Although designed and woven by anonymous people, often by
nomads, carpets are the most captivating and exciting artworks which the Orient
has given to the whole world. The word "Farsh", of Arabic origin, meaning
"to spread", is related to the primitive function of the mats; to be
spread inside the tents of the nomads. The first carpets were made with bamboos
and stems of plants which grew in the swamps, later that fabric was covered
with animal skins. The next step was to look for a more comfortable and
insulating cover for the floor, so a new type of mat was created by interlacing
the wool of animals. That was the first step to reach the art of weaving.
Carpet weaving is an art which exists in Iran since ancient times – according to some theories long before the Achaemenids, probably 3000 years BC -. The first evidence is the famous Pazyryk carpet, discovered in 1949 in a grave in the Altai Mountains, in southern Siberia. The tomb in which Pazyryk was found, in good condition due to the ice which had sheltered it for centuries, contained a series of objects from China, the Black Sea and Persia. Pazyryk carpet is 200 by 183 cm, and has 360,000 knots / m². In the opinion of scientists, this carpet was made 500 years before our era in the west or south of Persia.
From the Pazyryk carpet, to the present day, the art of carpet weaving has evolved a lot, parallel to the changes in Iranian history. The milestones which have marked the upward growth of the manufacture of carpets, in quality and quantity, are quite coincident with times of the development of the native Persian cultures, especially under the Safavid dynasty. The Mongol and Timurid invaders re-launched the carpet production with more sumptuous models and exceptional mastery. Since then, Persian carpets have been considered as luxury objects throughout the world. The Persian designs and techniques were copied in China, India, Pakistan, Turkey and some regions of Eastern Europe. There are various types of carpets in Iran. The differences between the carpets are based first on the quality of the material used, then on the number of knots, the design of the pattern, the colors used, the warp and the weft.
Carpet weaving is an art which exists in Iran since ancient times – according to some theories long before the Achaemenids, probably 3000 years BC -. The first evidence is the famous Pazyryk carpet, discovered in 1949 in a grave in the Altai Mountains, in southern Siberia. The tomb in which Pazyryk was found, in good condition due to the ice which had sheltered it for centuries, contained a series of objects from China, the Black Sea and Persia. Pazyryk carpet is 200 by 183 cm, and has 360,000 knots / m². In the opinion of scientists, this carpet was made 500 years before our era in the west or south of Persia.
From the Pazyryk carpet, to the present day, the art of carpet weaving has evolved a lot, parallel to the changes in Iranian history. The milestones which have marked the upward growth of the manufacture of carpets, in quality and quantity, are quite coincident with times of the development of the native Persian cultures, especially under the Safavid dynasty. The Mongol and Timurid invaders re-launched the carpet production with more sumptuous models and exceptional mastery. Since then, Persian carpets have been considered as luxury objects throughout the world. The Persian designs and techniques were copied in China, India, Pakistan, Turkey and some regions of Eastern Europe. There are various types of carpets in Iran. The differences between the carpets are based first on the quality of the material used, then on the number of knots, the design of the pattern, the colors used, the warp and the weft.
 |
| Persian Carpet |
No comments:
Post a Comment