TURKISH BAZAAR
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Rug Glossary |
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Abadeh:
Top quality postwar Shiraz style rugs. The town half way on the main
shiraz Isfahan road. Abrash: Change or variation in the color of a rug due to differences in the wool or dye bath. The effect of abrash is subtle shading differences. In older or antique rugs, abrash occurs naturally. In new rugs, both machine made and handmade, Abrash is carefully created by changing the color of the yarns to mimic a vintage look. Acrylic: Man-made fiber with wool-like appearance. Does not dye as well as nylon and is less durable. Add Fringes: Weave new fringes onto rug. Afshar: A Turkic speaking nomadic and partly settled tribal group in Southern Persia with summer pastures in the mountains south and west of Kerman; they are weavers of excellent pile and kilim rugs. Agra: Indian antique decorative carpets. Ahar: Heriz style carpets NW Iran Azerbaijan. Ahura Mazda: Pre-Islamic god. Zoroaster fire temples Yazd. Aimaq: West Afghan group of tribes/clans. Akkoyonlu: "People of the white sheep" historical central asian Turks. Akstafa: Caucasian rug type distinctive bird with tailcomb motif. Allover Design: Continuous design throughout rug. Anatolia: Asian Turkey Andkhoy: Afghan turkoman rug type. Aniline Dye: A synthetic dye from coal tar. In the early 1900's it was banned in Persia. Antique Finish: A modern washing procedure that tones or antiques the rug. Aqcha: Afghan steel backed postwar rugs. Arab: The name given to various unrelated sub-tribes in south and east Iran. Arabesque: Group of particular curvilinear tendril designs. probably originated in Islamic spain. Arak:Eearly centre of revival weaving NW Iran. Ardebil: Good commercial weaving centre in azerbaijan. Armenia: Ancient home of the armenians and their great culture. Art Silk: Artificial silk, normally made with mercerized cotton. Ashkabad: Turkmenistan city and home of the modern "5 year plan factory turkoman". Assadabad: Hamadan Area herati designed rugs with nicely small central medallion aubusson antique French tapestry carpets. Aubusson: French design normally with a medallion and pastel colors. Azeribaijan: Straddling Iran and the Caucasus this Turkish speaking province could be the most important rug weaving area in history. Babur: The babur nama gives a view of the life of a nomadic central asian horseman driven from his ancestral lands by the emergent uzbeks to found the Moghul dynasty in N India. Bactria: historical Central asian dynasty. Bahktiari: A nomadic group in southern Persia migrating between the central Zagros mountains and the low-lying areas around Ahvaz; in common with the Lurs they speak a Persian dialect with archaic features. They are also settled in numerous villages in a wide area east of the mountains around Shahr Kord, know as the Chahar Mahal. Bakhshaish: NW Persian town, good antique decorative carpets. A financial consideration. Baku: Caspian sea Port. Balkh: N Afghan ruin of importance. Behbehan: Luri centre between shiraz and ahwaz. Belouch: (Also, Balouch, Beluch, Balooch) Known for the distinctive black-tents made of goats hair, the Belouch are a nomadic group inhabiting eastern Iran, western Pakistan and Southern Afghanistan. They speak a language related to Persian. Their weavings have a uniquely archaic look although some confusion reigns over the distinction between them and the weavings of the Aimaq and Timuri tribes of eastern Afghanistan. Benares: India famous brocades. Bergama: West Anatolian anthic city with a strong weaving tradition. Beshir: Place and generic name for colourful turkoman weaving. Beysehir: Anatolian town, famous for it's great antique rugs discovered at the seljuk built mosque. Bhadohi: North Indian 20th century weaving town. Bibibaff: Name for a rug "woven by a respected grannie". Birjand: East Iran centre for both floral and tribal weaving. Border: A design that surrounds the field in an oriental rug. Bordjalu: Georgian style of Kazakh and a type of sombre Kurdish rug. Boteh: A pear-shaped figure often used in oriental rug designs, characteristic of the paisley pattern. The botch may represent a leaf, bush or a pinecone. Braided: These are rugs made from heavy strips of new or used yarn or fabric which have been braided into thick ropes and are then sewn dide-to-side in spirals, ovals, round and oblongs to create a reversible rug. Bukhara: (Bokhara) 1- For centuries a center of Muslim learning and spirituality, and the principal trading point for Turkmen tribal carpets; many Turkman carpets as a result have erroneously been called "Bukhara". 