RUGS

Rugs are a quick way to update, modernise your living space. Whether you are looking to add colour to your room, or to define an area in your room, a contemporary or traditional  rug will provide you with an instant solution.                 

Rugs have been around for thousands of years - that much is certain. But because they were made from natural fibers such as wool or cotton, hardly any have survived to the present day. Antique rugs in good condition are so rare that only a few from the 16th and 17th centuries survive.The oldest known rug is the Pazyryk rug, which dates from the 5th century BC. It was discovered in a Scythian burial mound in in 1949 and only survived intact thanks to being frozen for almost 2500 years.The quality of the Pazyryk rug shows that even so long ago, weaving was a developed industry. Ancient royalty valued rugs as both luxury items and status symbols, and employed skilled weavers to produce beautiful rugs for their palaces. The Mongol Emperor Akbar valued rugs so highly that he introduced rug weaving to India in the 16th century, bringing his own Persian weavers along when he invaded and conquered that country. So royalty have obviously commissioned rugs for thousands of years, and weaving techniques may even have flourished under royal encouragement, but rugs must have been around as practical items long before then. Like any great craft, there was a humble beginning.

It's thought that rug weaving originated due to a variety of factors, some of which we can still see today. When people were living in tribal communities, especially nomadic ones, it would have been necessary to solve the problems of cold winds, driving rains and hard floors. Rugs are versatile enough to do all of this; contemporary tribes like the Bedouin still weave and utilize rugs for all these purposes.

Rug weaving also required the right materials. Societies without domestic animals like sheep, or without crops like cotton, did not produce them, although cultures like the Amerindians of coastal North America produced blankets and wall hangings made from grasses and animal hair. Rugs as we know them only flourished in areas with the right natural resources.

Rug weaving probably originated independently in cold, dry areas and hot dry areas such as the East, Far East and South America . The climate and way of life in these places was conducive to rug weaving, and the Pazyryk rug - the oldest extant example - was discovered here. As weaving progressed, patterns were added using dyes and special weaving techniques such as knotting. Patterns could reflect the natural world or religious beliefs; they could contain elements special to the tribe, or to the weaver. They could be designed simply to look pleasing with geometric shapes and symmetry, or they could tell a story or a name.

Rug  weaving spread over the centuries with human occupation and the exchange of knowledge. In the 12th century became an important rug producing area, and 17th century saw Henry IV commissioning the famous Savonnerie workshops to make rugs for his palaces. In the present day, many rugs are machine-made, although handmade rugs are still a large industry in the East. Patterns that were once valued for their meaning are now seen as decorative, and rugs are widely available to the  public.

(information based on Wikipedia)