The exact date of the beginning of the manufacture of the first carpets is not exactly known. The approximate beginning of the art of carpet weaving dates back to a time period of 3500 years ago. The lack of accurate data is primarily related to the material itself, which, due to its physiological properties, decomposes over time. Only information has come down to us that testifies to the existence of pile cloths preserved on stone or wood. However, there is a carpet, which, despite its respectful age of 2500 years, has survived to this day. Moreover, it is stored in Russia, the city of St. Petersburg, the Hermitage Museum. It's about about the famous Pazyr canvas.

The precious canvas was found by Soviet scientists in Altai in 1949. Excavations in that area have been going on for almost 80 years. The archaeologists were unspeakably lucky, they stumbled upon a stone mound, which practically did not suffer during its entire several thousand-year existence. The peculiarities of the climate of the area and the structure of the mound itself allowed all its contents to be well preserved. The mound was a cemetery of one rich family, belonged to the era of the Scythians. Inside were the mummified remains of people and horses, clothing, jewelry and jewelry. Among other things, on one of the mummies of a horse, scientists discovered a pile coating. By the way, the best woolen carpets can be bought at the carpets.rf online flooring store.

Coating description

At that time, excavation technologies made it possible to transport the canvas without much damage. Only 5% of the surface was damaged. The size of the find was 183x200 cm. The color scheme of the canvas consists of red, yellow, blue and green. Images on the carpet: 24 crosses are woven in the center, made in the form of 4 lotus leaves. Further, the field is surrounded by a frame with embroidered eagles. Further to the edge, 24 fallow deer grazing are depicted, the drawing goes clockwise. The next ornament depicts 28 riders. Some of them are shown dismounted. And on the last final strip griffins are depicted.

The density of knots is about 3600 pieces per square decimeter. For comparison, modern canvases contain up to 15,000 knots on such an area.

A detailed analysis showed that the canvas was created by masters from Central Asia. There is a theory that this canvas is a kind of board game. However, the most popular and plausible one says that carpet covering used by the rider as a kind of saddle.

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The uncertainty of the origin of the carpet seems to always be shrouded in mystery. However, only the fact that wicker forms of floor coverings were present in the Neolithic era (7000 BC) leaves no doubt.

However, under the veil of mystery will forever remain how the carpet actually came into being in the absence of documentary evidence. However, according to experts, there are two theories regarding this issue.

1. The first theory says that carpets were invented to serve a practical purpose for a nomadic population. They were tightly bound to protect people from adverse climatic conditions. It also served as a reason to stop using the skins of their favorite animals. In this way, the carpet also served its original purpose of protecting the feet from direct contact with the ground. It is believed that such carpets came into everyday life as the rudimentary forms of flooring that we use today. Developed from early times, this form of decorating a place of residence has become an integral attribute of not only a comfortable lifestyle, but also external beauty. Carpets had unique colors and were decorated with various motifs. In addition, such carpets were woven on a vertical loom, which could be disassembled and easily transported.
2. Supporters of the second theory believe that woven carpets were born earlier. However, they developed as a form of artistic production of settled peoples. Carpets then performed two functions at once - utilitarian and aesthetic. The formation of a permanent place of residence gave an impetus to the creation of carpets - they were used to decorate important festive and traditional ceremonies, and then carpets became an integral part of people's lives.

Interestingly, some carpets were woven on horizontal looms, which evolved from their vertical cousin.

The Pazyryk carpet was excavated from the tomb of the chief Shiite commander in the Pazyryk valley in Altai, Siberia. Under the influence of cold, the carpet was well preserved. Its origin dates back to the 5th century BC. e., this is the oldest example of an ancient carpet in the world. The carpet is an example of the author's magnificent craftsmanship, and there is no doubt that it was woven as a product for decorating a home, it is enough to pay attention to its appearance.

These important archaeological excavations led to the understanding that whatever the actual cause of the birth of carpets and rugs, they all serve and have served to insulate from the climate along with care for the beautification of the premises.

