What Is A Persian Rug?

Perhaps one of the most beautiful rugs on the market is the ever famous Persian rug. These rugs are known for not only their beauty but also for their longevity. These rugs are handmade, that includes the dyes that are placed into the fibers to change the colors. With the addition of a Persian rug in a room you will make any room look elegant.

The Persian rug came from what is now Iran, being made well over half a millennium ago for the first time. At that time it was not called a Persian rug, but a carpet, a Payryk. Though not the same as today’s Persians still these carpets had an amazing 232 knots per inch.

There are different sizes of Persians, just like any other rug. The names for these sizes and the category they go in are as follows. A Persian that is 6 x 4 is known as a Qalicheh. If the rug is larger than that it is in the category known as Qalii. For those Persians that are created by other groups of people such as those that live in Southeastern Europe or Pakistan these will be placed in the Kilim category.

The layout and design of a Persian can be different depending on what is made. These patterns will be on one-side, in the central of the rug, or all over. These designs are on almost all Persian rugs that you will find. These designs may mean different things to different people, it just depends on who you ask on what they mean.

Layout and design are considered together when creating Persian rugs. Patterns can usually range from central medallions, all-over designs and one-sided images. Motifs are a big part of design for Persian rugs, and that much is apparent in almost every rug you’re likely to see. Different formal motifs can be interpreted to carry different meanings, though several motifs could be used on a single design.

Weaving a Persian rug can be a long and painstaking process. Depending on the size and quality of the rug being made, the piece could take anywhere from several weeks to a few years to complete. Every Persian rug starts out with wefts passing through a warp at the bottom to form a base. Loose knots of colored thread are then attached to adjacent warps, creating the elaborate details visible on rugs. Once done, the end of the warp becomes the fringes, which can be finished off in a braid or tassels. Rugs made by hand can have anywhere from 16 to as many as 550 knots per square inch.

At present, the old industry of making Persian rugs is still a booming business. $420 million worth of carpets were exported in 2008 alone, amounting to 1% of the country’s overall exports. About 1.2 million weavers in Iran alone are thought to be actively producing new carpets, so there shouldn’t be any risk of running out soon.

These Persian rugs add in a nice amount of elegance to a room. It won’t matter what the design is, or what it means as long as you have a Persian it will look great.

Keep up to date with decorating with rugs trends and enhance your home with oriental rugs - these persian style rugs are very modern.