2- The trade name for inexpensive and uninspired carpets woven in Pakistan with Turkmen designs. Canakkale: West Anatolian city known for its squarish red rugs. Carding: A process in the preparation of raw wool (or other fibers) for spinning accomplished by drawing it repeatedly across rows of small metal teeth. Cartoon: Map of design and colors necessary to weave a rug. Cartouche: A design that surrounds a woven signature, date or inscription in a rug. Carved Nap: A process of carving around a design or symbol to enhance the look of the rug. Commonly done in some Chinese and Tibet rugs. Caucasian: Rugs were mainly woven in Azerbaijan, which is part of the Caucasus region. Chain Stitch: A crochet stitch used in rug construction that consists of successive loops to lock the final weft in place at the end of a rug. Chakesh: afghan turkoman rug type. Charschango: North Afghan gul (rose) type. Chemical Dyes: Modern synthetic dyes used in rugs woven after 1935. Chobash: Blue/red turkoman carpets. Chodor: Turkoman tribe. Chrome Dyed: Modern synthetic dyes. Cloth Backed Rug: Normally on the back of an Indian or Chinese tufted rug. Cloud Band: A design usually associated with Chinese rugs but which is used in a variety of rugs as floral pattern. Resembles the Greek letter omega or wispy clouds. Cochineal: Deep red dye obtained from the dried bodies of a type of insect. Colorfast: If a rug has colorfast dyes, the colors are steadfast and will not run when washed. Combing: Process for preparing wool's in the same direction, before they are spun. Daghestan: NE Caucasus fine bluish rugs. Daoulatabad: NW Afghan collecting centre of carpets esp. the wazirate large type. Density: The measure by which the quality of the rug's construction is judged. Determined by two factors: number of knots and the height of the pile in a given area. Dhurrie: A flatwoven rug from India, usually made of cotton or wool. Diyarbakir: Kurdish rug collecting centre in East Anatolia. Doruksh: Jufti knotted Qainat carpets in the floral city style. Doshemealti: Red and blue postwar good Anatolian commercial rugs popular with tourists. Dozar: A Persian name used to describe approximately a 4.6 x 6.6 size carpet. Dragon: A Chinese rug design that combines the features and/or characteristics of a variety of beasts. Also found in stylized form from other rug producing areas other than China. Drugget: This non-pile type of rug comes from India and the Balkans and is usually of goat hair, cotton and jute. Dry rot: After many years the rug becomes dry and brittle, or liquids or moisture on a rug for an extended time can cause the rug to become dry rot. Embossed: A process of carving around a design or symbol to enhance the look of the rug. Commonly done in some Chinese and Tibet rugs. Endless Knot: A buddhist emblem symbolizing long duration, often used with other symbols. Erivan: Armenian rug centre. Ersari: A large sub-tribe of the Turkmen distributed along the Amu Darya valley and in northwest Afghanistan. Recently, many Ersari have settled in Pakistan. Ezine: European Turkey Town noted for elegant simple small rugs. Fabricated (Inlaid) Rugs: Tufted broadloom carpet is cut and inlaid on a patterned form to create a customized rug. Faux Silk: "False silk" is usually a synthetic, such as polyester, or cellulosic fiber such as viscose/rayon. Mercerized cotton is also used as a silk look-alike. Also called art silk, faux silk is usually used as small accents or in a short, dense pile constructions. Field: The part of a rug's design surrounded by the border. The field may be blank or contain medallions or an over-all pattern. Flat Weave: Weaving in which no knots are used. The weft strands are simply passed through the warp strands. For example a Kilim, Cicim or Soumac. Foundation: The warp and weft is the basis/foundation of a rug. Fringe: Warps extending from the ends of a rug which are treated in several ways to prevent the wefts and knots from unravelling. Gabbeh: A Lori word to describe fairly coarse, long-piled rugs made by nomads of the central Zagros Mountains for use in the tent. They are decorated with bold abstract patters or naïve designs and used to be considered too crude to be worth trading but recently their artistic value has been recognized. Garden Design: Panel designs throughout the field woven with floral motifs, particularly found in a Persian Bahktiari. Genje: