Glossary
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_accordion][vc_accordion_tab title=”A”][vc_column_text]Abrash: This term refers to a random change in a particular colour seen on a rugs’ surface. This happens by chance and becomes more evident with age. It is often due to slightly different batches of wool, dye or because slightly different techniques were employed in the creation of the dye. Abrash can be artificially encouraged during manufacture of some new rugs. Natural dyes produce random abrash, while synthetic dyes result in flat tones.Afshar: A tribe of Turkic extraction living in South Persia and famed for their unique and generally small rugs, bags and trappings.
Agra: A city near the present border of India and Pakistan famed for great large antique carpets including those from the time of the British Raj.
Akstafa: A tribal rug type/area from East Caucasus.
All-over design: This term refers to both bold and small repetitive designs that cover the field of a rug or carpet evenly. There is no central medallion.
Amulets: A charm inscribed with magical incantations and symbols to protect and aid the wearer against evil.
Anatolia: The historic name of Turkey, a rug producing country that is the bridge between Europe and Asia. See Turkey.
Aniline Dyes: The first synthetic dyes invented in the mid 19th Century. These dyes proved to be unstable in many cases either bleeding or losing their colour over time. “As fleeting as an aniline dye.”
Armenia: An independent country in the Southern Caucasus famed legendary wavers who created extraordinary rugs and carpets.
Asmalyk: A Central Asian weaving used to adorn the litter on a camel during a wedding procession.
Asymmetrical, Persian or Senneh Knot: A strand of wool is pulled under one warp and then over and under the neighboring warp. The ends are then pulled up to comprise the pile. Not all rugs woven in Persia use this knot. One type of knot is not better than another and all perform well.
Aubusson: Fine tapestries woven in France.
Ardibil: Persian Rug. Antiques are really beautiful.
Abrash: Variations in the shade of a single color within a carpet, usually appearing in a horizontal line. Abrash can be caused when the weaver uses wool to which the dye has been unevenly applied, or uses wool from different dye lots. Even within the same dye lot abrash can be caused by differences in the water used to rinse the dyed wool or by differences in the wool itself.
All-over: A term used to describe a repeated pattern that covers the entire field of a rug. This type of pattern is usually woven without a central medallion.
Antique: The strict definition of an antique rug, which is still used by the United States Customs, requires that the rug be over a hundred years old. In reality, most rugs from the nineteenth century, even if they’re less than a hundred years old, are now considered semi-antiques.
Antiqued, antiquing: The term antiqued or antiquing refers to a type of chemical washing which gives an old look to a rug. This process is generally used on Chinese rugs that have been woven in the Peking design.
Arabesque: A design element consisting of complex, intertwining vines, tendrils, leaves, and flowers.
Asymmetrical knot: See Persian knot.
Aubusson: A rug woven in France using the kelim, or slit-tapestry technique. The term is also used to refer to the familiar design of these rugs, which generally features a floral medallion worked in pastel shades.
Abrash: Dye Lot changes in the yarn show up as a different shade of color in the rug. Subtle abrash in tribal or village rugs enhances the folk art look. Major abrash in workshop rugs is considered a defect in dye control.
All over pattern: Continuous design throughout the field of the rug.
Antique Finish / Wash: A modern chemical washing procedure that produces softer tones or antiques the rug to simulate aging.
Asymmetrical Knot: A knot that may be open to the right or the left. Also known as Persian or Senneh knot.
Aubusson: A flat weave, pileless rug predominantly made in China and India, featuring a floral medallion with curvilinear floral borders and soft pastel colors.
Abrash: The word used to describe the variations in color found within a single color in an Oriental rug. It refers to the hue or color change found on many older rugs, particularly those rugs woven by nomad tribes. While abrash is commonly seen in tribal nomadic rugs and in some modern Oriental rugs are intentionally woven with the color variation. The variations in color are usually the result of inconsistent dyeing of the wool, or through the introduction of a new wool batch while weaving the carpet. Generally some abash is desirable in tribal carpets and very undesirable in “city” carpets.
Afshar: A Turkic speaking nomadic and settled people living mostly in southern Iran. The Afshar make mostly small rugs and saddlebags, animal trappings. Tones of deep blue, red, gold and ivory are most often encountered in Afshar rugs
All-over design: A term used to describe the pattern of rugs whose fields have no central medallion. An even repeating design throughout the field.
Aniline dyes: Synthetic dyes first invented (discovered) in 1856 by William Perkins. The term is now used to describe any synthetic dyes used in Oriental or Navajo rugs.
Antique Wash: A chemical or natural process that tones down colors and to simulate aging.
Arabesque: An ornate curving design of intertwined floral and vine figures often seen in intricate workshop rugs such as those from Isphahan, Tabriz, Nain and Qum.
Agra: Indian rugs that come from central india. Most enjoy the blue and gold hues in this rug.
Art Silk: Short for artificial silk, it is usually mercerized cotton, rayon or polyester that appears to be silk. Oftentimes artificial silk rugs are sold as real silk.
Asymmetrical Knot: “Persian” of “Senneh” knot. A pile knotting technique where only one or the two warps is completely encircled. See Oriental rug knots.
Aubusson: Fine flat carpets woven in France from the 15th to 19th Centuries. A term used to describe modern rugs that use similar designs and colors.[/vc_column_text][/vc_accordion_tab][vc_accordion_tab title=”B”][vc_column_text]Bahkshaish: Antique village rugs with geometric designs and a minimal quality from North West Persia.
Balouch: A nomadic (now partially settled or seasonally migrant) peoples living in parts of Eastern Persia, Afghanistan and South West Pakistan. Balouch weavings are interesting, generally small and very soulful.
