The term ”oriental rug” applies to hand-knotted carpets woven in the East over a wide area extending from the Balkans into China. As the weaving is not performed by machine, oriental
rugs have a particular sense of aliveness and individuality which attests to the craftsmanship and artistry invested in their creation. The materials used are natural-primarily wool and cotton, with occasional goat hair, camel hair and silk.

As you begin to look at oriental rugs, it is useful to become familiar with a simple system of classifying the various types you will see. Basically, all oriental rugs can be grouped under two major headings: traditional rugs and contemporary rugs.

Traditional oriental rugs refer to those woven in Persia, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Afghanistan, Turkey and China. They are the result of a carpet-making heritage of at least 700 years. This category of rugs can be further divided into pieces of either “tribal”, “city” or ”town” origin.

The designation “tribal” pertains to rugs created in either a nomadic or village setting, using methods and designs traditional to the specific ethnic group to which the weaver belongs. Most tribal rugs are knotted by either an individual or an entire family employing designs which are usually geometric and abstract.

Working within the guidelines of their particular weaving heritage, the tribal rug-makers spontaneously create details of their own inspiration, as they build their carpets row-by-row. In tribal rugs, individuality is encouraged, as it is an expression of the weaver’s own creativity. Often, the rug-maker will weave a particular repeated pattern throughout the field of the rug, only to alter it dramatically near the end of the piece. Tribal rugs contain numerous hidden mysteries. I lived with one South Persian Afshar rug for almost a year before I noticed a tiny woven gazelle grazing in one corner of the piece.

Many tribal weavers participate in every phase of the rug-making process. They are often the shepherds who shear the wool for their carpets from their own sheep, as well as the dyers who create a stunning array of colors from natural vegetal and mineral sources.

With the advent of modernization in the rug-weaving world, the making of carpets is quickly becoming a vanishing art among the tribal peoples. As a result, almost all old tribal rugs are increasing in value. Today, few tribal groups continue to weave high quality carpets using the old methods.

Traditional “city” rugs are made by groups of weavers in a workshop setting, predominantly in Persia and Turkey. They use primarily floral designs which are linked directly to the famous Persian Court Carpets of the 15th – 17th centuries, as well as to much earlier traditions. City rugs are typified by their tightness of weave and complex, carefully-planned patterns, in contrast to the more stylized and spontaneous designs of the tribal pieces.

In the workshop setting, the weavers are skilled craftsmen who follow a knot-by-knot blueprint provided them by a professional carpet designer. The weavers’ task is to follow this pattern to absolute perfection. The designer, who is often a highly trained master artist, strives to create a rug which in its overall design and color combination will endlessly impress and fascinate the viewer.

Through a rich display of swirls, tendrils, rosettes and arabesques, the artist demonstrates the tremendous dexterity of his craft: the ability to compose a highly creative expression which follows the perfect order of the universe. The careful discipline of a fine artist can be seen in that even the smallest motif of his overall pattern is positioned with exactness to create a definite effect.

Within the seemingly constant movement of a superb city carpet, there exists an infinite depth of stillness and calm. This is the quality which unifies the carpet into a harmonious artistic statement. In short, excellence in city weaving is measured by the rug’s overall sense of balance in its composition and the technical perfection in the execution of its design.

A third subcategory of traditional oriental carpets are those pieces which could be called ”town” rugs. Usually woven in the small workshops of the larger villages in the vicinity of major trading centers, these provide the bridge between the nomadic or village tribal pieces and the city carpets. Town rugs usually employ primarily floral designs that have been reduced to the more rectilinear proportions of the geometric tribal pieces. The weavers often follow blueprints to create their designs and select their colors, but the element of spontaneity is also present. In short, town rugs offer the superb sense of movement and fascinating intricacy of the city carpets coupled with the bold directness of the tribal weavings.

In addition to those still being woven today throughout traditional rug-making areas, a significant number of contemporary rugs come from non-traditional weaving regions, such as India, Pakistan, Bulgaria and Romania. These differ from traditional rugs in that the designs that the weavers use are not part of their cultural heritage.

Many contemporary rugs are faithful reproductions of historically-important and striking motifs, while an increasing number reinterpret traditional designs and color combinations to make them more compatible with modern decorating styles. The designs reproduced in contemporary rugs are almost unlimited. Patterns traditional to the cities of Kashan and Tabriz, the towns of Heriz, Karaja and Meymeh, and the tribal Turkoman, Caucasian and Qashqai are among those incorporated into contemporary rugs.

The quality of contemporary rugs being produced in more recently developed weaving areas has increased dramatically. The finest workshops of regions such as India, Pakistan, the Balkans and Egypt are now employing a level of craftsmanship, quality of wool and clarity of design which rivals that of carpets currently made in traditional weaving regions.

Several types of rugs now being produced are distinctive in their simple beauty, popularity among home decorators and reasonable prices. A revival of the use of traditional village patterns and natural vegetal dyes is now being seen in Turkish rugs woven primarily in the small towns near Ezine and Bergama. These rugs are significant in their bold, clear patterns and their rich shades of blue (from indigo), yellow (from onion skins) and red (from the madder plant), along with undyed white wool.

The Gabbeh is a thick pile rug which uses the simple, irregular geometric patterns of the South Persian nomads. Woven diamonds, stars, crosses and animals adorn the field. Gabbehs, made at present predominantly in Romania, are unusual among oriental rugs in their exclusive use of earth tones, such as tan, beige, rust and sand.

View our previous post, Introduction to Purchasing an Oriental Rug: https://www.claremontrug.com/blog/introduction-to-purchasing-an-oriental-rug/

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This blog article was posted on March 2, 2026.