Anatomy of an oriental rug

LesniakOrientalRugs.com
Lesniak Oriental Rugs
132 E Central St Natick, MA 01760
1(508)-653-3460
info@lesniakorientalrugs.com
©Lesniak Oriental Rugs - 2014
Anatomy of an Oriental rug
Oriental rugs have long been seen as a symbol of wealth. In recent years certain
types of Oriental rugs have become more affordable. When shopping for an
Oriental rug it is easy to get lost in the nomenclature. Below you will find an
outline of the various terms used to describe the components of Oriental rugs.

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Oriental rugs versus Persian Rugs
The first item on the agenda is to give the rug or carpet a name. The terms Oriental
rug and Persian rug have been used synonymously for many years. The term
Oriental rug describes any hand woven rug made in the geographical area
encompassing the “Orient” and the old Moorish empire. This includes Persia, or
what is today known as Iran. So technically, Persian rugs are also Oriental rugs but
the opposite is not true. Not all Oriental rugs are Persian. You may have an art
deco style Peking Chinese rug, this can be classified as an Oriental rug, but not a
Persian rug.
Oriental Rug, or Carpet?
The next issue is whether you call your rug an Oriental carpet or just a rug.
Traditionally large room-sized rugs were classified as Oriental carpets, while small
rugs around 6’ x 9’ or smaller were just Oriental rugs. These distinctions are still
applied today however they are not taken as seriously as they were in the past.
The Foundation Threads
The term foundation is used to describe the threads that make up the base of the
rug. These are usually cotton, or wool threads which are woven horizontally and
vertically. They can be made of other materials such as silk, but cotton and wool
are the most popular. The threads which run horizontally on the rug (from left to
right) are the weft threads. “Weft” threads are easily remembered because they go
to the “left”. The threads which run from top to bottom are the warp threads. These
are the threads you see as the fringe of the carpet. Below you see the white strands
of thread sticking out from the rug, some call them tassels, but they are more
widely known as fringe. These threads are the warp threads of the foundation.

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The Pile
The pile of an Oriental rug describes the material that has been knotted onto the
foundation. It is what you feel when you walk across the rug. It may be thick or
thin depending on how low it was clipped after being woven. The pile is almost
always wool, but in some cases it may be silk. The wool is knotted on to the
foundation threads by skilled weavers following a design that has already been
sketched on paper. In the picture below you can see the pile is what gives the rug
its thickness and design. Without the pile, you do not have an Oriental rug.

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Components of the finished Oriental rug
Once the Oriental rug is complete, there are several more terms used to define the
design of the rug. The edges are the areas on the left and right sides of the rug that
hold together the foundation threads. The field is the open space of the rug. It is not
the design itself, but rather the background, blank space surrounding the design.
The rug below has an ivory-colored field. See the open area surrounding the
designs and figures of this unique Oriental rug.

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The border is the area around the field. Some rugs have more than one border and
some just have one. The border can be thought of as a picture frame. It is the frame
around the main design of the Oriental rug.
The design is the overall pattern of the rug. It could be floral, geometric, tribal, or
it could be one or more medallions. The medallion is a large shape which may be
an abstract diamond, or a geometric square that is the focal point of the rug. The
rug on the left has one large central medallion while the rug on the right has four
medallions.

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With these terms in mind you will be able to go into a rug store and impress the
rug dealer with your knowledge. These terms will also help you describe what you
are looking for when shopping for Oriental rugs online or in a store.

Anatomy of an oriental rug

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Anatomy of an oriental rug