Antique Rugs from Uzbekistan

Although it may seem like Persia (Iran) has always had a monopoly on oriental and antique rugs, carpets and rugs have actually been created for centuries and centuries in what was known as "Turkestan", which is now Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. The ancient, busy 'silk road' that stretched between Baghdad and Tehran, Samarkand, and Tashkent went right through the area, and therefore centuries of traders hauling goods between China and the West went through these rugged areas.  

The landscape was very often quite bleak, barren and arid, with a few windswept trees and lots of rocks. The population has always and will likely always be low, and the area has a history of nomadism. The area also has a tradition of self-sufficiency, and making the most of very limited resources: they used every part of every animal and plant they had, to make themselves clothes, shelters, and gear that was reuired to keep moving about. And among these items were vey rich, very distinctive wool rugs.

Most of the antique rugs from this area are extremely hardy, with very thick cloth and simple, bold shapes and lines. They were not only designed for beauty, back in the day, but also for function: they helped to keep the nomad's homes warm during the freezing winters. They retained a lot of heat from the fire when placed on the floor, so that the ground wouldn't sap the heat from a standing person's feet, or from bodies as they lay sleeping. They also served as thick cushioning for bedrolls, adding an extra layer of softness between sleepers and the ground.

Pretty much all of the rugs from this area were traded through Iran, Pakistan, or sometimes Afghanistan. Many of the Turkoman rugs were then mistaken for true-born Persian rugs, and its is very possible that many of the what we call Persian rugs were actually woven by these nomads on the steppes.