Colourful central Caucasian rugs. Gerus: Bijar design. Gol (Gul): Flower, rose, a name etc. Gordes (Ghiordes): West Anatolian town classical prayer rugs. Gorevan: Azeri town carpeyts similar heriz. Ground: Background color which sets off the principle design motif of the rug. Gul: A medallion either octagonal or angular in shape, used in Turkoman designs. It is often repeated to form an all-over pattern in the field. Gul: A term of disputed origin and significance. Perhaps it is a crude transliteration of the word for flower (Persian) or roundel (Turkish). In practice it is used to describe the discrete ornaments arranged in an endless repeat pattern used by Turkmen weavers to decorate their carpets, bags and other weavings. It is possible to say that each tribe had its own weaving style in which certain colors and guls were used in easily recognizable combinations. Gul: The small repeating almost looking elephant foot design found in Bohkara rugs hadith the Islamic traditions. Hamadan: City and generic name to single wefted rugs of NW Iran. Hand Hooked (Hand Tufted): Rug-making process by which craftsmen insert yarn into a backing with a hand held single-needle tufting tool. The machine is often called a "gun." The rug's pattern is stenciled on primary backing material. After the tufting is complete, a backing is attached to protect and anchor the stitches. Hand Knotted: Rug made by weavers who knot pile yarns around the warp fibers that run the length of the rug. Generally, the more knots per square inch, the more valuable the rug. Hand: Tactile qualities of a fabric including softness, stiffness, rough, scratchy, etc. Hand-made: Constructed by hand. The category can include hand knotted, hand tufted, hand hooked, needlepoint, aubusson and hand loomed rugs. Harshang: Popular 18thC Caucasian rug design. Hatchli: A design found in Turkemon rugs. Hazara: Personable ethnic group of Central Afghanistan. Heatset: Twisted yarns are treated with heat to retain their "permanent wave" for better performance and appearance retention. Herat: W Afghan centre and state of mind. often art capital of Central Asia. Herati: A fish pattern repeating throughout the field of a rug. Hereke: West Anatolian town known for its famous silk rugs. Heriz: Famous decorative and heavy carpets from azerbaijan. Holbein: Dutch painter's name attached to a type of Anatolian carpet design and group. Indigo: Different blue shaded dyes obtained from the leaves of the indigo plant. Isfahan: Classically decadent central Persian city. Istanbul: major crossroads and bazaar of the carpet world Izmir: SW Anatolian market centre. Jufti: A false knotting technique that simplifies the knot for the weaver. A knot tied over four wraps instead of the usual two. Kabul: Afghan and moghul capital. Kandahar: Pashto centre S Afghanistan. Kashmir: Controversial home of some moghul carpets. Kathmandu: market for some himalayan weaving. Kayseri: Centre of turkish commercial weaving especially silk. Kazak: In origin, a tribal name, now a town, river and district in the extreme west of Azerbaijan, the Caucuses. Kazak rugs are noted for their coarse, long-pile carpets with shiny wool and vigorous designs. The weavers were Turkic nomads, now settled, who came to the region at the time of the great westward migration of Turks in the eleventh century. Kellegi: A Persian word for a wide runner, for example 6 x 13. Kerman: elegant east persian traditional weaving centre. Kilim (Kelim, Gelim, Gilim): A pileless smooth surfaced weaving in which pattern is formed by the wefts, which completely conceal the warps. Kirshehir: Centre of anatolian prayer rugs. Knot Count: The number of knots in a square inch of a rug. Hand made Chinese rugs are often described in terms of "line." A 65 Line rug would have 65 knots per foot of width, 65 knots per foot of length, and 29 knots per square inch. Knot makes the pile or nap of a carpet and distinguishes it from the machine made and flatweaves. Knot: A knot is formed when wool, cotton or silk yarn is looped around the warp threads. There are different procedures for knotting and each knot type has a name, for example there is a Turkish (Ghiordes) knot and a Persian (Sennah) knot. Knotted Pile: The type of weaving most associated with oriental rugs in which tufts of wool forming pile are wrapped around one or more (usually two) warps to project at right angles to the plane of the weaving. They are tied individually, one row at a time, and held in place by ground wefts. The process is to