History[edit]
The art of carpet weaving existed in Persia (or Iran) in ancient times, according to evidence such as the 2500-year-old Pazyryk carpet, dating back to 500 B.C., during the Achaemenid period. The first documented evidence on the existence of Persian carpets comes from Chinese texts dating back to the Sassanid period (224–641 AD). This art underwent many changes in various eras of the
Persian history to an extent that it passed an upward trend before the Islamic era until the Mongol invasion of Persia. After the invasion, the art began to grow again during the Timurid and Ilkhanid dynasties.[1]
With the passage of time, the materials used in carpets, including wool, silk and cotton, will decay. What has remained from early times as evidence of carpet-weaving is nothing more than a few pieces of worn-out carpets. Such fragments do not help very much in recognizing the carpet-weaving characteristics of pre-Seljuk period (13th and 14th centuries AD) in Persia. Early history[edit]
The Pazyryk Carpet, the oldest known surviving carpet in the world, 5th century BC. The exceptional Pazyryk carpet was discovered in 1949 in an archaeological excavation in the Pazyryk Valley, in the Altai Mountains in Siberia. The carpet was found in the grave of a Scythian prince. Radiocarbon testing indicated that the Pazyryk carpet was woven in the 5th century BC.[14] This carpet is 283 by 200 cm (approximately 9.3 by 6.5 ft) and has 36 symmetrical knots per cm² (232 per inch²).[15] The advanced technique used in the Pazyryk carpet indicates a long history of evolution and experience in weaving. It is considered the oldest known carpet in the world.[16] Its central field is a deep red color and it has two wide borders, one depicting deer and the other horsemen. The Pazyryk carpet was thought, by its discoverer Sergei Rudenko, to be a product of the Achaemenids.[17][18] Currently, whether it is a nomadic product with Achaemenid influence, or a product of the Achaemenids remains the subject of debate.[19][20]
