Practical Advances

Carpets

During the Ottoman dynasty, carpet weaving was transformed. Beginning as a small craft passed down from generation to generation it transformed into a huge industry with patterns created in expensive workshops. During this time, carpets were made in greater quantities than ever before. They were traded from Europe to the Far East where, as they were too expensive to be placed on the ground, they were used to cover furniture or hung up on walls. In the Islamic world, fine carpets were collected in royal households. 

Nowadays most carpets don't have a recorded date or place of origin. Islamic scholars once devised a dating system based on the carpets that appear in Italian paintings, and now some rugs are known by the artist's name by whose paintings they appear, such as Lotto and Holbein. Recently studies focus on aspects of carpet production, such as the material, dye colours and types and weaving structure. These prove as important clues to determine when the carpets were made. While there were patterns that were extremely popular over wide areas, each region had a characteristic style of weaving that remained the same over time. In Persia, for instance, an asymmetrical knot was most often used, and in Turkey a symmetrical one. Egyptian carpets are always fully wool, and Indian ones are recognized by their distinctive red hue.