Types of Oriental Rugs

When it comes to oriental rugs, it may be a little difficult in distinguishing which part of the world the oriental rugs came from. But it's actually easy to spot this, once you know the basic designs, and styles, makers of rugs use in each part of the world. Most of the western world only has one type of style in mind when they think 'oriental rugs,' but this is far from the truth. Traditional patterns and materials of an area will distinguish the design of the rugs. Those who are experts in the art of Oriental Rugs have spent many years of learning all the different types of materials, colors, and patterns that characterise different areas.

Persian Rugs

Perhaps one of the most famous type of oriental rugs known in the Western world are Persian rugs. In fact, the term 'persian rugs' and 'oriental rugs' are often used interchangeably. This is not really the best terminology, though.

Persia is modern day Iran, and has one of the best reputations of producing the highest quality,  most extravagantly beautiful rugs through all of history. The traditional persian rugs designs bear names of the original tribal areas from where they were made (Kerman, Sarouk, Tabriz etc.) Persian rugs are, by far, the most sort after kind of rugs in the world.

Turkish Rugs

These rugs are highly sought after because of their sheer beauty, as well as the fact that Turkish Oriental Rugs can date from 50 to 75 years old. This is because World War I actually disrupted the rugs industry in Turkey, and it has taken this long for the industry to begin again. It has taken some time, but the Turkish government has begun to support the creation and weaving of rugs in the country as an industry, and the rugs being produced these days are unbelievable in their traditional design and authentic use of color.

Indian Rugs

The rugs industry is a major industry in India and the main livelihood of the rural areas. India creates most of the rugs sold in the West, and – due to mass producing – create rugs that borrow from all sorts of designs all over the world. However, the dhurrie design is wholly India's design – which is a rug of a flat-weave of wool, cotton or any of the many natural fibers.

The fact that India produces such a large quantity of rugs is also one of the reasons why rugs made in India are generally cheaper than oriental rugs from the other countries.

Tibetan Rugs

Rugs from Tibet are highly prized, and the most sought after style and design of rugs compared to any other. Families and villages are involved in the creation of these rugs, and the final end result can take up to 3000 hours. Tibetan rugs are made from Himalayan sheep wool (highly regarded as the best wool for the making of rugs.) Variations in wool coloring and texture, with authentic designs and use of the colors, makes Tibetan Rugs serious works of art.