Balouchestan: A stretch of land from Bam in South East Persia to Quetta in Pakistan.
Bergama or Pergamon: A rug producing town in West Anatolia on the Mediterranean. Rugs are produced in small surrounding villages and sold in the town itself.
Beshir: A tribal weaving group/type from South Turkestan, Central Asia. Many Beshir were sold in a local town of the same name.
Binding: The binding is a further covering of wool over the selvage itself which runs down the sides of all rugs. The deterioration of the selvage is designed to act as a warning to repair the sides of the rug before it is worn away.
Bleed/bleeding: An area on the rug where a colour has become unstable and has moved during washing into another colour of the carpet causing unsightly and unintentional colour variation. Often seen where a red colour has bled into a surrounding ivory area.
Border: The major border refers to the frame like band surrounding the field on all sides.
Bordjaou: A sub-type of Kazak with a distinct design from South West Caucasus.
Boteh or Paisley Designs: A floral design of unknown Asian origin that gained world-wide recognition through the use of it by Paisley, a European textile designer. There are numerous meanings or interpretations of the design including a parrot, pine cone or the royal signature of an illiterate king.
Brocading: A weaving technique similar to but denser than kelim work. The pattern is created by ‘floating’ the design over the foundation.
Beyata Dye: Mostly found in Navajo rugs and Navajo blankets.
Bag: A small, square pile rug with a long kelim that folds back to form a compartment. Originally hung over the back of a pack animal.
Bokhara: The city of Bokhara was once an important trade centre in Turkestan, and in the past all rugs sent there for resale were simply called Bokhara rugs. Today the term Bokhara refers to a general type of Turkoman rug that is woven in northeastern Iran and in Russia. Bokhara rugs are worked in the classic Turkoman elephant’s foot octagon, also known as a gul. This pattern is repeated in rows and columns, usually on a deep red field. The relatively simple and adaptable Bokhara pattern was the first to be produced in Pakistan. There and in India it’s made in a vast range or sizes, from 1 foot square mats up to 18 by 12 foot and larger room sizes. In addition to the traditional red color scheme, Pakistani and Indian Bokharas are found in rust, tan, orange, light and dark blue, green, aqua, and gold.
Border: The band or stripe, or group of bands or stripes around the edge of the rug that forms a frame to enclose the central field. The border stripes, which almost always are present on all four sides of the rug, are worked either in a single color or in various patterns.
Boteh: A classic design element from which the well-known paisley motif is derived. Also referred to as a pear, a leaf, a pine cone, or a palm.
Brocade, brocaded: Any weaving that has a raised pattern through it.
Brocading: a technique used in weaving flat woven rugs, in which supplementary wefts, which form the design of the rug, wholly or partially cover the basic warp and weft. The sumack technique is a form of brocading.
Broken border: A border that’s extended into the field rather than separated from it by straight lines. This type of border is usually much more closely related to the pattern in the field of the rug than other borders are. It’s usually seen in rugs that are based on French designs.
Bakhtiari: The Bachtiari confederation is a large and powerful group, covering much of central and southwestern Iran. Small rugs, saddlebags and trappings are woven by nomadic Bachtiaris, while large carpets are woven by the settled tribes people. The most familiar pattern is the garden design consisting of repeated squares or diamonds, each of which encloses a tree or floral motif. The name translates roughly as “the lucky ones”.
Baluch: A large group of nomadic tribespeople living in Afghanistan and eastern Iran who weave many types of small rugs, animal trappings and tent furnishings. They favor deep tones of blue, dark brown, dark red and touches of natural ivory.
Bokhara: The capitol of Uzbekistan and the traditional trading center for Turkmen tribal carpets. Today, rugs called Bokhara are usually make in Pakistan using Tekke Turkoman designs.
Boteh: This is a motif in stylized form representing either a pine cone, a palmetto, the sacred flame of Zoroaster or a Cypress tree. Sometimes called a Paisley Pattern. Seen in many types of Oriental rugs.
Bessarabian: Designs usually feature curvilinear floral patterns that are sophisticated and elaborate.
Bidjar: Persian rugs sought after for their beauty.
Brocade: Weft float weave used to add design and embellishment. Often seen on the kilim bands at the ends of oriental rugs.[/vc_column_text][/vc_accordion_tab][vc_accordion_tab title=”C”][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_accordion_tab][vc_accordion_tab title=”D”][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_accordion_tab][vc_accordion_tab title=”E”][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_accordion_tab][vc_accordion_tab title=”F”][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_accordion_tab][vc_accordion_tab title=”G”][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_accordion_tab][vc_accordion_tab title=”H”][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_accordion_tab][vc_accordion_tab title=”I”][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_accordion_tab][vc_accordion_tab title=”J”][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_accordion_tab][vc_accordion_tab title=”K”][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_accordion_tab][vc_accordion_tab title=”L”][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_accordion_tab][vc_accordion_tab title=”M”][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_accordion_tab][vc_accordion_tab title=”N”][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_accordion_tab][vc_accordion_tab title=”O”][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_accordion_tab][vc_accordion_tab title=”P”][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_accordion_tab][vc_accordion_tab title=”Q”][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_accordion_tab][vc_accordion_tab title=”R”][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_accordion_tab][vc_accordion_tab title=”S”][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_accordion_tab][vc_accordion_tab title=”T”][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_accordion_tab][vc_accordion_tab title=”U”][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_accordion_tab][vc_accordion_tab title=”V”][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_accordion_tab][vc_accordion_tab title=”W”][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_accordion_tab][vc_accordion_tab title=”X”][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_accordion_tab][vc_accordion_tab title=”Y”][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_accordion_tab][vc_accordion_tab title=”Z”][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_accordion_tab][/vc_accordion][/vc_column][/vc_row]