be distinguished from the making of hooked rugs in which tufts of wool are poked into pre-existing loosely woven fabric. Konya: important anatolian weaving and cultural centre. Kork Wool: The very finest quality wool obtained from the shoulder and flanks of shearling lambs. Kouchi: Gerenic afghan name for tribal pastoralists. Kowdani: a type and quality of afghan rug. KPSI (Knots per square inch): Number of knots per square inch rates the knot quality. Kufic: early islamic script stylised in carpets usually borders. Kula: West Anatolian historically important weaving town. Ladik: west anatolian weaving town. Loom: Normally a wood structure that the carpet is woven on. Lur (Lori): A tribe of black-tent nomads and settled villagers, long established in the northern and central Zagros mountains of south Persia, politically and linguistically linked to the Bahktiari. They make interesting piled and pileless weavings. Machine made: A rug constructed on an electrically powered machine, now usually computer controlled. Madder: A powder extracted from the root of a Rubia plant used to make red natural dye. Manufactory: Made by hand in a factory. Medallion: The large enclosed portion of a design, usually in the center. Typical shapes are diamonds, octagons and hexagons. Mihrab: This design has the prayer arch of an Islamic mosque in the rug's field. Millefleurs: Small flowers make up the pattern throughout the rug's field. Mordant: From the Latin 'to bite', the term describes a substance used to prepare wool or silk for dyeing. The mordant attaches to receptor sites on the surface of protein fibers and makes a chemical bridge between the dyestuff and fiber. The most common mordants are alum and iron sulfite. Madder and the yellow plant dyes require a mordant, whereas indigo does not. Nap: Face of the rug where the knot ends are cut, normally made of wool or silk. Natural Dyes: Dyes derived from insects or from the earth, which includes madder root, indigo, milkweed, pomegranate, osage, cutch and cochineal. Needlepoint: A rug making technique made with wool yarns worked on canvas using the same method as a needlepoint pillow. Nylon: Durable synthetic fiber which also has good dyeing characteristics. Nylon yarns can be solution dyed, skein dyed and/or space dyed. Overcast Sides: Technique of over-rounding wool on the non-fringe sides of a rug. Overtuft: Tufting process done by hand or machine in which an already tufted and dyed carpet has another yarn system tufted through the back of the fabric to develop a pattern on the surface of the carpet. Oxidizes: With excess sunlight exposure rug colors can change to a brown or black color. Painted Rugs: A process of actually painting the rug to improve its look. Also if you touch-up worn areas with markers. Patina: The surface appearance of a rug usually mellows with age or use. Pazyryk: Earliest complete carpet. Persian Knot: Looped around one thread with only a half-turn around the other thread. Pile: The nap of the rug or the tufts remaining after the knotted yarns are clipped. Plain Weave: Used to describe a weave in which the warp and weft are of equal tension and spacing. On the surface the warp and weft are equally visible. Point: One tuft of pile. Polyester: Synthetic fiber most often used in staple spun yarns. Polypropylene/Olefin: Synthetic fiber used extensively in machine made rugs. This low-cost fiber is colored in the pellet phase of production. Performs best when heatset and/or used in a dense construction. Prayer Rug: A rug with a representation of mosque or arched prayer area. Columns may be shown supporting the arch with a lamp hanging from the arch's apex. Programmed Rugs: Weave the same design in different sizes. Pushti: Persian term for a scatter rug, normally 2 x 3. Qum: Religious capital of Iran and produces modern carpets. Rollakans: Flat woven rugs of Swedish designs made in Portugal. Meaning "back cover", these rugs were originally used as wallhangings in the old days in Scandinavian cabins to keep the wind from blowing between the logs. Re-fringe: Repair fringe of rug using the selvedge or part of the rug. Saffron: Natural dye use to obtain a yellow color. Samarkand: Great Central Asian city. Saph: Several Mihrabs, which indicate the direction of Mecca, are arranged side by side on a rug used for prayer. Savonnerie: Made in France, this is a hand-knotted pastel rug with a floral medallion set on an open field with broken borders. This rug is the model for many of today's Indian and Persian rugs. Selvedge: