India, like many other countries, has always used wool as the basic material of the carpet. Other materials commonly used are silk and cotton. Silk carpets are particularly high quality pieces.
In the beginning of the carpet making century, only natural dyes were used to color the wool. Madder, as well as other wild vegetables, was the most important element of this dying process. “Other natural elements used to make dyes are tumeric root (light yellow), pomegranate skins (darker yellow), rhubarb (dark red and copper red), grass or “kusa (green), and kikar tree leaves (brown).
These natural dyes were usually prepared in the carpet maker’s own home” (Ruedin 1984).
Presently, India and most other countries producing rugs, generally use synthetic dyes (Ruedin 1984).
These synthetic dyes come from manufacturers or professional dyers. This is very unfortunate. It is impossible to create carpets that emulate those of yesterday, with the use of synthetic dyes.
Patterns to these knotted Indian carpets are essentially the most important aspect of the carpet itself. For 2,500 years the only patterns that were used were floral, arabesques and rhomboids and animal patterns. Although these patterns are still present today, we do see elements of western influence in some designs. However, what seems to be the pattern to follow in India is the traditional Oriental style (Ruedin 1984).
India’s carpet industry, unlike the past is like any other industry trying to make it in the marketplace. As a result, India has adopted many popular designs that may not be indigenous to India, such as the Chinese patterns as well as Persian designs.
The Term Paper on Introduction to Textile Industry in India
The term 'Textile' is a Latin word originated from the word 'texere' which means 'to weave'. Textile refers to a flexible material comprising of a network of natural or artificial fibers, known as yarn. Textiles are formed by weaving, knitting, crocheting, knotting and pressing fibers together. History of Textile The history of textile is almost as old as that of human civilization and as time ...
“Indian carpet makers have adapted the talim, (a roll of paper marked with a code indicating the number of knots to be woven in their respective colors), as their way to make their products” (Ruedin 1984).
The master weaver will read the colors of the talim outloud and the carpet knotters will follow his directions. The talim is made up of the following colors: green, white, pink, yellow and garnet. The number of knots to be woven is then indicated by the sign next to the color (Ruedin 1984).
Most Indian carpets are unique to the region from which they come from. The five major carpet producing regions in India are: Kashmir, The Punjab, Agra, Jaipir and the region of Benares (Black 1985).
It is very common for Mughal (time period of Indian carpet making), carpets to use animal or jungle patterns. Artists would take their subjects from Mughal miniatures. Alongside real animals are beasts drawn from the Mughal mythology. It was common for these artists to integrate animals and people by using human heads with animal bodies and vise versa (Black 1985).
Their were certain animals that had great significance and were made to be a part of some of the Indian designs. The elephant, which was considered a very strong animal used in many types of work, was an animal used in the designs of certain carpets. Other animals with great significance were horses, serpents, eagles and rabbits (Black 1985).
Flowers and birds are the most popular of all Indian carpet designs. The people of India, as well as people from other countries, will always admire the charm and exotic coloring of the beautiful floral and bird patterns. This all began in the 1620’s when a passion for these flower designs overtook the Mughal court. This is said to have been brought on by a visit from Jahangir to the region of Kashmir. Jahangir had an enormous love for nature. An artist that was visiting with him painted over a hundred flower patterns to make the emperor happy. This style caught on with the people and later became the most popular design of Indian carpets (Black 1985).
The Term Paper on Indian Caste System India Castes British
Caste is defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary as one of the hereditary social classes in Hinduism, which is also a division in society based on wealth, inherited rank, or occupation, and allows little mobility out of the position to which a person is born. The word caste was first used by 16 th century Portuguese traders; it is taken from the Portuguese word casta. Varna, the word for caste, ...
Kashmir, was the region that produced many carpets with portraits of important Indian philosophers. Also, this region was responsible for featuring many gods, (as what they had imagined them to look like).
Their are many different examples of different gods found on Indian carpets. For example, Surya, the sun god of Vedic mythology, is one of the most deeply honored deities of India. Another example would be Laksmi, goddess of beauty, grace, divine benevolence and prosperity. Lamski is also the wife of Vishnu (Black 1985).
