Silk

The larva of the silk butterfly, Bombyx mori, from the family Bombycidae, which feeds on mulberries.

Silk has been produced in China for thousands of years through secret processes, but when silkworms were smuggled out of the country, it was produced in countries like Iran in the provinces of Gilan and Mazandaran near the Caspians Sea, and in Turkey.

Balls of silk, an element of a future carpet?

Silk, is composed of textile fibres from cocoons mainly from the silk butterfly. The cocoons consists of rawsilk, which mainly are a fibre material, fibroin , and the surrounding sericin that binds it together. If you remove the sericin you get boiled silk. The most important silk, the mulberry silk, is gathered from the silkworm which feeds on mulberry leaves.

A perfect example of an exclusive and very beautiful, handmade Ghom Silk carpet.

Silk is used both in the warp, weft and pile in finer, smaller carpets from Isfahan, Ghom, Nain and in some Keshans and also in Turkish made Hereke. Some carpets have the warp of silk and pile of wool where some details of the pattern are made of silk.

Nowadays carpets are also made of artificial silk, mainly in China and in India. These carpets look at first glance, like real silkcarpets but their durability and their lasting value is worse. One must pay attention to this, because sometimes these carpets are sold as genuine silk carpets.

An ocean of silk larvas.
Silkworms, on their way of becoming cocoons.
Mulberry leafs, an excellent dinner.

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