Origin of carpets

The gradual spread of carpet art throughout the world over the centuries has proved to be a hindrance to unraveling the mystery of origin. However, many different fragments of carpets have been discovered during excavations around the world. Reliable evidence obtained from the countries of the Middle East indicates that carpet weaving was widespread in the second and third centuries BC. Therefore, this place is called the cradle of carpet weaving. People migrated to the areas from Turkestan to the West, to the Caucasus, to Persia, from the east of China, and then to India, spreading this art form. Also, this range of places is known as the Eastern Carpet Belt.

Marco Polo, a Venetian merchant and traveler, traveling in Turkey, said: “They weave the finest and most beautiful carpets in the world. They also weave silk fabrics of crimson and other colors, of extraordinary beauty and wealth, and many other types of fabric.

Antique carpet as an object with a soul

Most of the antique forms of rugs and rugs we see today reflect the rich weaving and decoration of the Persian style. Developed over decades and centuries, these significant objects have endured everything with great respect and pride. Carpets woven before 1920 are categorized as antiques. Traditionally woven carpets natural dyes are called antique carpets. Carpets woven from 1920-1930 to the present day are known as "modern carpets". Modern carpets have usually drawn inspiration from Western variants.

The earlier chronological classification of such living objects as carpets is rather elementary. Interestingly, carpets that were woven before the 17th century are so rare that they can only be seen in museums and major collections.

Types of carpets from different countries

Egypt

Carpets from the Islamic world, such as Egypt, are of extraordinary quality and are produced on a large scale. Due to their unique elegance, they sold well in the Far East. Early carpet forms showed geometric designs. Egyptian carpets literally spread their wings to Istanbul, and then ended up in Cairo. Carpets from Cairo are very similar to those that could be found in East Turkestan.

As a rule, woven from wool, Egyptian carpets and rugs were made using asymmetrical knots or “giordas” knots. Motifs like palmettes on a red carpet background were very popular for Egyptian carpets. Unfortunately, there are practically no documents indicating the manufacture or use of carpets from Egypt. However, Egyptian impressive handmade carpets are famous all over the world.

China

Chinese carpets are quite prominent among other types of carpets all over the world. Them characteristic features are motifs and a conservative choice of colors. Chinese carpets speak a mixture of languages ​​and can be both floral and geometric. However, their style is very different from the style of carpets in Islamic countries.

Surprisingly, carpet weaving in China was not considered an art form until the second half of the 1700s. The heyday of carpets took place much later than in any other eastern country. The reason for this may be a banal shortage of wool in China.

Beautiful Chinese carpets are a wonderful combination of colors, they usually depict abstract geometric shapes that have a curvilinear character. The mixture of colors does not create any confusion, there is a distinct style that is balanced and graceful.

The uniquely colored Chinese carpets tend to display symbols from the natural world, ancient myths, Buddhism and Taoism. Interestingly, each symbol carries a special meaning that is not so easy to decipher.

Turkey

Turkish carpets are generally inspired by local culture and traditions. All carpets inspired by Islamic culture depict geometric shapes or symbols.

An eccentrically attractive element of carpets from Turkish weavers is live color palette with a strong tone. Shades range from red, blue, yellow to others warm colors. In various specialized places where carpets were woven, works of different nature were born, which were widely demanded all over the world.

Millions of people around the world enjoy the softness and warmth of carpets in their homes. Although it is impossible to say with certainty how long ago people used carpets, there are suggestions that the time of their origin dates back thousands of years BC. Firstly, carpets were used to insulate the cold walls and floors of houses, and soon became a decorative accessory for housing. This is especially true for hand-woven carpets. These carpets are considered luxury and are mainly used and made for the wealthy. Luckily, carpets are a very popular and common flooring option, which explains why they are available in hundreds of styles, materials, and colors.

