The Place Of Origin Of Oriental Rugs

By Ann Russell


An oriental rug refers to a heavy textile usually made for various symbolic as well as utilitarian purposes. Usually it is produced in oriental countries for local sale, home use, and export for the international market. In terms of geographical area of origin, these products are produced in an area referred to as the rug belt. These region runs from Morocco across North Africa, Central Asia, Northern India, and Middle East.

These products form an integral part of the cultures they originated. The same integration has happened in European cultures and in North American cultures in more recent past. Northern China, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Tibet, Caucasus, Maghreb, and India are some of the regions that make up the Rug Belt. People from a variety of religious faiths, nations, racial groups, and cultures are engaged in the production of oriental rugs.

Most of these products are produced in Islamic Nations, a fact that has made them to be referred to as Islamic carpets. Oriental rug is a term only used for convenience purposes. The rate at which the use and preference of the products is increasing is very high. Today, they can be found almost in all corners of the world. In the US, they are consumed by wealthy individuals who have unique tastes.

The products are produced on a loom by hand using wefts, warps, and pile. The piles, wefts, and warps used are usually of natural fibers like wool, cotton, and silk. Representative carpets have gold or silver threads woven into them. The yarns and piles are usually dyed using synthetic or natural dyes. Further processing of the product is usually done after production so that the borders are fastened.

Further processing is also carried out to make the surface more even by clipping pile. Dirt is eliminated by washing. The washing process involves adding chemical solutions to modify the color of the product. Quality if often highly dependent on the material used to make the product. Such high quality materials also cost higher just like the products they make.

Islamic carpets cost very highly on all markets. The high costs has often attracted fraudulent behavior. Forgers usually use techniques used for restoring mats, replacing knots, or re-weaving sections of mats to make new marts appear older. That way, a new mat seems to be older, hence fetching a higher price on the market. Old mats are usually more valuable and costlier. The forgeries cannot be detected by methods such as radiocarbon dating and chromatographic dye analysis because they use period material.

As a result of the forgeries, it is often important to exercise caution when making a purchase. One should take all the precautions to ensure that they only obtain an authentic rug worth the amount it is paid for. The best way is to carry out extensive research to be able to differentiate between fake and authentic Islamic carpets.

There are many different sources from where these products can be purchased. Example of such places are local stores that stock related products. One can also obtain the commodity from online sellers. However, determining the authenticity of any commodity from online sellers can be difficult.




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