Posts from — February 2009
Oriental Saddle Bag
The present time may be too modern for oriental woven materials, but in many places, they remain classic and forever in style. Aside from the celebrated oriental hand woven rug, saddle bags are still woven by Oriental tribes until today to satisfy your passion towards antique fabrics for your horses and cattle. Choosing the Oriental ones does not mean that you are after the luxurious side because these saddle bags are sturdy enough for heavy modern duties as well.
The hand woven rug is not the only product that the Asian tribes weave in the past, notwithstanding its extreme popularity. Because weaving is part of their culture and tradition, each tribe made it even richer as they incorporate their daily lives to the products that they weave. It means that they have found a variety of uses to the output of their weaving. Initially produced as clothing and house ornaments, such as pillows, rugs, and wall trappings, they have also discovered other uses, particularly in activities outside their homes. The saddle bags, other animal trappings, sacks are among the hand woven products used in their daily activities. This further increased the value of weaving for the ancient tribesmen, as well as many people of today.
Saddle bags are invented when the ancient travelers in history saw the need for a container to hold their belongings during their journeys. Many ancient men travel a lot and some of them are nomadic in nature after all. Most of these tribes use horses and other similar animals as their transportation mode. As travelers, they stumbled upon the versatility of saddle bags. Given the amount of technology during those times, no other resources can produce a container that strong but the hand woven ones. This further proves the flexibility of hand woven materials. If they were not sturdy at all for such a job, they probably would not survive the pages in history. For centuries, the oriental saddle bags make each of the journeys efficient.
There are three main types of saddle bags according to its spot on the horse. One is the Pommel bag that sits at the saddle’s front. Another is the regular saddle bag that is positioned behind this and last, the pannier style that sits on tops of a saddle, but not ridden in. All of these are hand woven with particularity on details and colors.
Eventually, other nations found about the woven materials that are initially exclusive to specific tribes. They greatly commend the tribes for the practical woven materials, especially the oriental saddle bag. Ever since its discovery it has been renowned around the world. Not only they are greatly appreciated for its flexible use, they are also loved because of the design and style unique to the tribes.
Today, the saddle bags have become even more flexible. When horses become inconvenient transportation mode in the cities, they found another place in the motorcycles and bicycles. Although modern saddle bags have already proliferated in the market, the oriental ones are still remembered for its style and comfort.
February 24, 2009 No Comments
Highlight your Classy Home with the Mushvani Rug
If you like darker colored rugs with the elegant hues of red and burgundy, then the Mushvani rug is for you. They contain the complicated designs common in many tribes. These designs are considered oriental enough for those who prefer classier ornaments in their homes. In addition, they make good antiques for those who enjoy collecting such artifacts.
The Mushvani rug is originally created by the Mushvani tribe, which is a part of the Baluch tribe. Like the bigger tribe in which they belong to, this tribe is also nomadic in nature. There is a variation of woven materials made by this tribe and it is the Afghan Mushvani, which significantly parallels the Mushvani rug. They share the same name mainly because of the close similarities in terms of the pattern designs and the darker colors used. The difference lies in the origin of the woven fabrics. The Afghan rug is first made in Afghanistan, but these two rugs share the same characteristics essentially.
The Mushvani rug is woven using a compound weave method. It means that a flat weave (significantly used in the Baluch Kilim) and the usual pile weave are used in order to incorporate more complicated patterns. As a result, diagonal and zigzag designs with similar dark colors on patterns around them are evident in each rug. Moreover, each rug is made of vegetable dyed yarn, instead of the usual dyed wool. They are also stitched by hand so that each Mushvani rug is made extra special by the tribesmen.
Originally, the mushvani rug and other similar products serve them various practical uses in their daily lives. This is one eminent reason why the fabric is part of their culture and tradition. Likewise, this means that the tribe has perfected the method of producing mushvani fabrics used for the different kinds of materials. Eventually, other tribes in different locations worldwide become enticed with the masterpiece. At present, the mushvani rugs are considered classic ornaments with an antique edge. Many people around the world search for the old rugs that they believe to be valuable.