First of all, carpets must be well-groomed. They are an ideal home for various bacteria and allergens, so regular cleaning is a must. Some carpets hide more dirt in their bowels than others, but this does not mean that there is no need for regular cleaning. Dirt can greatly affect the appearance of carpets, as it can lead to loss of color or deterioration in the quality of the fibers. If you are interested in learning more about carpets, here are some interesting facts.

• Most old carpet in the world - the Pazyryk carpet, excavated by archaeologists in the grave of a Scythian prince in 1949. The reason why the carpet has stood the test of time is simple: the product was frozen and lay under the ice of the Siberian mountains. It is believed that the age of the carpet is more than 2000 years.
• Today, the red carpet is used to mark the path that important people such as heads of state, politicians, and in last years and VIPs and celebrities. The first event with the presence of the red carpet took place in 458 BC. e.
• The Iranian Qasr Al-Alam is the longest carpet in the world. It was designed by Ali Khaliqi, an Iranian designer. The project was completed in 2007 and the carpet was woven within 16 months with the help of 1200 women.
• The Isfahan carpet from central Persia, which was made from antique silk, is the most expensive carpet ever sold at auction. It was sold in 2008 for $4,450,000.
• Nicholas Bacalar published a scientific study in 2003 in which he claimed that the influenza virus, also known as the "stomach flu", could live for a month on a dirty carpet in a house. This is another reason why you should keep your carpets clean.
• It is believed that regular and proper maintenance, cleaning of carpets and upholstered furniture can significantly improve the air quality in the home due to the ability of products to trap dust and allergens.
• Without proper and regular cleaning of carpets and upholstery, bacteria multiply faster than usual. Norovirus, salmonellosis, Kawasaki syndrome are just some of the bacteria that live in carpets.
• Carpets are the most common flooring choice in homes. About 65% of the living rooms and 80% of the bedrooms are carpeted.
• Bed bugs can live in carpet fibers and wood floorboards. They are extremely fast for their size and can travel over 30 meters to get their blood supply, usually at night and from people who are asleep.
• About 1.5 million flakes of skin per hour fall off a person, most of them will fall on your carpet.
• Indoor air typically contains about twice as much dust as outdoor air. And this is approximately a million microscopic particles in a cubic centimeter of air. About 2000 dust mites can live happily in 30 grams of dust accumulated on your carpet.
• Wall-to-wall carpeting is more detrimental to your health than small area rugs. Typically, wall-to-wall carpets are more likely to be exposed to moisture, chemicals, liquids, crumbs, and other substances that allow mold, yeast, and bacteria to thrive.
• Naphthalene is commonly used to clean carpets. In concentrated form, it can be dangerous to breathe and cause headache, nausea, and vomiting. This suspected carcinogen can be toxic to children, infants, and pets.
• In one of the journalistic investigations in the United States, the issue of the cleanliness of the carpet in hotels was highlighted. The rooms were checked in different price ranges - from 55 to 400 dollars per night. The results of the study are disappointing: traces of urine or semen were found in absolutely every room.
• To make your carpet brighter, sprinkle salt on the carpet and leave it like that for one hour before vacuuming. Salt is also effective in removing dirty marks.
• In the Middle Ages, the floors in the house were covered with reeds, which acted as a disposable carpet. If it got dirty, they just threw it away.
• Carcinogenic substances from cigarettes when smoked indoors can be deposited in carpets. Dogs and cats, not to mention children, spend a lot of time on the floor, which is why they are at risk of developing lung cancer.
• Carpets are great places for mature fleas to live because fleas thrive in the dry environment of carpet. Conversely, flea eggs love high humidity, which can be caused, for example, by insufficient ventilation in the room.

The harsh lands of the Altai Territory rarely appear on the pages of world history. But this does not mean that they have always remained unsociable. Since ancient times, various nomadic peoples have lived here, which have been replaced in an endless struggle with each other and the climate.

One of these peoples were the tribes of the so-called Pazyr culture, who lived in the territories modern Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia from VI to III centuries BC. e. It is believed that representatives of this culture had close roots with the Iranian tribes - once upon a time, some of them separated and, driven by hunger or war, settled in these relatively calm lands. Over the years, they have preserved and extended their customs to their neighbors. In particular, carpet weaving.

