An Arraiolos rug, Arraiolos tapestry, Arraiolos carpet or Portuguese needlework rug (in Portuguese, Tapete de Arraiolos) is a traditionally embroidered wool rug made in the town of Arraiolos, Portugal, dating back to at least the 16th century. They are partly inspired by Persian carpets, though there are notable differences in their construction and design.[1][2]
Unlike Persian and Turkish rugs, which are woven on looms using knots (asymmetric in Persian rugs and symmetric in Turkish ones), Arraiolos rugs are embroidered using a diagonal cross-stitch technique known as ponto de Arraiolos. This technique is easier to execute than knotting, making it more accessible for local artisans. Despite the difference in construction, the decorative patterns of Arraiolos rugs are closely aligned with those of Persian carpets, with similar motifs and symmetry, influenced by Islamic art. The patterns and structure of the rugs evolved over time, incorporating influences from European textile arts, including Baroque and Rococo styles during the 17th and 18th centuries.[1]
Interpretative center for Arraiolos rugs in Arraiolos
The earliest written references to Arraiolos rugs date back to the late 16th century, with a mention of a "tapete da terra" (local rug) in an inventory of goods. By the late 17th century, there is documented evidence of Arraiolos rugs being traded in Lisbon. However, by the 19th century, the production of Arraiolos rugs began to decline, as the traditional craft was increasingly overshadowed by industrialization and the rise of machine-made textiles.[1]
The production of Arraiolos rugs is thought to have begun due to a combination of local factors: the availability of materials, the presence of weaving workshops, and a strong tradition of textile crafts in the region. The influence of Islamic weavers, who lived in Portugal from the 8th to the 15th centuries, is also significant. A migration and settlement of these people in Arraiolos and Alentejo is believed to have occurred during the 15th century, following a royal edict to expel non-Christians issued by King Manuel I of Portugal in 1496. It is believed that these weavers introduced rug-making techniques to the people of Arraiolos, who adapted them into their own distinct style.[1]
A carpet is a textile floor covering typically consisting of an upper layer of pile attached to a backing. The pile was traditionally made from wool, but since the 20th century synthetic fibers such as polypropylene, nylon, or polyester have often been used, as these fibers are less expensive than wool. The pile usually consists of twisted tufts that are typically heat-treated to maintain their structure. The term carpet is often used in a similar context to the term rug, but rugs are typically considered to be smaller than a room and not attached to the floor.
A Persian carpet, Persian rug, or Iranian carpet is a heavy textile made for a wide variety of utilitarian and symbolic purposes and produced in Iran, for home use, local sale, and export. Carpet weaving is an essential part of Persian culture and Iranian art. Within the group of Oriental rugs produced by the countries of the "rug belt", the Persian carpet stands out by the variety and elaborateness of its manifold designs.
A kilim is a flat tapestry-woven carpet or rug traditionally produced in countries of the former Persian Empire, including Iran, but also in the Balkans and the Turkic countries. Kilims can be purely decorative or can function as prayer rugs. Modern kilims are popular floor coverings in Western households.
A prayer rug or prayer mat is a piece of fabric, sometimes a pile carpet, used by Muslims, some Christians, especially in Orthodox Christianity and some followers of the Baháʼí Faith during prayer.
Uşak carpets, Ushak carpets or Oushak Carpets are Turkish carpets that use a particular family of designs, called by convention after the city of Uşak, Turkey – one of the larger towns in Western Anatolia, which was a major center of rug production from the early days of the Ottoman Empire, into the early 20th century.
An oriental rug is a heavy textile made for a wide variety of utilitarian and symbolic purposes and produced in "Oriental countries" for home use, local sale, and export.
Bergama Carpet refers to handwoven Turkish carpets, made in the Bergama district in the Izmir Province of northwest Turkey. As a market place for the surrounding villages, the name of Bergama is used as a trade name to define the provenience.
Anatolian rug or Turkish carpet is a term of convenience, commonly used today to denote rugs and carpets woven in Anatolia and its adjacent regions. Geographically, its area of production can be compared to the territories which were historically dominated by the Ottoman Empire. It denotes a knotted, pile-woven floor or wall covering which is produced for home use, local sale, and export, and religious purpose. Together with the flat-woven kilim, Anatolian rugs represent an essential part of the regional culture, which is officially understood as the Culture of Turkey today, and derives from the ethnic, religious and cultural pluralism of one of the most ancient centres of human civilisation.
Hereke carpets are Turkish handmade carpets produced and sold in Hereke, a coastal town in Turkey. For a long time, they were produced only in Hereke, 60 km from Istanbul. The materials used are silk, a combination of wool and cotton, and sometimes gold or silver threads.
