Friday, May 28, 2010

Rug Classification

The first thing that most people want to understand about rugs is how to classify them. There are a number of ways to do this.

One could classify rugs by general rug type:
a. Tribal Weavings
b. Cottage Rugs
c. Workshop Rugs

One could classify rugs by the style they portray:
a. Tribal, or geometric, weavings.
b. Decorative, or casual, rugs.
c. City, or formal, rugs.


From there, a more specific classification comes into play, where the rug is from:
Persia
Turkey
India
The Caucuses
Europe
China
Turkoman
America
Israel
Morocco
Palestine


After pinpointing where a rug is from, it can further be categorized by weave type and color to a distinct area within the countries of origin. Here is a list of most types of rugs:

Persian Rugs:
Afshar
Bakhtiari
Bakhshaiesh
Bibikabad
Bidjar
Farahan
Gabbeh
Ghashgaie
Hamadan
Heriz
Isfahan
Joshaqan
Karaja
Kashan
Kashan – Dabir
Kashan – Mohtasham
Kazvin
Kerman
Kerman – Lavar
Kurdish
Lilihan
Mahal
Malayer
Malayer – Mishan
Mashad
Mashad – Sabeer
Mood (NE Persian)
NW Persian
Qum
Sarouk
Sarouk – Farahan
Sarouk – Mohajeran
Senneh
Serab
Seraband
Serapi
Shiraz
Sultanabad
Sultanabad – Ziegler
Tabriz
Tabriz – Haji Jalili
Tehran

Turkish Rugs:
Ghiordes
Melas
Oushak
Oushak – Angora
Oushak – Borlou
Sivas
Yuruk

Indian Rugs:
Agra
Amritsar
Dhurrie
Sharistan

Caucasian:
Bidjov
Chi-Chi
Kuba
Karabagh
Lesghi
Moghan
Shirvan
Talish
Zeychor
Kazak

European:
Arraiolos Needlework
Aubusson
Axminster
Besserabian
Donegal
English Art Deco
German – Bauhaus
Needlepoint
Rya
Savonnerie
Spanish – Cuenca
Tapestry
Ukranian





American:
American Hooked Rugs
Braided Rug
Navajo
Rag Rug

Chinese:
Art Deco
Khotan
Mongolian
Ning Xia
Peking
Samarghand

Turkoman:
Baluch
Ersari
Beshir
Hatchli

Other:
Bezalel – Palestine
Israeli
Kerghiz
Moroccan

All of the above:
Soumak
Kilim



I will go further into the details on the classification of rugs in my next post.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

What would you like to know about antique rugs?

We at Rahmanan are working to give you the best possible experience in shopping for your antique rug. We understand that many people have questions or concerns when buying an antique for their floor, and have a yearning to know more about the processes and people who were involved in the craft of these pieces. We would love to answer any questions you may have, as well as educate our customers more about the wonderful world of antique rugs. We would like to provide the ultimate purchasing experience for our clients, so if there are any topics you would be interested in knowing more about, please let us know.