The tradition of making carpets has existed since ancient times: images of carpets, for example, were found in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs who ruled many centuries before our era. In those distant times, carpets served both as an indicator of the status and wealth of the person who possesses them, and served as elements of home decoration, warming it on rainy days. Especially strong carpet weaving was developed in the territory of Western Asia. But despite this, the oldest carpet in the world was found not at all there, but just on the territory of the Altai Territory in one of the burial mounds of the tribes of that same Pazyr culture. Since then, it has been known to the whole world as the Pazyr carpet.

Archaeologists discovered it in 1949 along with other valuable things that belonged to a noble person. The ancient burial mound let in water, which turned into ice that never melted in the microclimate of the burial, so the carpet was perfectly preserved, despite its age. Experts tend to believe that the Pazyr carpet was made in the 6th century BC, but who exactly is a big question. Most likely, one of the representatives of local tribes could hardly have been a craftsman - the quality of the product is too high - and this carpet was woven on the territory of Iran, where this craft was developed to a much greater extent and where the knot weaving method used in the carpet was widespread .

The Pazyr carpet is the oldest in the world. Its size is 1.83 × 2.00 m, and its thickness is 2.4 mm

Upon a detailed study of the find, it was found that it was based on threads of red, green, yellow and gold colors, and the knot density was 3600 knots per 1 dm² - an amazingly difficult work for that time. By the way, rare modern carpets have similar characteristics. Sheep wool was used as the material for making the carpet.

It can be seen that in the manufacture of the Pazyr carpet, great importance was given to its appearance: riders on horseback, fallow deer and griffins are depicted on the belts. They are separated from each other by various patterns, made with amazing precision.

How could this carpet be used by its owner? He probably belonged to the tribal nobility - only their representatives could afford to have such an expensive thing. Obviously, the Pazyr carpet was not used as protection from the cold, but was a luxury item and could hang somewhere near the wall of the tent. Some archaeologists believe that the Pazyr carpet with its complex geometric shapes and numerous drawings could be used as a dice board. Other researchers, however, pay attention to some asymmetry of the elements of the drawings, which, in their opinion, are not the master's mistakes, but were made on purpose. Perhaps there is a message hidden in the carpet that we have yet to decipher?

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Etymology

It is believed that the word "carpet" was borrowed by the Old Russian language from the Turkic languages. One of the earliest uses of this word in the Old Russian language is The Tale of Bygone Years, under the year 6485 () it is written:

original text(Old Russian)

“And the ambassador Ӕropolk search. and dragging corpses from rowing in the morning and until noon. and lie down under the corpse. and put it in and on the carpet "

Processing specifics

According to the nature of the patterns and the technique of execution, all carpets can be divided into three main groups: pile, lint-free and felt.

With the invention of aniline dyes in the 19th century, carpet production experienced a real boom. Carpets have fallen sharply in price, competition has increased. Turkey, China and even Europe began to push the age-old hegemony of Persia. But the best carpets, such as silk threads, are still very expensive. Today, aniline paints are gradually being replaced by polymer and synthetic ones, which do not need to be fixed and do not shed. The most modern, third generation of dyes - chrome. By properties, they are almost indistinguishable from natural ones, but not so juicy in color.

Nonetheless, modern technologies made it possible to equalize the quality of synthetic carpets with classic woolen ones. Synthetic carpets seriously win in operation: they are easier to care for.

Depending on the production technology and the method of fixing the yarn on the basis, the following types of carpets are distinguished: woven, woven, felt, tufted (from the English tuft - “grow in bunches”) and needle-punched. Needle-punched and tufted production is fast, automated, and cheap. The process of making woven carpets is much slower and more complicated. Imitating the traditional manual work, woven carpets are significantly more expensive than tufted and needle-punched ones. They are flat textile products consisting of two intersecting systems of threads: longitudinal and transverse.

