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A flatweave carpet is created by interlocking warp (vertical) and weft (horizontal) threads. Types of flatwoven carpet include kilim, soumak , plain weave , and tapestry weave .
On a knotted pile carpet (formally, a supplementary weft cut-loop pile carpet), the structural weft threads alternate with a supplementary weft that rises from the surface of the weave at a perpendicular angle. This supplementary weft is attached to the warp by one of three knot types (see below) to form the pile or nap of the carpet.
In the late 19th century moquette came to mean wall-to-wall carpeting. However, its historical usage refers to supplementary warp cut or uncut loop pile made on a draw loom (aka Velour d'Utrecht, Brussels, Wilton, bouclé, and Frisé). These textiles have a low pile and are thinner than knotted pile carpets. This form of carpeting, made as early as the 16th century, is constructed like velvet: the supplementary warps loop under the weft and are attached without forming a knot. Moquette can only be woven in relatively narrow panels (usually 27"). Larger works are composed of several stripes sewn together. This creates the characteristic banded effect of the Moquette carpet. Moquette carpets have been used on floors, tables, as furniture upholstery, and wall coverings. Manufacture was improved with the invention of the Jacquard loom in 1801.
Both flat and pile carpets are woven on a loom. Both vertical and horizontal looms have been used in the production of European and Oriental carpets.
The warp threads are set up on the frame of the loom before weaving begins. A number of weavers may work together on the same carpet. A row of knots is completed and cut. The knots are secured with (usually 1 to 4) rows of weft.
There are three main types of knot: symmetrical (also called: Turkish or Ghiordes), asymmetrical (also called: Persian or Senna), and single warp (also called: Spanish).
Hand-made carpets are produced in regions including Iran, Nepal, Turkmenistan, Tibet, and Pirot.
The importance of carpets in the culture of Turkmenistan is such that the national flag features a vertical red stripe near the hoist side, containing five carpet guls (designs used in producing rugs).
The hand-knotted pile carpet probably originated in Mongolia or Turkestan in the 4th to 2nd millennium BC.
The earliest surviving pile carpet, the "Pazyryk Carpet," is usually dated to the 5th century BC. It was excavated by Sergei Ivanovich Rudenko in 1927 from a Siberian burial ground where it had been preserved in ice in the valley of Pazyryk. The origin of this carpet is debated. It has been proposed to be a product of either the Northern Steppe or the Achaemid region.
The earliest group of surviving knotted pile carpets were produced under SeljukFor the dynasty and empire founded by Seljuk, see Seljuk Turks. Seljuk (in Arabic Saljuq in Turkish Selcuk also Seldjuk Seldjuq Seljuq was the bey (chieftain) of a branch of Oghuz Turks known as the Seljuk Turks. He founded the Seljuk dynasty around year rule, in the first half of the 13th century, on the AnatoliaAnatolia ( Greek ανατολη anatole for "rising of the sun" or "East"; compare " Orient" and " Levant", by popular etymology Turkish Anadolu to ana "mother" and dolu "filled"), also called by the Latin name of Asia Minorn peninsula. The eighteen extant works are often referred to as the Konya Carpets . The central field of these large carpets is an repeating, geometric pattern. The borders are ornamented with a large-scale, stylized calligraphy.
The earliest surviving corpus of Persian carpets was produced under the Safavid dynasty (1501-1736) in the 16th century. However, there are earlier painted depictions of carpets from this area. There is much variety among classical Persian carpets of the 16th and 17th century. Common motifs include scrolling vine networks, arabesqueThe Arabesque an aspect of Islamic art usually found decorating the walls of mosques, is an elaborate application of repeating geometric forms that often echo the forms of plants and animals. The choice of which geometric forms are to be used and how theys, palmette s, cloud band s, medallions, and overlapping geometric compartments. Some show figures engaged either in the hunt or feasting scenes. The majority of these carpets are wool, but several silk examples produced in Kashan survive. Classical carpet production in Persia was centered in TabrizTabriz (in Persian ) is a city in Iran, with a population of over 1. 5 million people. Tabriz is pleasingly situated north of the volcanic cone of Sahand 4000 m high, and south of a mountain called Eynali about 1700 m high. It is the center of the provinc (1500-1550), Kashan (1525-1650), HeratHert is a city in western Afghanistan, in the valley of the Hari Rud river in the province also known as Herat and was traditionally known for wine. The inhabitants are mainly Tajiks. It is an ancient city with many historic buildings, although these have (1525-1650), and Kerman (1600-1650). The majority of carpets from Tabriz have a central medallion and quartered corner medallions superimposed over a field of scrolling vine ornament, sometimes punctuated with mounted hunters, single animals, or animal combat scenes. Perhaps the most well-know of the Tabriz works are the two carpets perhaps made for the shrine at Ardabil (today in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Los Angeles County Museum ). As mentioned, Kashan is known for its silk carpet production. Most famously, for the three silk hunting carpet masterpieces depicting mounted hunters and animal prey (currently in the collections of the Vienna Museum of Applied Arts (aka the MAK), the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, and the Stockholm Museum ). The Herat carpets, or ones of similar design created in Lahore and Agra, India, are the most numerous in Western Collections. They are characterized by a red field with scrolling vine ornament and palmettes with dark green or blue borders. There are seven classes of Kerman carpet all grouped by scholar May Beattie as "vase technique" carpets. The most characteristic and influential of these are probably the garden carpets ornamented with water channels or the lattice design group. A fine and well-known example of the later was purchased by the Victoria and Albert Museum under the guidance of William Morris. The influence of Persian carpets is readily apparent in his carpet designs.
Oriental carpets began to appear in Europe after the Crusades in the 11th century. Until the mid-18th century they were mostly used on walls and tables. Except in royal or ecclesiastical settings they were considered too precious to cover the floor. Starting in the 13th century Oriental carpets begin to appear in paintings (notably from Italy, Flanders, and the Netherlands). Carpets of Indo-Persian design were introduced to Europe via the Dutch, British, and French East India Companies of the 17th and 18th century.
Although isolated instances of carpet production pre-date the Muslim invasion of Spain, the the Hispano-Moresque examples are the earliest significant body of European-made carpets. Documentary evidence shows production beginning in Spain as early as the 10th century AD. The earliest extant Spanish carpet, the so-called Synagogue carpet , is a unique survival dated to the 14th century. The earliest group of Hispano-Moresque carpets, Admiral carpet s (also know as armorial carpet s), has an all-over geometric, repeat pattern punctuated by blazons of noble, Christian Spanish families. The variety of this design was analyzed most thoroughly by May Beattie . Many of the 15th-century, Spanish carpets rely heavily on designs originally developed on the Anatolian Peninsula. Carpet production continued after the Reconquest of Spain and eventual expulsion of the Muslim population in the 15th century. 16th-century Renaissance Spanish carpet design is a derivative of silk textile design. Two of the most popular motifs are wreaths and pomegranates.