The area between the edge of a rug and the fringe. The selvedge is the same material used to form the warp and weft. A design can be added to the selvedge to enhance the look of a rug. Senneh Knot: Persian knot. Senneh: Fine Kurdish rug. Shiraz: SW Iran major rug collecting centre. Shirvan: East Caucasian fine rugs. Siding: Edging on non-fringed sides of a rug. Silk Road: Mythical name for the Mediteranean - China trade routes. Simurgh: Mythical Persian bird. Sivas: Central Anatolian town noted for floral carpets and centre of a kelim trade. Solution Dyed: A method of dyeing synthetic fiber in which pigment is added to the nylon or polypropylene chip before it is extruded as filament yarn. Soumak (Soumac): This refers both to the carpets made in the soumac technique and the technique itself. Primarily practiced in the eastern Caucuses, this technique produces a flat-woven carpet using weft wrapping in which wefts are pulled over then wrapped under a series of warps. Space Dyed: Yarn colored in sections of different colors before being tufted or woven into a rug. Abrash effects can be created with space dyed yarns. Space dyeing is frequently applied to nylon fibers. Spanish Knot: An unusual variation of the Turkish knot. A knot is tied on every other single warp thread with knotted warps alternating on each row. Spinning: The process whereby a continuous thread is formed by twisting fibers together. The twist may be imparted by the rotation of a weighted rod (drop spindle) suspended from the thread. Alternatively, the rod may be attached to a rotating wheel driven by hand (spinning wheel) or a machine. Tapestry Weave: Any variety of weaves where the pattern is created by ground wefts that do not run from end to end. Tekke: The dominant Turkmen tribe in the second half of the nineteenth century, makers of a great variety of refined weavings. Their carpets, eagerly collected by Europeans, were baptized 'Royal Bukhara' by merchants wishing to enhance their appeal. Tibetan Knot: A distinctive rug-weaving technique now used in other regions as well as in Tibet. A temporary rod, which establishes the length of pile, is put in front of the warp. A continuous yarn is looped around two warps and then once around the rod. When a row of loops is finished, then the loops are cut to create the pile. This method produces a slightly ridged surface. Tone-on-Tone: Two or more shades of the same hue achieved by combining two ends of different shades , two different yarns of the same color or cut pile and looped pile of the same color. Transitional: A broad style category that falls between traditional and contemporary. Many floral patterns are included in this category. Turkish Knot: Tied around two adjacent warp threads. Usak (Ushak): West Anatolian weaving town with a long history. Vegetable Dyes: Dyes derived from insects or from the earth, which includes madder root, indigo, milkweed, pomegranate, osage, cutch and cochineal. Veramin: Distinctive paletted settled nomad weavings. Warp: Beginning part of a rug where wool, cotton or silk strands are attached to a Loom vertically, following the length of a rug. Comprising the structure, parallel wrap yarns run the length of the rug and are interlaced with wefts. Weft (Woof): The threads which are added in succession to the warp, crossing at right angles in the direction of the width of the fabric. In piled carpets they are invisible on the surface in kilims the wefts are the only threads visible. Weft: Wool, cotton or silk strands inserted horizontally over and under the warp forming the foundation of the rug. Weft-Faced: A rug where the weft yarns are more closely spaced than the warps. Wool Foundation: A rug is started with a wool warp and weft. X: : x) Yagcibedir: the Anatolian belouch/turkoman rug type. Yahyali: Central Anatolian rug type. Yomut: A Turkmen tribe found in Turkmenistan and northeast Persia. They are farmers, semi-nomads and nomads and in remote regions still retain much of their ancient life-style. Yoruk: A term used in Turkey for nomad. Apart from the Kurdish-speaking tribes, most of the nomads in Turkey are of central Asian Turkmen origin and some still call themselves Turkmen. Most carpets called 'Yoruk' in the market place are made by Kurdish-speaking people in eastern Turkey. Yuntdag: West Anatolian rug type usually central medallion pendant with triangular. Zil-i-sultan: south persian rug design. Zilli: traditional name for large simple flatweaves. |
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