Carpet glossary: A-C

Abadeh carpet, hand knotted Persian carpets from the village of Abadeh which lies between Isfahan and Shiraz in Iran.

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Abrash

Abrash, a Turkish word meaning partly coloured. It shows as a kind of variation in colours within the same colour nuance in the pile on Oriental nomadic carpets.

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Achty carpet, a different name for Daghestan carpets.

Afghani carpets, handmade carpets from Afghanistan (Khal Mohammadi). These carpets are often made by the Turkomans in the northern and north-eastern parts of the country. The carpets have a warp made of wool, with elements of wool or cotton and red as the dominating colour. They are usually knotted with rough yarns and decorated with the eight-shaped Gül patterns. Older Afghan carpets are often sold as Ersari carpets.

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Afshar carpets, also called Kerman-Afshar carpets . These carpets are handmade by semi-nomadic Afshars in the region of Kerman in south-eastern Iran.

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Agra carpets, hand-made carpets from Agra in India. Two of the worlds largest carpets originate from this area. One of them is located at Windsor Castle in England and measures 10.25x21.50 metres and the other one can be found in a hotel in Agra and measures 12.25x39 metres!

Ak-Hissar carpets, handmade Anatolian carpet with geometrical patterns. Manufactured north-east of Izmir, in Anatolia.

Akhty carpets, handmade carpets from the city of Akhty in northern Caucasia.

Akstafa carpets, handmade carpets from Caucasia. These carpets are made with a Turkish knot and have a high knot density and usually with a rectangular shape.

Alizarin dyes, synthetic colours which are sometimes used when dying yarn for carpets.

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Amoghli, Emoghli, the name of an Iranian master weaver of Oriental carpets. He was active in the city of Mashad between 1900 and 1920. Amoghli often signed his carpets, which were knotted with high-class wool and had a high knot density with a very fine pattern. Often comes with 3-5 cm wide blue woven borders on the long sides.

Amritsar carpets, Indo carpets from Amritsar in Punjab. It is solid utility goods which are made in the modern days and not considered as interesting as a piece of art.

Anatolian carpets, name of handmade carpets from Turkey. Known famous Anatolian carpets are the "Smyrna" and the "Sparta" carpets.

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Aniline dyes, synthetic colours sometimes used to dye yarns for carpet manufacturing.

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Arak carpets, handmade carpets made in the city of Arak (formerly Sultanabad ) which lies in the province of Hamadan in western Iran. To the family of Arak carpets the following are counted: Ferahan, Mahal and Ziegler carpets. Even though these carpets are manufactured in Hamadan they are not included in the group of Hamadan carpets.

Ardabil Carpet, Ardebil carpet , the worlds most famous Persian carpet.

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Ardakan carpets, handmade carpets from the north-western parts of the province Yazd in Iran. These carpets are similar to Keshan carpets , in both patterns and colours.

Ardalan carpets, a newer handmade carpet from the district of Hamadan, Iran.

Ardebil carpets, handmade carpets from northern Iran, near the border of Caucasus and the Caspian Sea.

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Armanibaff, Armenian made carpet. It is knotted with a Turkish knot (symmetrical knot/Ghiordes ) in rather dark colours. The pattern for the carpet consists of geometrical or Mir-e butha motif. The carpets resemble the Loristan and Bakthiari carpets .

Armenian carpets, handmade carpets manufactured in Armenia, for example Karabach, some Kazak and Jerevan carpets. The old dragon carpets are also Armenian, as well as the famous Marby Carpet and the Berlin Carpet .

Arraiolos carpets, embroided carpets manufactured in the Portuguese town Arraiolos in the province of Alentejo. The older carpets are probably from the 17th century and inspired by Persian carpets.

Asadabad carpets, handmade carpets from the district of Hamadan in Iran.

Ashkali, the name of a carpet pattern sometimes found on old Ghashghai carpets but seldom on newer carpets. The pattern consists of two eight-shapes (octagons) inside each other, of which the innermost are closely decorated with hooks.

Asymmetrical knot, a different name for the Persian knot and the Senneh knot.

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Aubusson carpets, carpets woven in the cities of Aubusson and Felletin in central France.

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Axminster carpets, Turkish style carpets made in the city of Axminster, England.

