Pakistan lies astride the ancient land route to the India subcontinent and the Far East. The influences of migrations, invading armies, and trade have left Pakistan with a rich culture, which is visible in the arts and crafts of this region. It is not known when the first carpets were woven in the Pakistan area, although it is claimed that weaving was probably introduced by ancient Scythians. In the 16th century the Mogul emperor Akbar established carpet-weaving workshops in Lahore and Multan, bringing Persian weavers to his imperial court. The carpets woven in these court workshops were very similar to Persian rugs in weave as well as in the designs used. Soon a new Mogul style began to emerge from the workshops and in 1600 the East India Carpet Company was founded in Lahore by British merchants for the express purpose of weaving Oriental carpets. In 1947, Pakistan was created from the northwest areas of India when Britain granted independence to the Indian subcontinent. Religion was the major factor in the partitioning of Pakistan and India, Pakistan being mainly Muslim and India being mainly Hindu. At the time of the partitioning. Many of the Muslim weavers moved from India to Lahore and other parts of Pakistan. The New government in Pakistan recognized the need for industry and employment. Government subsidies were granted to the still-small Pakistani carpet-weaving industry, markets. Soon Pakistan emerged as one of the world’s leading manufacturers of Oriental carpets. The greatest concentration of commercial weaving is done in and around the cities of Lahore, Karachi, and Peshawar. Many of the weaving areas have developed their own areas of specialization. Carpets are also woven in Afghan refugee camps: however, these carpets are Turkoman in structure and design.Good- quality chrome dyes are used. They are colorfast and do not fade when exposed to light or bleed when washed. These dyes are easy to use both in their physical application and in the precise duplication of specific colors. Pakistani carpets generally are finely knotted with wool pile and cotton warp and weft threads. Silk and artificial silk is occasionally used in the pile to accentuate certain motifs. The asymmetrical knot is typically used. The domestic wool is of good quality and is readily available. It is resilient, takes dye well, and is easily spun. However, the finest quality carpets are woven with local wool that has been blended with merino wool imported from New Zealand, Korea, and Australia. This imported wool contains more lanolin, has a longer staple, and is stronger, yielding a more durable and Iustrous carpet. Two types of weaves are used in Pakistani rugs: the Mori and the Persian weave in both cases the quality or fineness of the weave is expressed by a set of numbers in the form of a fraction- for example, 9/16 or 11/12. The top figure is the number of horizontal knots in a linear inch; the bottom figure is the number of vertical knots in a linear inch. Thus, the number of knots per square inch is easily computed by multiplying the two figures together. Persian design The Persian weave, used in rugs with a wide variety of Persian designs, resembles the back of Persian rugs with approximately the same number of vertical knots in a horizontal inch as in a vertical inch, although the number of horizontal knots per inch is slightly less than the number of vertical knots per inch. Persian –weave rugs may be woven either single or double knots. The quality grades range from 13/15 to 18/20, with intermediate grades of 14/16 and 16/18. The color combinations are esthetically pleasing and not harsh. Since the 1980s U.S. embargo of Iranian carpets, the production of Persian –Design Pakistani rugs has increased dramatically.

Handmade Persian Rugs, Hand Knotted Oriental Rugs, Wool Area Rugs Hand-knotted Oriental rugs are pieces of art not just accessories for your home. Throughout history, these handmade rugs have been the object of fascination, desire, and status. CatalinaRug.com's mission is to help bring this rich cultural legacy to your home - at a affordable price! Browse our history of area rugs to learn all about the history of Oriental rugs and the weaving methods used to create them. Evidence suggests that thousands of years ago, nomadic tribesmen between Eurasia and Mongolia were the first to create pile carpets. These carpets were woven to add warmth and comfort to their simple tent homes. As more and more tribes mastered the technique of weaving pile rugs, it became a common practice to incorporated their creativity into the designs transforming a trade skill into works of art. Area rugs became not just a functional neccessity in thier tent homes but a symbol of taste and refinement by adding personality and beauty to their sparse surroundings. Today's rug designs are more sophisticated, but they serve much the same purpose, lending beauty, warmth and personality to enhance a home. When considering a rug for your home, there are a number of reasons why you might decide upon hand knotted Oriental rugs or handmade Persian rugs instead of machine-made ones. Quality is the most important consideration. Handmade rugs are much more durable than mass-produced machine made rugs. Handmade rugs are usually made with natural materials such as cotton, wool or silk. These natural fibers last longer and release no harmful gasses into the environment over time. And since each rug is hand-knotted, each strand has been tied individually for greater combined strength and consistency