History of carpet weaving

Machine used for carpet weaving, vertical direction, top on the wall

The history of woven carpets has more than one thousand years. Since ancient times, people have decorated their homes with carpets. Simple, hand-woven and dense pieces of knitted fabric served not only decorative purposes, but also testified to the wealth of the owners, and most importantly, they served as a reliable way of protection from the cold.

The first ever woven paintings made using the technique of carpets date back to the 16th-11th centuries BC. e. Their images were found in the tomb, the era of the New Kingdom. A fresco found in Beni Hassan (X century BC) hid the oldest image in history of the process of making carpets.

Perhaps a fragment of the oldest carpet was discovered in the Urartian settlement of the 9th century BC. e. in Karmir Blur. S. Rudenko came to the conclusion that the carpet was woven by one of the Iranian peoples - Persians, Parthians or Medes, however, Elizabeth Barber believes that Rudenko did not analyze all possible locations of the origin of the carpet.

The Pazyryk carpet is made by the so-called. Turkish symmetrical double knot (3600 knots are manually tied on 1 dm², and there are more than 1,250,000 of them in the entire carpet), and therefore it has a fairly high density. Decorated with a laconic ornament with pronounced anthropomorphic and zoomorphic elements (riders on horseback).

Nomads

Gallery

small rug

Wool carpet

Prayer carpet

see also

Notes

1. carpet // Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language by Max Fasmer
2. English cover - cover, cover

3. Carpet - Based on the fact that this word has unusual phonetic features, it can be assumed that this is a borrowing .; cf. Brückner 241. The source was, perhaps, Danube-Bulg., Volga-Bolg. (Other Chuv.) *kavǝ̂r-from *kebir; cf. Wed Turk. kiviz, küwuz, Chagat., Eastern Turk. kigiz "felt blanket", Tat., Kazakh. kīz, mong. kebis "carpet", Kalm. kews; see Ryasyanen, FUF 29, 196; ZfslPh 20, 448; Ramstedt, KWb. 230. Unbelievably phonetically borrowed from OE. ko

   - Max Vasmer. Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language by Max Fasmer.

4. PSRL. - T. 2. Ipatiev Chronicle. - SPb., 1908. - Stlb. 57-88
5. Materials for the Dictionary of the Old Russian Language The work of I. I. Sreznevsky St. Petersburg, 1893. Volume 1. column 1244
6. The Tale of Bygone Years. Translation by D. S. Likhachev
7. E. Barber. "Prehistoric Textiles: The Development of Cloth in the Neolithic and Bronze Ages with Special Reference to the Aegean" - Princeton University Press, 1991 - p. 202 - ISBN 069100224X, 9780691002248" A scrap of another pile fabric was found in the 7th-6th century B.C. level at Karmir-Blur in Armenia, along with a garment with a small amount of tapestry decoralion dune in wool and bast on a wool warp (Verkhovskaja 1955). Unfortunately, we are given no information as to how the woolen pile was introduced. Likewise, the charred remains of both pile and weft-faced textiles in some sort of animal fiber were recovered farther south at flasanlu, from the late 9th century B.C. (Dyson 1964, 21)»
8. Barbara Brend "Islamic art" Harvard University Press, 1991 p240 ISBN067446866X, 9780674468665 p 43 Textiles and carpets

   The earliest surviving carpet, now in the Hermitage, was found among frozen grave goods at Pazyryk in Siberia, and is dated approximately to the fifth century bc. It has a field of squared rosettes, and borders with clk lede horses. Whether the Pazyryk carpet was made Central or Western Asia is a matter of debate, but Armenia in particular has been mentioned as a possible place of origin.

9. S. I. Rudenko "The Art of Altai and Western Asia (middle of the 1st millennium BC)" M., 1961
10. Ulrich Schurmann, The Pazyryk, Its Use and Origin, p. 46, New York, 1982

    "From all the evidence available I am convinced that the Pazyryk rug was a funeral accessory and most likely a masterpiece of Armenian workmanship".