Rug Descriptions

When you come to look at rugs in our Huntsville showroom we know you will hear many terms and designs discussed. This glossary serves as a resource for you in your journey to find the perfect rug for you home. Please feel free to contact our rug expert Rick Perkins for any questions you may have. 

Rug Designs

Contemporary
These rugs, with patterns less than 25 years old, are marked by a strong Western European influence. They may reflect geometric styling. Modern florals may also be found, as well as abstract art styles or patterns. Colors can be very simple, as in black-on-white, or bold, such as with vivid primary colors.

Heriz
The small town of Heriz is the center of the weaving areas in Azerbaijan and is one of the most important Persian provenances. Because of the ease of transportation, Heriz carpets are of better quality than those from the mountain villages, which are less accessible. The typical Heriz red and a highly individual medallion are main characteristics. Antique examples, in various blue tones, can be found in trade and at auctions. Brown, beige, and turquoise shades indicate older pieces. Rare Heriz silk carpets have exceptionally fine knots. The designs of older Heriz rugs differ radically from those of new pieces.

Kashan
Kashan, in Iran, produces velvet, silks and carpets as well as interesting ceramics and metalwork. The huge bazaar and its side stalls are dominated by the carpets woven on the 15,000 looms in the Kashan area, which produce some 100 pieces every day.

Khorasan
Many of the rugs of Khorasan, particularly those of the Baluch and related tribes, are influenced by the designs and ornaments of the Turkoman tribes. These tribes led a nomadic and semi-nomadic existence in Khorasan, as well as to the north and to the east, in Afghanistan. The rugs of southern Khorasan, in the area bordering Baluchistan, are mainly attributable to the Baluchi.

Saruq
The best and most beautiful Saruqs come from Arak. Not only the name but also the town of Saruq, approximately 50 km north of Arak, has great significance for the carpet market. After a brief period during which the quality dropped, exceptional carpets are being exported all over the world, especially to Europe and America. The importance of Saruq as a carpet center developed during the 19th century. There is no information about carpet weaving in the town in earlier periods.

Tabriz
Tabriz, capital of the northwestern Iranian province of Azerbaijan, has for centuries enjoyed a reputation as a center of Oriental rug culture. Settled near the Sahand volcano, Tabriz was protected by many of the natural disasters common to the region. It was ruled at various times by Genghis Khan, Timur, and Shah Ishmail I, who began the legendary Safavid weaving dynasty (1501-1736 ACE). Shah Abbas the Great (1586-1628) cultivated the art to its most beautiful and most exacting during what is known as the "golden age of rugmaking." The early 18th century saw the end of the Safavid Empire and the beginning of the decline of the town.

Transitional
This general styling takes traditional designs and uses updated colors and motifs to provide a more modern feel. This category may include those style which do not readily fit into any other.

General Rug Terms

Antique-- a rug more than 100 years old. 

Antique Wash-- The application of a chemical wash to soften the colors of a rug to make it appear older. 

Beating up, down, or in-- The process by which a weft or wefts are pushed down tightly against a preceding row of knots, using a large wood or metal tool that looks like multi-tined fork known as a "beater". 

Binding-- An edge or selvage treatment in which the edge warps are wrapped with yarn or other materials to strengthen the rug. 

Bottom-- The end of the rug toward which the knot ends are tied, as well as the portion of the rug where the weaving begins. 

Border-- A design around the perimeter of the rug enclosing the field. 

Cartouche-- An enclosed area in the field or border of a rug containing an inscription of other design elements. 

Carding-- The process of brushing out, cleaning, and intermixing fibers with a pair of "cards", which are paddle-like brushes set with angled, bent wire. 

Carpet-- Any fabric floor covering. Some people make a distinction between rugs and carpets, which (according to the distinction) are larger than 6' by 9' or sometimes 8' by 10'.

Field-- A portion of the rug enclosed by a border or the major portion of a rug without borders. 

Flat Weave-- A fabric created by the interweaving of horizontal threads (weft) with vertical (warp) threads in any one of a variety of interlocking techniques. 

Knots-- The knots most commonly used to loop pile yarns around the warps are the symmetrical Turkish knot, also known as Ghiordes, and the asymmetrical Persian, or Senneh, knot. 

Kurt-- The finest grade of wool.

Old-- Refers to a rug that is between 50-99 years old; sometimes referred to as "semi-antique". 

Overcasting-- A treatment of rug selvages, consisting of a yarn that wraps or interweaved with edge warps in order to reinforce them. 

Pile-- The cut that ends of supplementary yarns anchored in fabric, usually by knots. 

Ply,Plied-- Two or more single yarns spun or twisted together to make a ply or plied yarn.

Skirt-- Band of plain weave, exceeding approximately 3 inches, on the ends of some types of rugs (they may be of single color, striped, or otherwise decorated with either pile or flat-woven motifs).