A knotted-pile carpet is a carpet containing raised surfaces, or piles, from the cut off ends of knots woven between the warp and weft. The Ghiordes/Turkish knot and the Senneh/Persian knot, typical of Anatolian carpets and Persian carpets, are the two primary knots. A flat or tapestry woven carpet, without pile, is a kilim. A pile carpet is influenced by width and number of warp and weft, pile height, knots used, and knot density.
Ardabil rugs originate from Ardabil located in the province of Ardabil Province in northwestern Iran, 639 kilometers from Tehran. Ardabil has a long and illustrious history of Persian carpet weaving.
Carpets of Middle-Eastern origin, either from Anatolia, Persia, Armenia, Levant, the Mamluk state of Egypt or Northern Africa, were used as decorative features in Western European paintings from the 14th century onwards. More depictions of Oriental carpets in Renaissance painting survive than actual carpets contemporary with these paintings. Few Middle-Eastern carpets produced before the 17th century remain, though the number of these known has increased in recent decades. Therefore, comparative art-historical research has from its onset in the late 19th century relied on carpets represented in datable European paintings.
Arraiolos is a town and municipality in the Évora District of Portugal. As of 2021, the municipality had a population of 6,606 people and covered an area of 683.75 square kilometres (264.00 sq mi). The town itself was home to 3,133 residents in the same year. The current Mayor is Silvia Pinto, elected by the Unitary Democratic Coalition.
The term Armenian carpet designates, but is not limited to, tufted rugs or knotted carpets woven in Armenia or by Armenians from pre-Christian times to the present. It also includes a number of flat woven textiles. The term covers a large variety of types and sub-varieties. Due to their intrinsic fragility, almost nothing survives—neither carpets nor fragments—from antiquity until the late medieval period.
Kerman carpets are one of the traditional classifications of Persian carpets. Kerman is both a city and a province located in south central Iran. The term also sometimes describes a type which may have been made elsewhere. Typical manufacturing techniques use an asymmetrical knot on cotton foundation, but less frequent examples incorporate silk or part silk piles, or silk foundations with wool pile.
Varamin carpets and rugs or Veramin carpets and rugs are carpets and rugs woven in city of Varamin and its surrounding area, southeast of Tehran. Many rug and carpet experts see Varamins as being among those Persian carpets most authentic in terms of traditional style and motif.
Carpets and rugs have been handmade in Sweden for centuries, taking on many different forms and functions over the course of time. Rugs woven in the traditional Oriental manner, especially in the Ottoman Empire and points east, were originally brought to Sweden over trade routes as early as the early Middle Ages. In the centuries that followed, Swedish rug-makers often infused their works with themes and motifs traditionally found in Oriental rugs. Eventually, Swedish rug-makers would begin to use Oriental rug-making techniques, but themes and motifs more consistent with the artistic and cultural heritage of Sweden. By the early modern periods, rugs had long been an important avenue of art – especially folk art – in Swedish culture. By the beginning of the twentieth century, the craft was seen as being an important artistic and cultural practice throughout Sweden, and designers began to make rugs that had a broad international appeal. Swedish rugs from the mid-twentieth century remain among the most desirable and sought after in the rug world.
Anatolian animal carpets represent a special type of pile-woven carpet, woven in the geographical region of Anatolia during the Seljuq and early Ottoman period, corresponding to the 14th–16th century. Very few animal-style carpets still exist today, and most of them are in a fragmentary state. Animal carpets were frequently depicted by Western European painters of the 14th–16th century. By comparison of the few surviving carpets with their painted counterparts, these paintings helped to establish a timeline of their production, and support our knowledge about the early Turkish carpet.
Qaleen is a type of hand knotted piled carpet. The term is used throughout Turkey, Iran and Central Asia, and making qaleens is currently practised as a handicraft in Turkey and Iran. Artisans may need at least two months to make one qaleen. The craft was learned from Persians by the artisans of Kashmir on the Indian subcontinent. These knotted pile carpets so were a blend of Persian and Indian craftsmanship. Qaleens or Ghalichas were made in the Kashmir region of India and Pakistan.
Mughal carpets were the handwoven floor coverings used in the Mughal Empire in their courts. Mughal carpets and rugs have their roots in India since the 16th and 17th centuries. Mughal carpets were a blend of Persian and Indian artistry uniquely designed with scenic landscapes, floral, and animal patterns. Kashmir was producing the finest wool and silk carpets and rugs, including prayer rugs. Sometimes the knot density in these rugs was so fine and tight as 300 knots per square centimeter.
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