A (Very Brief) History of Oriental Rugs

We know Oriental rugs have been woven for at least a few thousand years.  Oriental rugs are hand-knotted rugs with warp, weft, and knotted pile. There are two types of knots used in oriental rugs, the Turkish knot, and the Persian knot.

The oldest extant Oriental carpet is the Pazyryk carpet which was found in Scythian tomb in the Altai Mountains of Siberia, and which dates to 500BC. The level of artistry in the Pazyryk tells us that knotted pile rugs were probably being woven for hundreds of years before this. The Pazyryk carpet resides in the Hermitage State Museum in Leningrad, Russia.