A_Guide

ALEX J. BABAIAN, C.R.A.
ORIENTAL RUG RETAILERS OF AMERICA
CERTIFIED APPRAISER

A Brief History of Persian Rugs

Not unlike the pyramids of Egypt, Persian rugs date back as early as the 5th century B.C., but because of their fragility,
they have not survived the centuries like other artifacts of metal and stone. However, early writings from the Bible, the
works of Homer and many later historians, suggest that this fine art form dates back almost four thousand years.
In the 15th century, Persian court rugs underwent a significant change of style and fashion. Erdmann referred to this
as a “capital revolution in design”. Hence the birth of floral designs and the abandonment of geometric designs and the
endless repeat patterns. A look at the geography of the Middle East, once known as Persia, gives us a clearer
indication of the historical development and main distribution centers of Persian rugs. Persian rugs are in fact named
after the cities, villages and tribes that are still found to this day.
Today, the art of Persian rug weaving has become an undying tradition and is still indicative of the ancient cultures that
created these masterpieces in centuries past.

China, India, Pakistan; all countries have their own unique method of calculating quality. With all countries grading by
the metric system, they must convert to inches for Americans. We, the buying public, generally consider carpet quality
by knots per square inch. This is a major cause of our confusion when considering one country’s carpet to another.
     You see, not all knots are tied the same. One must consider the type of knot as asymmetrical, symmetrical and Jufti
or cheater knots. These knots can be tied and with much beating to achieve a warp offset which reveals only half the
knot. A weaver can also wrap the yarn around as many as four warps (Jufti) to give the appearance of a finely tied
carpet but with a handle that of a blanket.
     Then there is open back verses closed back. Open back shows the weft threads and if a cotton warp and weft are
used, one can see the white weft shots between rows of knots rendering the carpet with a loose handle. Open back is
most often the result of several passes of weft, usually 3 or 4. Weft passes can be as many as 8 independent passes
with the norm being 2. One large, referred to as cord and one small, almost the size of heavy household sewing thread
While closed back shows no other color than the color of the knots in their selected design and provides a stiff handle
with very good body.
     Most frustrating is the fact that any one country can have several qualities and systems in place. This means that
from one end of a country like India, you would not recognize the other areas that have the same quality. The answer is
simple. Let your eyes tell you what they like. Being weavers, we all know that some of us are more agile than others,
some are better weavers, some are better dyers. The manufacturers also acknowledge this and as we turn over a
carpet to examine the fine knotting, they have realized we only look at the corners while ignoring the center. Yes, they
put the better weavers on the outside and novices toward the middle.
     Keep in mind this open back, closed back quality when counting knots from the back of a hand woven carpet.
Please do not let yourself grade a carpet by these insights alone. Rather, I would want one to realize the beauty of a
carpet they admire, not to be downgraded in their mind for lack of what some would call a lesser grade. My preference
is to let your eyes see what is working for you, especially when compared to like pieces of the same quality from the
same country.
China/ Tibet
     Chinese and Tibetan carpets are all graded by line count, the number of knots in one foot of weft or width. So, a
100 line carpet has 100 knots tied in one foot of its width. The Tibetans are the only weavers to use the rod method;
that is, they tie their knots around a metal rod held to the face of the warp. The yarn is manipulated in loop segments,

that is forward over two warps and backward under two warps over the gauge rod and repeat forward over two etc,.
When an area proves unmanageable, the rod is removed by skiveing the top of the rod with a sharp knife thus
producing a knot that looks like Swede.

Tibetan Rod Weaving Technique
Employing a guage rod to determine
pile height and line count.

The Chinese will bundle silk with as many as 30 ends or ply of varying colors to produce one knot, which they consider
30 knots. Mind you there is a definite technique involved that requires a skilled hand but it remains a single knot. This
Chinese skill in blending yarns is truly an art form to be admired. The result of which would mean that a 30 knot 100 line
weave of silk, now becomes a 300 knot per inch piece. With silk, one must remember that not all silk is the silk we
imagine coming from the silk worm. Today one can be deceived by either the mercerized form of cotton known as floss
or synthetic rayon called art silk. If you are unfamiliar with these, it is wise to employ a burn test. Please do not employ
the burn test unless you first can test materials proven to be silk, rayon or cotton in a controlled situation where you are
sure to understand the results.

Consider the chart below when comparing line count to other countries quality standards.

Pakistan, Turkey, Rumania

These countries all employ the metric system and convert to the inch for the U.S. market only. We must again
remember to keep in mind the open and closed construction when examining the back to determine knot density. For
instance a Turkish Hereke quality should be closed back and display warp offset. This means that the knots have been
beaten very tightly and warp threads that were parallel are forced to a position of one high and the other low. This can
be seen by examing the carpet ends where the warps form fringe. This is similar to what a weaver would experience
with a tightly woven weft faced weave.

One inch x One inch = Knots per square in

Iran

     Iranian weavers base their knot count on the Raj which equals seven centimeters (cm). For U.S.
interpretation, here are some formulas to compare against Chinese production:

                             Raj      = 7 cm
                             1 cm = 0.3937 in
                             7 cm = 2.7559 in or 2 3/4 inch
                             Line    = (Raj /2.7559) X 12

Please note: In the Kerman quality, specifications are called Joft. Joft is two times Raj, based on warps, not knots. So
a Kerman Joft 80/40 means 80 knots in width and 40 knots in length. Also Raj = Gireh, another way of saying knots.
These measures do not apply to the nomadic type weavings of say the Kemsha, Quashqui and all similar tribal
weavings to name but a few. In Meshed, the Moghad is counted in relation to the fineness of each carpet or how many
Moghads fill a square meter. A Moghad is roughly 12,000 knots per square foot and all weavers of Meshed are paid by
the Moghad.

Village or cottage weavers are paid by the piece. This is very common in Turkey and Iran. Weavers are given warp
material, primarily cotton, plus wool dyed and undyed. This is all taken home and they weave between their chores. As
qualities tend to be rather loose or of the open back nature, they are graded by size.

Common Size Names

     When considering the above table, one can see a “Hamadon Mossul” is a carpet 3.3 x 6.6 (or close give or take a
few inches) that has been traded to an importer from the Iranian town of Hamadon, Iran. Or a Yastik is merely a mat 2 x
3 from Turkey.

Age Status

     NEW current date to 20 years,                      OLD 20 years to 50 years,
     SEMI-ANTIQUE 50 years to 100 years,     ANTIQUE 100 years plus.

Babaian Rug Company
Since 1910

info@babaianrug.com
480-677-0059