine, as well as all hand tufted rugs are not considered as authentic oriental rugs.

Oriental rugs come from many different regions around the world. Among them are Iran and Cyprus in the west, and China and Vietnam, in the east. These rugs also come from Middle East countries like Turkey and from India in the south. As you can see, these rugs come from a diverse group of people from various countries, all having different racial groups as well as religious faiths.

Another interesting point to note is that oriental rugs are organized by its origins. That is why you have different versions like the Persian rugs, Tibetan rugs, Indian rugs, Kurdish rugs, Central Asian rugs, Chinese rugs and many more.

Persian rugs embody the traditional Persian art and culture. These rugs can be traced all the way back to ancient Persia. Today, one of the biggest exporters of the Persian rug is Iran. In the more recent years, the designs of Iranian’s Persian rugs have been copied by the weavers from other countries. These countries manufacture the reproductions of the original Iranian Persian rugs. They also provide a cheaper alternative to the original rugs.

Persian rugs can be divided into three categories, according to their sizes. The first type known as the Farsh or Qalii’, which is a Persian rug that is larger than 6 x 4 feet. The next type is known as the Qalicheh, which means rug, measuring about 6 x 4 feet and smaller. And the last type is the Kilim, which means rough carpet.

When it comes to the material used, these Persian rugs employ the use of wool; however in some cases cotton is also used. A wide variety of wool is used as wool is a great natural fiber that is soft yet durable. There are even Persian rugs made from silk. Silk rugs originate from the sixteenth century and are less common today. However they are still widely available. Silk rug is luxurious thus is more expensive. Silk rugs are also not as durable as wool rugs. An authentic silk Persian rug makes a great collector’s item as its value can increase with age. Their value makes them more suitable for hanging on the wall, instead of being used as a floor covering.

When it comes to design, the surface of the rug can either be covered in one basic design, or a repetition of several figures. The Persian rug is designed with either one of these patterns: all over, medallion, or one sided. This refers to the location or type of pattern on the rug. The patterns or motifs could have different meanings. Popular motifs used are like the Boteh, Gul, Herati, Mina Khani, Rosette and Shah Abbasi.

Today, many of these Persian rugs are machine manufactured. However, there are still many traditional and authentic handwoven rugs available from all over the world. Of course, these rugs will undoubtedly cost several thousand dollars as they are considered artistic presentations. Also, the process of hand knotting such a rug is tedious and takes many months to complete. As such the value of the rug becomes much higher than their machine woven counterparts.