The world of carpets is immense and varied. Each type of carpet differs from the other by area of origin, symbols, knotting technique and manufacturing period. However, over the centuries, trends have emerged in carpets from the same region and hand knotted by craftsmen belonging to the same cultures or communities: these carpets are in most cases named after the region, the population or The city of origin.
Caucasian carpets are knotted in the Caucasus region, and their production dates from the mid-nineteenth century to the first decades of the twentieth century.
There are also much older Caucasian manufactures, of which remains testimony in rare specimens kept in museums and no longer usable on the ground. The author, quoting this era, obviously refers to ancient carpets still well preserved.
XIX Century Antique Kazakh Carpet:
Among the most appreciated Caucasian carpets are the Kazaks, knotted in the western part of the region, with high and bright fleece and rigorous geometric motifs. In the past, they has been colled Kazak, such as the steppe knights, after the group of nomads of Turkish-Muslim origin, but did not correspond to a definite ethnicity. Today it refers to a much more complex racial group, consisting of Armenians, Georgians, Kurds, Turkmen and Azerbaijan. The Kazak carpets take their name from the ancient region populated by these ethnic groups and to this days, they are knotted in an area between the northwestern locations of Lake Sewan in the villages from Karaciof to Shulaver to Facralo.
Persian carpets are the most known and appreciated carpets. Depending on the production period, they are distinguished in ancient, old and new. New carpets, for example, have been knotted between the end of the Second War and the Islamic Revolution of 1979 and are characterized by a detailed study of the drawings, with many color shades and great knotting density. Among the best-known names we can remind Tabriz, Goom, Kashan, Kirman, Nain.
The city of Tabriz is full of superb monuments, evidences of a rich and glorious past. The city was the capital during the rule of the Turks Seljuk, and remained capital with this role even during the invasion of Ilkhanid Mongols. Conquered by the Persians, in 1502 it was chosen as the capital of the Safavid Empire founded by Ismail I. Subsequently subjugated by the Afghans and then the Russians. Since 1946 it has become part of Iranian territory. The prestigious tradition of the carving of carpets dates back to the period of Ismail Shah (1487-1524), which wanted to create very important royal manufactures in Tabriz, capable of realizing unique beauty specimens, preserved today as treasures in the main museums in the world. The modern production of Tabriz and neighboring villages, in some manufactures, maintains the best level of the past, even though centuries have passed.
Ushak new rug:
The interest in the ancient art of making carpets in Turkey is becoming less and less widespread today, and there are only a handful of precious productions of knotted carpets with hand-spin yarns and vegetable dyes.
In the 16th century certain artifacts, called Ushak, began to become particularly popular in Anatolia, in the territories of the Ottoman Empire and also in Europe. They were collected mainly along the Aegean Sea coast and knotted in the villages inside and transported by the Venetian and Genoese merchants who had collection centers in the capital of Istanbul. The Ushak manufactures were famous in Ottoman times for the creation of some lavish carpets commissioned by the Istanbul court. Nowadays, in the production of carpets, cotton is used more and more frequently in the carpet structure (weft and warp), replacing the wool previously used.
Uzbek carpets are originating in Uzbekistan, now produced in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The Uzbeks are one of the main populations sedentary in some parts of Central Turkestan and Northern Afghanistan. The manufacture of Uzbek carpets is far less accurate than other categories, with high shaved flees and sometimes made of strips stitched together. The Uzbechi also perform a particular artefact, similar to a felt, made with a special process based on a water compression technique.
