How does one approach an expression of art and culture that is so different from one's own? In the absence of Western standards and aesthetic categories, how can one formulate judgements about Oriental rugs? In examining a painting, for example, we are aided by the traditional Western concepts of space, perspective, and proportion, etc., and we usually know something about the artist or at least about the particular artistic period of the work. A rug does not fit such criteria and, except for a few cases, is absolutely anonymous, precisely because from the beginning carpets were conceived as living things made to be used and not simply to be displayed and admired.

The first thing one must recognize when examining Oriental rugs is that rug decoration is based on two concrete elements: design and color. The design may be more or less elementary or complex, the color more or less uniform or varied, but it is the relationship between design and color that determines the style - the character or spirit - of the carpet.

The compositional designs and decorative motifs of Oriental rugs have remained the same over the centuries, but the ways of interpreting and connecting them as well as the colors employed have given life to many diverse styles according to period and geographical area. At least four basic characteristics can be established. These are tied to the four major types of production center: the context of the nomadic tribe, the small village workshop, and finally the great court atelier. The character of carpets has changed from time to time according to whether the carpets were made for commercial purposes and to the decorative traditions of where they were made, but also according to the type of loom used (horizontal or vertical), the nature of the material employed, and the kind of knot used.

In general, Oriental rugs made by nomadic tribes are naive, based on simple geometric forms and few contrasting colors; those from village workshops are somewhat more elaborate, based on abstract or stylized geometric designs, and their colors are more varied; those from city workshops are complex or refined and employ many different geometric, stylized, or floral designs, with the use of many colors always matched harmoniously; and those from ateliers are extremely sumptuous and sophisticated, with the use of highly complex, geometric, and above all curvilinear designs and with greatly varied colors harmoniously matched.

Best-Priced Oriental Rugs

The style of Oriental rugs is determined by the concrete relationship between design and color, but that relationship is decisively affected by the environment in which the carpet was produced, for the cultural traditions and techniques employed in an environment established, according to the period, the designs and colors. To approach a carpet correctly involves taking every component into consideration: function, style, decoration, the context in which the carpet was made, and also its origins, history, and technique.

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