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The nomadic tribes and small villages make the most traditional carpets. Their designs, like their function, are usually fairly simple and are normally handed down through the generations, making their carpets distinctive and relatively unique to their tribe or region. Women continue to be the weavers and in many villages carpet weaving has social, practical and economic dimensions. Daughters are taught to weave from a very early age in hopes that this will make them more marriageable. The Kiz carpets refer to carpets made in homes or villages by young women of marriageable age for their grooms.
Carpets have three primary functions, one religious, another artistic and the other is purely as a home furnishing. In general, carpets from nomadic tribes and small villages are motivated by functional considerations first, religious uses second and artistic excellence last. This should not be taken to mean that these are inferior carpets, for they clearly are not. Artistic excellence here is measured only in comparison to the splendid pieces produced in the royal courts and production centers. Unlike the nomadic carpets, carpets produced in these workshops tended more toward religious themes as well as artistic excellence.
With stationary looms much larger carpets could be woven. The most sophisticated carpets usually come from carpet production centers. These were normally set up in cities near the royal court or trade centers places like Konya and Usak in Turkey or Tabriz and Shiraz in Persia. There were no recognized "carpet cities" in Turkestan or the Caucasus. The most talented designers were obtained, the finest materials provided and the most skilled weavers tended to concentrate in these centers. One determinant of a carpet's intricacy, and hence its value, is the number of knots per square inch. In the major production centers these could often reach 1,000 or more knots per square inch. Though carpets from major production centers are distinct from other styles and regions, it should be remembered that many of these workshops existed at the pleasure of, and for the pleasure of, the monarch. Thus, designs were often copied or adapted from other regions or tribes. Likewise, entire transformations took place when carpets were woven in mainly western designs to please the whims of the monarch. This process is responsible for the development of carpet weaving traditions in India and Pakistan, which were brought to these lands by the Persian-oriented Moghul emperors who copied Persian designs.
There are magnificent religious carpets in the mosques of Istanbul and throughout the Moslem world. It should be noted that the majority of the carpet making regions is mainly moslem, though a fine example of carpet weaving comes from Christian Armenia with its Armenian Dragon designs. Religious carpets and kilims are notable for the arched mihrab (prayer niche) that is supposed to be pointed in the direction of Mecca during prayer. In the Moslem tradition no form of art may portray human beings. There are also noticeable differences in the colors used in these carpets, the much lower color contrast and much greater detail in the design. It is a high act of piety for a Moslem to deed a carpet to a mosque. Carpets were also gifts to the sultan from village headmen and dignitaries. Mosques are covered walls to wall by carpets, often in several layers. Carpets dating from the 13th century have been found in Konya and several other cities throughout Turkey. It should be noted that some of the carpets in the Sultanahmet mosque in Istanbul are over 300 years old, testament to the quality of their construction.
Carpet weaving is unlike any of the other major arts in that carpets are not generally attributed to anyone, regardless of how exquisite they might be. Thus, while Islamic art has produced master architects and calligraphers there are no generally acknowledged master carpet weavers. This may partly be explained by the varied skills required in the production of a carpet. A designer first sets the final look of the carpet. Another person would mix the animal or vegetable dyes that would be used and the weaver would finally weave the carpet. One explanation might be that carpet weaving is seen as less an art than a cultural tradition and thus is taken for granted to a greater extent than other arts.
There have been substantial changes influencing carpet weaving. There appears to be a historical cycle in which carpet weaving seems to be flourish and then becomes less important only to flourish again when the cycle repeats itself. The designs are unlikely to change much though the production process might. Where carpets traditionally were dyed with animal or vegetable dyes there are now synthetic dyes available. A valid question must be if the nomadic tribes and small villages will be able to maintain their ways of life in the face of increasing modernization, urbanization and other factors. The carpet producing regions of Central Asia, formerly part of the Soviet Union, are now independent republics, and a natural question is how their carpets will be affected.
Panama Orchids, Capel's new line of hand knotted rugs from India, is featured in the October 13, 2003 issue of InFurniture .
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