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Azerbaijan carpets, handmade carpets manufactured partly in south-eastern Caucasus, in Azerbaijan, and partly in the adjacent Iranian province Azarbaijan. The carpets from Caucasus are often named Akstafa, Chila, Lenkoran, Mugan, Sjirvan or Talysj carpets. The carpets from Azarbaijan are named Heriz, Karaje, Sarab and Tabriz carpets.

Bahawalpur carpets, handmade from the city and province with the same name in Pakistan.

Bakhshaish carpets, manufactured in a district stretching from the Lake Urmia to Heriz, Iran.

Bakhtiari carpets, also called Bachtiari or Bakthiyar carpets. Handmade carpets made by the Bakhtiari nomads in south-western Iran.

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Baku carpets, carpets made in and around the famous Caucasian oil city Baku. The curvilinear flame pattern, called Mir-e butha , is one of the most common patterns in Oriental carpets. In the old carpets the warp consists of wool, the weft of cotton and they are usually knotted with 100.000-150.000 knots per square metre.

Balkan carpets, handmade carpets mainly from Romania, Greece, Bulgary and former Yugoslavia. The pattern in these carpets are borrowed from Persian, Turkish and Caucasian carpets and they are made of a fine wool quality. Synthetic colours are used which are not so clear and visible as in the Persian carpets for example.

Baluchi carpets, a different name for Beluch carpets.

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Bannu carpets, handmade carpets from Bannu, southwest of Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

Baotou carpets, small handmade carpets (about 1 sqm), manufactured in and around Baotou in China. The carpets are characterized mainly by landscape and symbol motifs in different blue nuances as the dominating colour.

Basjir carpets, also called Besjir, Beshir carpets . Handmade carpets made by Turkoman Beshir nomads around the village of Basjir in Turkmenia. The carpets are made entirely of wool with red, blue, beige as main colours, but also elements of yellow occur. They are Orientally designed with Gül patterns but can also be found with Chinese cloud motifs. Warp and weft consists of wool, the pile is of average length and they are knotted with Persian knots, some presence of Turkish knots.

Bathroom carpet, a carpet mainly intended for the bathroom to stand on after showering/bathing. Feel free to use a handmade carpet, but remember to let it dry thorouhgly afterwards.

Beijing carpets, handmade carpets manufactured in Beijing (Peking), China, and its surroundings since the late 19th century. Older Beijing carpets often have traditional dragon, medallion and symbol motifs. The carpets that are newly made have varied patterns and often relievo-cut pile and there are also new productions of thin antique treated carpets.

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Beluch carpets, also called Baluch carpets , handmade carpets originally manufactured by the Baluch nomads near the border between Iran and Afghanistan.

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Benares carpets, handmade Indo carpets from the city of Benares in India. The carpets are woven in a classic Oriental design with wool from India and New Zeeland with inspiration from Bidjar, Kirman and Mir carpets .

Berber carpets, rustic pile carpets made of unspun wool from sheep. The carpets are made by Berbers, the original population, mainly in Morocco but also in Tunisia and Algeria. The carpets are rectangular with several borders and stripes along the edges, heavy and often naturally single-coloured in beige or brown and sometimes they have elements of simple geometrical patterns made of coloured wool. The patterns that sometimes occur on the carpets are heavy stylized with flowers, animals and stars and with an evident stairway-shaped termination on the medallions. The carpet shows an obvious relationship with Anatolian carpets.

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Berdelyk, Persian-Turkish denomination of a carpet intended for hanging on a wall. The carpets are often made of silk and the pattern is generally asymmetrical indicating the direction in which the carpet is to be hanged.

Bergamo carpets, handmade carpets manufactured in the surroundings of the city of Bergamo on the Turkish west coast. These carpets are known as Anatolian carpets and are generally squared in shape and made entirely of wool, with red weft threads giving it a red-striped backside. The pattern of these carpets are always geometrical, often around a large angular medallion surrounded by flowers. The colours are warm red/red-brown but also blue, beige and yellow colours occur.

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Berlin Carpet, handmade Anatolian carpet from early 15th century. The carpet, approximately 172 x 90 cm, was found in 1886 well-preserved in an Italian church and can be seen today at the Museum für Islamische Kunst in Berlin. The carpet is made entirely out of wool and has a pattern with a stylized dragon and the bird Phoenix.

Beshir carpets, a different name for Basjir carpets.

Besjir carpets, a different name for Basjir carpets.

Bhadohi carpets, handmade carpets from Bhadohi, India with a history from the Moguls.