Ganesa, the son of Siva (one of the greatest gods of Hinduism) and Paravate, is one of the most ancient deities. He is incarnated in a human body with four arms and the head of an elephant (Black 1985).
It is very hard to say how far back the history of Indian carpet making extends. We are certain that these Indian carpets were being used in the fourteenth century, when a Moroccan named Ibn Battuta, a traveller through India, described these carpets in great detail. However, we have no evidence of these carpets until the Mughal period (Black 1985).
I had the opportunity to go to K.A Pridjian & Co. and speak with the owner. I was able to view all of the carpets in the store, many of Indian descent. However, like I stated earlier in my paper, Indian carpets are not made in the same likeness of yesteryear. Like anything else, carpet making is a business that has much competition in the marketplace. For this reason, carpet makers from India are forced to create patterns and designs that will appeal to the consumer. They need to do this at the lowest cost possible. This means a lesser quality that is not unique to the country or region from which they come from.
Unfortunately, you will not be able to find the quality carpets that were once unique to India so long ago, in any retail environment. The carpets that I photographed were from India; however, were of Persian design due to the high demand of that particular style. The photograph of the white carpet inbetween the two smaller carpets was one of particular interest to me. Like most of the other carpets I saw at the store, this carpet was remarkably beautiful. The floral pattern draws your eyes into the center. The design of the carpet is actually Persian. Persian designs have become more popular and appealing to most consumers, therefore; carpets in India will produce popular foreign designs. The pastel colors used in the carpet are all matching. This gives the carpet more appeal to someone who may be buying it for their home. All of the carpets are extremely thick and heavy. Even the smallest sized carpets were somewhat hard to lift. The threads, however, did not run all the way to the bottom. This shows that the knotting of the carpets does not go all the way through. This is also true for the coloring. The dyes of the carpets were only evident on the top of the carpets. The carpets were very soft and sturdy. They are different from any other kind of carpet I’ve ever seen.
The Term Paper on East Indian Guyana Trinidad Black
Caribbean history comprises of a long and tumultuous colonial past. Guyana and Trinidad both have a rich cultural past, however, it is a history that has been marred by it's own people its adopted natives. Much of both countries' history has been soiled: First by the race issues created by the Europeans then secondly by petty jealousies each race, East Indian and African, had towards each other. ...
I have attached a copy of a typical Indian carpet from the Mughal dynasty during the seventeenth century. The dye of the carpet is a rich Mughal ground red. “This carpet is covered with an overall grille of gold lines with lozenge-shaped openings. Since such golden lattices appear so frequently as a motif on carpets of this provenance, they must have been in evidence as architectural features in the palaces of Agra and Jaipur” (Reudin 1984).
Their is obviously much more detail to the pattern of this carpet alongside the brilliant natural dyes of colors. This carpet, along with the others of its time, used a knotting system unlike anything we use today. This particular carpet uses 593 knots per sq. inch. It also uses elements of silk and wool. These carpets used naturally dyes that were knotted all the way through the entire carpet. Their is no comparison between the quality of the original Indian carpets as opposed to the present day Indian carpets.
I was able to gain most of my information concerning authentic traditional Indian carpets from books and the knowledge given to me by the owner of K.A. Pridjian & Co.
I chose to concentrate on the origin of Indian carpets, the production process and some of the more popular styles made in the past.
Bibliography
Black, David. The Macmillan Atlas of Rugs and Carpets. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1985.
The Term Paper on Indians
Indians The First Nations The Native people (Indians) are the people who were the first inhabitants; they lead traditional way of life. In such a way, the concept of native people consists of two aspects. First of all we speak about indigenous, native-born people who lived at the territory from the very beginning. Americans have their special term that reflects this quality of the native people: ...
Pridjain, Arra. Personal Interview, 2001.
Ruedin, Gans. Indian Carpets. New York: Rizzoli International Publicating Inc., 1984.
Thurndell, George. India. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1994.
