The Pazyryk Carpet
A hand-woven carpet was found in the Pazyryk valley in a tumulus dating back to the fifth century BC. This unique piece of art was partly damaged by age and oxidation, but it was preserved in a thick sheet of ice -- which had protected it for twenty-five centuries. Late in 1929, a Russian ethnographic mission led by Rudenko and Griaznov began the excavation of five tumuli dating from the Scllhian period. The tumuli had been discovered in the Pazyryk valley, in the Altai mountains, 5400 feet above sea level, and some six miles from the border of Outer Mongolia. In 1949 during the excavation of the fifth tumulus, a magnificent carpet came to light which today represents the most important piece of evidence in the history of Oriental Carpets. This is the only rug from the Achaemenid period known and preserved up to the present day. Although it was found in a Scjythian burial-mound, most experts attribute it to Persia. Its design is in the same style as the sculptures of Perspolis, The outer of the two principal border bands is decorated with a line of horsemen: seven on each side, twenty-eight in number -- a figure which corresponds to the number of males who carried the throne of Xerxes to Perspolis). Some are mounted, while others walk beside their horses. In the inner principal band there is a line of six elks on each side. The two external guards are decorated, with a succession of small squares containing imaginary creatures, probably griffins. The original colours used for this carpet are not known as they have almost faded away. The Pazyryk carpet is of rare beauty and was woven with great technical skill. The Pazyryk carpet compares favourably with that of the best, work from modern sources. There are about 49 knots per square cm in this carpet and it measures 2.00 cm X 1.83 cm .
The discovery of the Pazyryk carpet leads us therefore, to the belief that in a much more remote epoch than the sixteenth-century Imperial period, carpet-making had gone through an earlier, brilliant phase, in which a very high level of technique and decorative values had been reached.
Unfortunately between this rug and the next discovered carpet there is big gap in time. This does not mean that the production had stopped but rather vanished by nature or destroyed by invasions.
The epicenter of the craft of carpet-making is traditionally Persia and the history of the craft is linked to the history of Persia, sharing its development and fortunes. The other centres of carpet-craft of, whose existence we have concrete proof from the Middle Ages onwards were manifestations of the work of isolated artists, though directly linked to the history of Persian rulers. The first group includes the ancient Caucasian carpets like the so-called Armenian ones and to the second group belong carpets of the Turkish court period, coming from the workshops of Konya, the capital of the Seljuks, a dynasty which ruled Persia for a very long time.

Repairing a silk rug

I recently was repairing a silk rug. It had over 600 kpsi. It took 6 months to complete. Passion of Persia can repair any damages to any type of rug. With flawless results. Call us at 602 374 6973 Az or 312 523 9043 Chicago