Posts from — March 2009

If you like to decorate your house with oriental and classic ornaments, make sure that you have incorporated the whole interior with a specific design. The display of antiques should likewise be paired with peripheral ornaments in order to achieve the classic edge in your living room. You can place antique rugs, oriental cushions, and seat or sofa covers that display classic features that go with the whole theme. For antique collectors, there are cushions that are aged to achieve a unique antique quality. These are the semi-antique oriental cushions made by the tribes of Central Asia.

The tribe of Central Asia feature ethnic groups with rich culture and traditions. Most of them inhibit the mountains and are secured in their own surroundings. This is the reason why they are free from domination by any other neighboring tribes. Likewise, their culture stays intact and rich. Everything that they use and produce purely reflect their culture and expertise. Over the centuries, they have learned how to use the resources around them to survive and enrich their lives. This includes weaving essential clothing materials and other useful materials, such as oriental cushions. With no intention to mass produce these products in order to preserve their ingenuity, people opt for such products. In this sense, they become even more valuable in the eyes of these people.

One set of oriental cushion is composed of 4 unique pillows with matching designs. They are certified hand made and authentic. With their classic edge, they have the ability to turn any room into a stunning antique setting. Of course, the oriental cushions have to go with the whole decorations in order to achieve such an interior motif.

The oriental cushions live by its name. They are originally oriental in its every aspect, including the design and materials. The materials used are natural vegetable and tree dyes that make wool fabric. The method of weaving may vary in order to create different woven materials for various purposes. For the oriental cushion, they ensure that the fabric crafted and used is softer than most woven cloths. For materials such as animal trappings and carpet rugs, they weave harder ones. All of these are sturdy and strong because they are meant to be used in daily activities. Moreover, since they are made by tribes located in most mountainous parts of Central Asia, the designs used showcase the traditions.

Originally, the oriental cushions and other similar woven products are created by the tribes with intended practical uses. These are materials used in their everyday lives and are part of their traditions. They weave useful materials such as rugs, pillows, sack, and animal trappings. Since they remain part of the culture as useful materials and a source of their livelihood, they become valuable to a number of antique enthusiasts. In addition, they are not mass produced, which preserves the value of the rare hand woven products. These products, such as the oriental cushions are perfect for those who want to achieve uniqueness in their home furnishing.

Weaving Kilim rugs is believed to have started thousands of years ago because of their existence in ancient Egyptian tombs. They are originally made by different tribes that practices weaving for their survival on places with cold weather. Kilim rugs are flat-weave rugs that are known to be the ancient relatives of carpets, which are commonly used in homes today.

Kilims show the creativity of our ancestors through the designs and patterns woven. The designs and patterns on those rugs symbolize different things that are present in their environment. The colors, patterns and designs of modern Kilims are still based on the antique Kilim rugs. Those symbols are believed to be used by our ancestors in Atlas Mountains, the Navajo Indians, Indians of the Andes, and Afghan nomads.

The colors of kilim rugs have different meanings. Yellow stands for pomegranate peel, vine leaves, and weld while brown represents walnut shells and bark of oak tree. Green color is a combination of indigo and weld while black is for walnuts Larkspur. Henna is for flowers and leaves and Purple represents hollyhocks.

The designs of Kilims, on the other hand, usually have hidden meanings rooted on the mythology, beliefs and legends during ancient times. Variations on the symbols used in weaving the Kilim rugs are based on the region where the kilims are woven. Most common motifs of kilims are eye, ram’s horn, wheatear, pomegranate, bird, tree of life, spider, snake and diamond-shaped motifs. The eye motif symbolizes charm and is used to prevent misfortune due to the envious and malicious eyes of the people who gaze with evil purpose. These types of kilim rugs are found in African and Asian countries. These rugs are believed to protect the people living in the house where these rugs are used.

The rams’ horn motifs are used as design in Kilim rugs to symbolize power because in ancient Anatolian civilizations, the horns of rams are believed to be the source of power of gods. The wheatear motif and the pomegranate motif, on the other hand, are used to attract or add prosperity in a home. The wheatear symbolizes fertility of earth while the pomegranate is the fruit, which has plenty of seeds representing wealth. The bird motif are believed to attract good news from far away and is typically used by people who have relatives or loved ones who are far from them.

The tree of life motif used in Kilim rugs designs represents the relationship between the spiritual world and the mortal life while the spider motif represents the magnificent ability of Arachne as a weaver. The spider motif however is related to the tree of life motif because the snake is believed to be the protector of the tree of life. It symbolizes life energy and rebirth. Lastly, the diamond-shaped motif that is very important to women during the ancient times symbolizes maternity. Women weaving this type of kilim rugs are wishing to bear a child soon.

With those magnificent symbols and patterns and the symbols or meanings associated with them, Kilim rugs are becoming popular as home décor bringing protection, prosperity and luck to the members living in the home.

If you opt for a more shaggy rag that is authentic and classic looking at the same time, choose the Kirghiz Rug. The overall design provides an edge of messiness because of the shaggy details, which are preferred by people who want variations in their antique rugs. This makes the Kirghiz rug even more perfect for any home interior with the classic theme or those modern homes with a touch of antiqueness.

The Kirghiz tribes, originating from the Paleo-Siberian ethnicity, were originally inhabitants of west Lake Baikal but were banished by the Uighurs and the Mongols in the area during the medieval times. This turned them into nomads traveling the Silk Road over the tribe’s lifetime until they found permanent home in the lowlands of Pamir.

Among their livelihoods is weaving. With the enticing designs that they produce, many people in the neighboring areas and beyond source rugs from them. They are especially proficient in making woven wools for a variety of purposes, such as the famous Kirghiz rug, pillows, saddle bags, and other types of products where their fabrics can be used. They are also efficient in making reed screens as well. On the other hand, they are proud to keep the production of the rugs at a low level. Their condition as ancient tribes allows them to stay isolated from corrupted influences in commercializing their rugs. This implies that each Kirghiz rug that they produce is special and laden with their own traditions.

The Kirghiz rug is oriental in nature because of the culture of its makers. Likewise, it is produced with their traditions in mind. For the materials, they use colorful vegetable dyed wool that is exceptionally found in the Kirghiz tribe. Even it is popular enough to be mass produced, each individual still devote ample amount of time in weaving the rugs. Surprisingly, even if the Kirghiz rugs are hand woven, their skills allows them to produce many rugs at the same time.

Like all the other Oriental rugs, each Kirghiz rug is hand woven by an individual whose artistic characteristics are shown on the patterns of the rug. This implies that each design is unique and has the ability serve different kinds of tastes. This feature is not enforced among the nomads. Rather, it is a characteristic of the Kirghiz rug to be produced distinctively as a result of individual emotions. This makes the rug truly cultural and valuable for us.

In addition, each Kirghiz rug is hand woven with the goal of making it fit for practical uses. They are robustly woven because the rug is initially made in order to serve many types of tribal needs. Either as a pillow or sack, the Kirghiz rug is truly a part of their culture. This means that the rugs produced are very sturdy so that they can be used effectively. For those who buy it as home decors, its sturdiness allows the rugs to be considered as antiques in its lifetime as well.