History of Persian rugs and Oriental rugs

The history of Oriental and Persian rugs is rich and extensive. Collectors often claim that their owning a piece of history and art justifies their obsession. Yes, like anything, Oriental rug and Persian rug buying can be an obsession. But the collectors are right. The history behind these rugs is rich and rewarding in their beauty.

The weaving of rugs itself is a tradition that has been passed down and learned over the centuries across numerous cultures around the world. In fact, ancient scriptures provide reference to this; however, no documentation has been discovered as to whether these ancient rugs were flat weaves or pile carpets.

What evidence is there? Fragments have been discovered in ancient tombs in Egypt and Mesopotamia. These flat woven rugs have been dated back over 4000 years. The evidence of pile carpets goes back over 2000 years as discovered in the Middle East and parts of Asia. One thing is certain, and that is that the first rugs were created in Asia and its nomadic people helped the art spread to other parts of the continet.

Wool was the prime source of material in creating these carpets and has history shows, traditionally, the nomads raised sheep. The sheeps' wool provided for warm covering in extreme cold and weaving was developed out of necessity, rather than using the raw matierial attached to the animals' skin.

The first known rug that has been discovered is known as the Pazyryk Rug. It was discovered in 1947 by Sergei Rudenko, a Russian archaeologist. The Pazyryk Rug, the oldest rug in existence, dates back to the 5th century BC. It's a pile knotted rug, which used 200 Turkish style knots per square inch. The rug is actually fairly ornate with borders and reverse coloring. One border consists of Elks and another has a floral motif. There are even horses that have, what appear to be, smaller versions of the Pazyryk Rug on their backs.

It's believed that the style consists of Assyrian, ancient Persian Empire, and Scythian designs. The origin is said to be Persian, though woven by nomads who traveled from what is now Mongolia or beyond. In any case, evidence shows that it was brought westward, though some scholars still believe that the rug weaving art began in Persia. The only way the Pazyryk Rug was preserved was to be frozen in ice for all these centuries. The history of rugs until this discovery was impossible because they could not last 6000 years.

Prior to the discovery of the Pazyryk Rug, the oldest known fragments of ancient rugs were found in the Tarim Basin, which includes Mongolia. Pile rug weaving didn't appear in Europe until some time after 1000 AD. The art was imitated around all of Europe by the 20th century, though the styles still resembled the Persian motifs. It appeared that the art never had the same importance for Europeans as it did for the weavers in Asia and Persia, which enabled them to build the huge industry of exporting rugs that still exists today.