Bibibaff, a name for the best carpets with the highest knot density made by the Persian Bakhtiari nomads. The name originates from the word baff meaning knot and bibi which is the name of the tribes or the family's most respected woman who also is the skilled of the carpet weavers.

Bibikabad carpets, rather thick and rough handmade carpets from the district of Hamadan in Iran.

Bidjar carpets, bijar carpets , the name originates from the city of Bidjar in Iran.

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Bijar carpets, a different name for Bidjar carpets.

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Bird-Ushak carpets, carpets manufactured in the city of Ushak in western Turkey during the 16th and 17th century. The carpet can often be recognized on its repetitive pattern with roughly stylized birds.

Bochara carpets, a different name for Bokhara carpets.

Bokhara carpets, manufactured by Turkoman tribes in Western Turkestan in Central Asia. The town of Bokhara was formerly a trading place for these carpets. Nowadays the carpets are named after the different tribes and the common denomination for these Turkoman carpets. Today the name Bokhara carpets are used for carpets with a special pattern, Bokhara, a repetitive pattern with Göl motif.

Bokhara-Suzani carpets, embroided carpets originating from Central Asia, specially from the city of Bokhara in Uzbekistan. The carpets, manufactured by handspun wool and embroided with silk in many colours, were manufactured mainly in the 18th and 19th century by the women in the families. The carpets were often a part of the younger womens dowry in return for the price paid for the bride.

Borchalou carpets, a different name for Burchalow carpets.

Borlou carpets, handmade Anatolian carpets from the city of Borlou in Anatolia.

Bouclé carpets, Brussel carpets , a.k.a. "loop pile carpets". The name refers to Jaquard woven carpets with loops made of a special warp. The carpets consists of different systems of threads, one for each patterns colour and the ground weave consists of complementary warp and wefts, where the patterns are not visible on the seamy side. When the loops are cut the carpets are called Wilton carpets.

Brusa carpets, usually small carpets made of silk, and family praying carpets, a.k.a. Saff. The carpets are manufactured in the city of Brussa (Bursa) south of the Sea of Marmara.

Brussel carpets, a different name for Bouclé carpets.

Buchara carpets, a different name for Bokhara carpets.

Bukhara carpets, a different name for Bokhara carpets.

Burchalow carpets, Borchalou carpets, handmade carpets from the district of Burchalow east of Hamadan in western Iran. The carpets, with warp and weft of cotton, are often decorated with medallions and flower-motifs and of high quality.

Bursa carpets, a different name for Brusa carpets.

Burujird carpets, handmade carpets from the district of Iraq-Ajemid, Iran.

Buteh, a common pattern in handmade carpets, also see Mir-e butha.

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Cairene carpets, older handknotted carpets from Cairo, Egypt. They were manufactured in the 16th to 18th centuries and have a clean, Persian pattern like palmettes, arabesques, medallions.

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Camel-hair, the wool or hair from the camel occurs very seldom in carpet manufacturing nowadays, because of the not so pleasant smell that is released when there is warm and moist weather.

Cattle hair carpet, a carpet manufactured by a mix of wool and hair from cattles.

Caucasian carpets, handknotted carpets from the areas south, east and north of Caucasus.

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Chaudor carpets, a different name for Tjaudor carpets.

Chelsea Carpet, handmade Persian carpet from the middle of the 16th century. The name originates from its place of discovery, at an antique dealer in the Chelsea district in London. Can be seen at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The carpet (549 x 300 cm) has a pile made of wool and weft and warp made of silk (750 000 knots/sqm) and has a floral pattern on a red bottom, two medallions in blue and animal motifs. It is believed to be manufactured in Tabriz, Iran.

Chichi carpets, a different name for Tji-Tji carpets.

Chinese carpets, handknotted carpets manufactured in China.

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Chorasan carpets, a different name for Khorasan carpets.

Choremabad carpets, handmade carpets from the district of Loristan, Iran.

Chotan carpets, handmade carpets from Eastern Turkestan.

Chrome dyes synthetic colours that is used sometimes to dye yarn for carpets.

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Chuval, a different name for Tjuval.

City carpets, a different name for workshop carpets.

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Cork wool, the finest part of the wool, cut from the neck of the sheep.

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Cotton, Gossy´pium, from the family of Malva plants and exists in tropical and sub-tropical areas. One of the most important materials used when manufacturing carpets.

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