Makers of the Mushvani Rug ensure that they produce a unique product. This is only a natural procedure among the weavers because weaving is more of a tradition to them rather than a business. In addition, the tribesmen are proud to have a livelihood where their culture is incorporated and propagated among antique lovers world wide. Since the Mushvani rugs are rare and special, many antique collectors opt for such a product.
Moreover, it is the striking characteristic of oriental rugs to be unique. Sellers of these tribal products are proud to bring you one of a kind rug straight from the tribesmen. Each Mushvari rug is unique because each weaver incorporates his or her own emotions and artistry when they craft each rug.
The history, the method of weaving, the materials, and the uniqueness are the main reasons why the Mushvani rugs are valuable to people who love rarity. I order to complete the antique feel of your interior, pair these rugs with classic hues and ornaments in your home.
February 24, 2009 No Comments
What is an oriental rug?
What is an oriental rug, for someone who has never bought an oriental rug before it can cause some confusion but it simply means a rug manufactured in the orient - this could mean a rug machine made could be called ab oriental rug, in practice however the term is normally used to describe hand woven rugs or hand knotted in the traditional way from such areas as Persia, turkey, china India, Afghanistan the Caucasus Baluchistan and other areas.
February 19, 2009 No Comments
Persian Rugs
Persian rugs and carpets, with their intricate designs, beautiful use of colors are an artistic marvel, an art piece which gets better and more valuable with time. Though Oriental carpets have long been considered fascinating by the western world, Persian carpets are truly a prized possession. Genuine Persian carpets are hand made in Iran and use all natural materials like wool and silk and never a synthetic fiber. Every carpet is unique in its own way. In fact no two carpets from the same region or the same weaver will look alike!
Basically, the carpets are of three types; Farsh which is bigger than 6’x4’; Qalicheh or Rug which is lesser than 6’x4’, and Kilim, which are rough quality utility carpets used by tribesmen. The history of Persian carpets dates back to more than 25000 years ago. Originally, these carpets started as doormats but gradually it gained recognition and soon it found its place in the palaces and homes of Kings and other noblemen. Along the years the styles of carpets from Persia underwent a lot of change; there were Turkish and Islamic influences also.
Persian rugs or carpets, since, they are hand woven, are very valuable. The time taken to complete a carpet may vary and it may take few days for Persian rugs and many months for a large size, intricately designed carpet. For some people, they are the most treasured possession and a true connoisseur loves to collect Persian rugs. Most of the people in Iran are involved in carpet weaving and many rugs are named after the names of the cities of their origin like Tabriz, Mashad, Isfahan, Qom, and Heart.
Typically, Persian rugs are made of natural wool and silk. Sheep wool is commonly used but goat wool, camel wool is also used for these carpets. Lamb wool, which is much finer than sheep wool, too is used for carpets. The most luxurious and expensive Persian rugs are the ones which use Silk. Either the silk is added to the wool or the whole carpet is fully made of silk. Many of you would be surprised to know that silk is a very durable fiber and silk carpets can also last as long as the wool ones provided they are taken care of. The foundation or the base of the rug is commonly made of cotton but sometimes silk is used for silk carpets which takes the cost even higher.
A Persian rug design is very distinct. The Islamic influence brought the geometric pattern to the Persian rugs. Many carpets have animals, birds and other natural scenes depicted on them. Tree of life, centre point medallion and garden of paradise are few of the designs which are commonly found in Persian rugs and carpets. The color red is extensively used in carpets and so is the blue color, specifically called Indigo. A good quality Persian carpet can be distinguished by its KPSI (knots per square inch) count. The higher is the number of count, the better the quality of the Persian rug. Also, the type of knot is the basic difference between the Turkish and Persian carpets, with Turkish ones using two knots and Persian rugs have only a single knot. If one can evaluate a good quality Persian rug, then it is a very wise investment. These days many machine made rugs are passed off as Persian rugs to ignorant buyers.
February 18, 2009 No Comments
What is an Oriental Rug?
