C03A - MATERIALS GUIDE - HISTORY
Preface: This study guide provides a brief and simple overview of the history of carpet as a floor covering material.
1 • THE HISTORY OF CARPET FLOORING
From earliest times mankind has used various means to separate the ground or floor surface he walked, sat, or slept on from the cold and discomforting texture of it. Even before recorded history animal hides and furs were used for this purpose. As time progressed a variety of natural and fabricated materials have been used to provide a better level of comfort and durability.
With the domestication of animals, the reliance on using furs for floor coverings decreased and the use of woven material for this purpose increased. In fact evidence of goats and sheep being sheared for their hair and wool, that was then spun and woven into "rug" floor coverings, has been discovered as far back as 6000 BC. Further evidence was discovered in 1953 in an Egyptian fresco dated around 1480 BC that shows a handloom for weaving. The earliest knotted rug, the Pazyryk carpet, was discovered in 1960 in an ice filled tomb in Outer Mongolia. Woven around 464 BC this rug of unknown origin, measuring approximately 5 by 6 feet, has all the characteristics of a modern Persian or Anatolian rug with a pile and Ghiordes knot. The rug's dominant tile-work central motif is surrounded by borders featuring rows of elk and horsemen.
Over the centuries gradual improvements in weaving and evolutions in design have produced more elaborate patterns. As early as the 8th Century BC, wealthy families frequently adorned their homes with elaborately woven and magnificent rugs. The great period of creativity in rug making took place in Persia during the Safavil period (1499-1722) under the reigns of Shah Tahmasp and Shah Abbas. From this period came the most glorious and outstanding rugs of historic significance.
Tabriz, Kashan, Herat, and Kerman became busy centers of rug production. Under the Persian king Shah Tahmasp in the late 16th Century, the famous Ardebil carpet was made. This rug is approximately 17 by 34 feet and has over 32 million tightly woven knots. Today this priceless work of art is preserved in the Victoria and Albert museum in London, England, and is considered one of the most magnificent rugs of its type in the world.
The rug making process gradually spread south into Persia and then into India in the 16th century and through the Caucasus and as far West as Morocco. Evidence also now indicates that early traders took rugs Eastward as far as Peking. The art of rug weaving soon flourished in China in the 17th Century.
Even though weaving soon became common through much of humanity, each ethnic group produced quite different designs for different purposes. In the Middle East rug and carpet making became a home industry where individuals would make rugs for their own use and in their spare time make extras to sell at a later date or use as payment for other goods or services. In fact, carpets were readily accepted for payment of dowries, to buy livestock or to pay off taxes. In India, however, rugs were almost exclusively woven for the Mogul rulers and did not penetrate into the daily live of the common people. In China, handmade rugs were essentially ornamental and made for those of high stature and wealth who could afford to purchase them or have them made.
Around 1000 AD, Marco Polo brought back news of rug making from his journeys through central Anatolia (modern Turkey). With trade and the Crusades, the importation of carpet and the techniques employed in their making soon found their way into France and England in the early 1500's. In France the purchase of rugs from the Middle East, in fact became so heavy that the flow of wealth out of France affected the economy. So much so that in 1608 Henry IV took it upon himself to start a carpet factory in his palace at the Louvre to create rugs for the French market, to keep the wealth within France. Unfortunately for his plan the resulting rugs made in the Oriental method but with French motifs so pleased him that he reserved them for royal use and they never made it to his subjects. His successor Louis XIII started an outside workshop to create these "French Orientals" which came to be known as "Savonneries" (after the old soap factory they were produced in) and were Europe's first original carpet designs. These French designs had some success but the Middle Eastern rugs were still the preferred choice.
England soon followed suit with the first carpet factory being built in Wilton in 1655. With the advent of the Industrial Revolution, carpet manufacturing soon shifted gears from a strictly cottage industry to a commercial one. Other methods of carpet weaving soon developed using readily available natural fibres. With increasing demand and technological development, synthetic materials as well as dyeing methods evolved to meet the increasing demand for more and different materials, colours and patterns, leading to the variety of carpets we now have today.
With such a variety of carpet material now available to select from, choosing the "right" carpet to suit the aesthetic, installation, and performance requirements for residential, commercial, and institutional installations has become increasingly more complex for the Owner or project design authority. Making a wise choice entails understanding carpet materials and constructions methods available today. For more information on this topic refer to Part C03C - Material Guide - Carpet and Part C03D - Material Guide - Cushion.
