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A Brief History of Rugs and Carpets 

In 1949 in a tomb in Pazyryk, southern Siberia, a rug was found and is carbon dated to the fourth century B.C. Although various rug "experts" have attempted an attribution to this rug, according to the late Ulrich Schurmann, an authority on oriental rugs, it is late Urartian/early Armenian based on it’s style and motifs. 

The rug depicts intricate designs with hunters and elk. The use of such figures and animals in woven rugs has almost always been found only on Armenian rugs. This rug was woven with alarming precision and a very high degree of workmanship. This kind of handicraft would suggest that rug weaving had to have been around for some time, perhaps several centuries. This rug is currently in the Hermitage museum in St. Petersburg, Russia.

 Recently, in the ancient capital of Armenia, Erebouni, in a grave called Garmir Plour or Red Hill’ an excavation took place where numerous tools were recovered which are associated with rug weaving. Through carbon dating these tools were shown to be at least 3000 years old. Based on such evidence it is a safe assumption that the art and craft of modern rug weaving technique had materialized at least 2500 ago, and most likely had been in it’s infancy stage 1000 years earlier (1500 BC). One of the earliest mentions of rugs and carpets or for any rugs and carpets in general comes from the first Greek historian Herodotus circa 450 BC. He noted that the people in the Caucasus region have certain dyes they use to dye wool that are derived from certain plants and that these colors they attain and dye their textiles with never loose their brilliance. In fact for various colors the Armenians in the Caucasus region used numerous methods to attain them. Colors were most commonly derived from vegetables, minerals, insects, as well as naturally occurring black, white, brown, and gray from the animals. Most noteworthy of the colors is the red color derived from a worm found only in the soils of Armenia and was mentioned by Arab historians numerous times in literature as being so vivid. Among the Armenians this was known as "vortan garmir" or the worm’s red. Through this important color various shades were also attained, from pale pink to dense violet. Expert weavers were so adept at their craft that they also had an impressive understanding of which of their colors was more apt to show fading over time. For instance through clever planning certain shades of light brown (non-animal), which were known to show fade over time, were used as outline motifs rather than a dominant color and thus kept the flow of the beauty of the carpet over the years. In the late 19^th century the dyeing methods for wool used on rugs and carpets was forever changed when a German company invented petroleum-based pigments which quickly replaced the centuries old methods of obtaining dyes from insects and plants. The new petroleum based pigments do not have any advantage over the older dyeing techniques other than efficiency. The conversion was purely for economic reasons since the old method was so time consuming. This is a major reason why rugs and carpets made prior to about 1880 have such high valuations and are highly prized.

Thus all rug designs can be classified as (1) Religious, (2) Symbolic, (3) Ritualistic, (4) Ceremonial, and (5) Pictorial. With the conversion of the Armenians to Christianity in the fourth century, religious themes were quite common well into the middle ages and beyond on most Armenian rugs and carpets. The designs evolved from meaningful religious and folk symbols to later abstract highly stylized forms.

As far as the production types of rugs and carpets they are mostly either (1) Nomadic or (2) Workshop. Another type, which is a cross between the above two, and made possible the transition from the Nomadic to the Workshop type of carpet, is the ‘cottage industry’ production. In earlier periods rugs were mainly woven by nomads. This was on a light, but steady production basis. As demand increased both for quantity and for size it was inevitable that production be increased and eventually with increased production it became more sophisticated. So with the further expansion of the industry the workshop came about. The nomadic types are for the main part limited to rugs, kilims, sumacs, and other flat woven textiles. Large-scale carpets would be too time consuming and non-economical for nomads to make. As a result workshops produce the larger textiles and carpets as well as rugs. Recently workshops have also begun to produce kilims and sumacs. All the rugs and carpets produced by both workshops and nomads are either floral or geometric in their pattern.

Rugs and carpets can indeed be very time consuming to make. A true masterpiece carpet may take several years to finish with several weavers! No doubt this may be a major factor in its price. A well made carpet can be a life-long investment and can be passed down from generation to generation if properly cared for.

A major area of rugs and carpets is the attribution to the true origin of the textiles and their symbolic interpretations, which unfortunately has been abused and neglected by countless individuals and organizations who guise themselves under claims of being "scholarly". Many older rugs and carpets are misattributed and most often misinterpreted, sometimes deliberately to support a motive and sometimes out of negligence and ignorance. As an example consider the various cultures who have historically, and presently live in Asia Minor (present-day Turkey). Historically the Greeks inhabited the western region, and the Armenians the eastern as well as various Kurdish tribes. All of these peoples have had a long tradition of rug weaving yet are seldom credited for the rugs and carpets they were responsible for producing. Instead some authors have chosen to classify all the textiles from this region as "Turkish" or "Anatolian". How reasonable can it be to assume that the Turks, who migrated into Asia Minor relatively recently compared to the other peoples in the area, would within a couple centuries develop and surpass difficult techniques of rug weaving in the face of many centuries of rug weaving tradition developed by the natives of the area? This kind of unprofessional approach has truly darkened the study of rugs and carpets and is not in the best interest of a true scholarly approach to the art and craft of rug weaving. It is hoped that in the future this will change as authors who have a true and sincere approach to the study of rug weaving will write more responsibly and abandon their current questionable approach.

So based on findings thus far would it be reasonable to conclude that  rug weaving originated in Asia Minor and spread from there to various parts of Europe and Asia? And if rug weaving had evolved someplace other than Asia Minor what would be the reason, if any, that no examples exist that are comparably dated to the rugs of the peoples in Asia Minor or even earlier? Scholarly study and further investigation to such questions may shed more light on the art and craft of rug weaving and its origins in the future, especially if further examples like the Pazyryk rug are discovered. But one thing is for certain: Beautiful rugs are sought after and prized today as they ever were throughout its colorful history, and will continue to provide artistic and personal satisfaction to their owners for as long as the art and craft of rug weaving exists.

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