The term ‘oriental rug‘ can be a source of some confusion to those unfamiliar with the subject. It literally means a rug manufactured in the Orient, and could legitimately be applied to any rug of oriental origin, regardless of its appearance or hot i was made. In practice, however, the term is normally used only to describe hang-made rugs produced by traditional methods in the ancient weaving regions of persia (iran), Antolia (Turkey), Afghanistan, the Caucasus, Baluchistan, Turkestan, China, India, Pakistan, he Balkans and parts of North Africa.
This vast area - stretching from China to the Balkans and from India to the northern tip of the Caspian sea - is inhabited by peoples of infinitely diverse cultural, religious and ethnic origins, whose only common feature (apart from occupying territories along the old silk route to the east) seems to be their desire and ability to elevate rug-making from a functional craft o an expressive and deeply satisfying form of art.
It can be difficult for Westerners to appreciate the importance of weaving in the East. Among many nomadic tribal peoples it was often the only medium of creative release, and even in the more sophisticated cultures of Persia, China and Ottoman Turkey, weavings has always ranked alongside painting, architecture , sculpture and ceramics as a valid and celebrated visual art. A master weaver in Persia or Anatolia was held in the same esteem as we hold Rembrandt or Vermeer, and even today there are some textile artists whose reputation and status are equivalent to whose of an contemporary artist in the west.
Much of this veneration is due to the fact that rugs, in addition to there aesthetic value, have long been a integral part of the religious experience of the Islamic world. Every good Muslim has his own special prayer rug, and Islamic religious symbolism is at the root of many of the most universal rug designs. It is for this reason that many experts prefer th expression ‘Islamic textile art’ when describing oriental rugs, despite the fact that many of the items covered by this description will certainly have been woven by non-Muslims and possess no trace of Islamic symbolism in their compositions. Nor does this expression take into account the element of Buddhist, Taoist, Hindu and even Christian imagery found at the heart of many rug designs.
It is quite probable that religious symbolism was once exclusive to each particular faith. But centuries of migration, conquest occupation, intermarriage, trade and cultural exchange - not to mention the tendency of artists to copy or reinterpret the most successful facets of other artists-work have been eroded much of this exclusivity. Today it is quite normal, and acceptable, for non-Muslims to weave prayer rugs purely for their schemes. This interchange of visual ideas permeates every facet of the weavers’s art and is one of the prime reasons why all oriental rugs, regardless of their compositional differences, oissess an underlying character that sets them apart from hand made rugs produced in other areas of the world.
By virtue of being hand-made, all oriental rugs can be said to be unique - a weaver, no matter how hard he or she tried to follow particular design, will invariably make small mistakes or innovations which will impart some individual flavour to the work but it is rare to encounter a rug in which the weaver gas consciously striven to express his own creative ideas at the expense of a traditional design.
New designs have of course evolved over the centuries, and will no doubt continue to do so, but the western passion for artistic freedom, novelty and personal expression is not shared by the textile artists of the East. It is perhaps because they are both unique and at the same time a faithful continuation of ancestral traditions that oriental rugs are objects of allure and fascination for the West.
In addition to their underlying similarities of character and appearance, oriental rugs are also defined by the manner in which they are made. They may be either ‘hand-woven’ or ‘hand-knotted’. The former are generally referred to as Kelims or Flatweaves, and are normally cheaper and less frequently encountered of the two types, or simply as rugs, and are generally regarded as the most important aesthetically satisfying manifestations of the oriental rug-maker’s art. They are usually very well made, and although there are always some relatively shoddy examples on the market, the vast majority and extremely durable; provided they are treated with a reasonable degree of care, they will last for many years. Evidence of this can be seen in the surprising number of items surviving from the late 19th and easily 20th centuries, which one could be forgiven for thinking where only a few decades old.
In summary, we can say that an oriental rug, in order to be truly authentic within the generally accepted meaning of the term, must be either hand-knotted or hand-woven, originate from one of the traditional weaving regions and also follow certain ancestral patterns of composition and design.
February 15, 2009 1 Comment