1 • THE HISTORY OF CARPET FLOORING
From earliest times mankind has used various means to separate the ground or floor surface he walked, sat, or slept on from the cold and discomforting texture of it. Even before recorded history animal hides and furs were used for this purpose. As time progressed a variety of natural and fabricated materials have been used to provide a better level of comfort and durability.
With the domestication of animals, the reliance on using furs for floor coverings decreased and the use of woven material for this purpose increased. In fact evidence of goats and sheep being sheared for their hair and wool, that was then spun and woven into "rug" floor coverings, has been discovered as far back as 6000 BC. Further evidence was discovered in 1953 in an Egyptian fresco dated around 1480 BC that shows a handloom for weaving. The earliest knotted rug, the Pazyryk carpet, was discovered in 1960 in an ice filled tomb in Outer Mongolia. Woven around 464 BC this rug of unknown origin, measuring approximately 5 by 6 feet, has all the characteristics of a modern Persian or Anatolian rug with a pile and Ghiordes knot. The rug's dominant tile-work central motif is surrounded by borders featuring rows of elk and horsemen.
Over the centuries gradual improvements in weaving and evolutions in design have produced more elaborate patterns. As early as the 8th Century BC, wealthy families frequently adorned their homes with elaborately woven and magnificent rugs. The great period of creativity in rug making took place in Persia during the Safavil period (1499-1722) under the reigns of Shah Tahmasp and Shah Abbas. From this period came the most glorious and outstanding rugs of historic significance.
Tabriz, Kashan, Herat, and Kerman became busy centers of rug production. Under the Persian king Shah Tahmasp in the late 16th Century, the famous Ardebil carpet was made. This rug is approximately 17 by 34 feet and has over 32 million tightly woven knots. Today this priceless work of art is preserved in the Victoria and Albert museum in London, England, and is considered one of the most magnificent rugs of its type in the world.
The rug making process gradually spread south into Persia and then into India in the 16th century and through the Caucasus and as far West as Morocco. Evidence also now indicates that early traders took rugs Eastward as far as Peking. The art of rug weaving soon flourished in China in the 17th Century.
Even though weaving soon became common through much of humanity, each ethnic group produced quite different designs for different purposes. In the Middle East rug and carpet making became a home industry where individuals would make rugs for their own use and in their spare time make extras to sell at a later date or use as payment for other goods or services. In fact, carpets were readily accepted for payment of dowries, to buy livestock or to pay off taxes. In India, however, rugs were almost exclusively woven for the Mogul rulers and did not penetrate into the daily live of the common people. In China, handmade rugs were essentially ornamental and made for those of high stature and wealth who could afford to purchase them or have them made.
Around 1000 AD, Marco Polo brought back news of rug making from his journeys through central Anatolia (modern Turkey). With trade and the Crusades, the importation of carpet and the techniques employed in their making soon found their way into France and England in the early 1500's. In France the purchase of rugs from the Middle East, in fact became so heavy that the flow of wealth out of France affected the economy. So much so that in 1608 Henry IV took it upon himself to start a carpet factory in his palace at the Louvre to create rugs for the French market, to keep the wealth within France. Unfortunately for his plan the resulting rugs made in the Oriental method but with French motifs so pleased him that he reserved them for royal use and they never made it to his subjects. His successor Louis XIII started an outside workshop to create these "French Orientals" which came to be known as "Savonneries" (after the old soap factory they were produced in) and were Europe's first original carpet designs. These French designs had some success but the Middle Eastern rugs were still the preferred choice.
England soon followed suit with the first carpet factory being built in Wilton in 1655. With the advent of the Industrial Revolution, carpet manufacturing soon shifted gears from a strictly cottage industry to a commercial one. Other methods of carpet weaving soon developed using readily available natural fibres. With increasing demand and technological development, synthetic materials as well as dyeing methods evolved to meet the increasing demand for more and different materials, colours and patterns, leading to the variety of carpets we now have today.
With such a variety of carpet material now available to select from, choosing the "right" carpet to suit the aesthetic, installation, and performance requirements for residential, commercial, and institutional installations has become increasingly more complex for the Owner or project design authority. Making a wise choice entails understanding carpet materials and constructions methods available today. For more information on this topic refer to Part C03C - Material Guide - Carpet and Part C03D - Material Guide - Cushion.