The oldest carpet in the world. The Pazyr carpet is the oldest in the world. The most expensive carpet in the world

The harsh lands of the Altai Territory rarely appear on the pages of world history. But this does not mean that they always remained unsociable. Since ancient times, various nomadic peoples lived here, replacing each other in an endless struggle with each other and the climate.

One of these peoples were the tribes of the so-called Pazyr culture, who lived in the territories of modern Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia from the 6th to the 3rd centuries BC. e. It is believed that representatives of this culture had close roots with the Iranian tribes - once upon a time, some of them separated and, driven by famine or war, settled in these relatively calm lands. Over the years, they preserved and spread their customs to their neighbors. In particular, carpet weaving.

The tradition of making carpets has existed since ancient times: images of carpets, for example, were found in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs who ruled many centuries BC. In those distant times, carpets served both as an indicator of the status and wealth of the person who possessed them, and also served as elements of home decoration, insulating it on rainy days. Carpet weaving was especially developed in Western Asia. But despite this, the oldest carpet in the world was not found there at all, but precisely on the territory of the Altai Territory in one of the burial mounds of the tribes of that same Pazyr culture. Since then, it has been known throughout the world as the Pazyr carpet.

Archaeologists discovered it in 1949 along with other valuable items that belonged to a noble person. The ancient mound allowed water into itself, which turned into ice, which never melted in the microclimate of the burial, so the carpet was perfectly preserved, despite its age. Experts are inclined to believe that the Pazyr carpet was made in the 6th century BC, but by whom exactly is a big question. Most likely, the craftsman could hardly have been any of the representatives of the local tribes - the quality of the product was too high - and this carpet was woven in Iran, where this craft was developed to a much greater extent and where the knot weaving method used in the carpet was widespread .

The Pazyr carpet is the oldest in the world. Its size is 1.83x2.00 m and thickness is 2.4 mm

Upon detailed study of the find, it was discovered that it was based on threads of red, green, yellow and gold colors, and the knot density was 3600 knots per 1 dm² - an incredibly complex work for that time. By the way, rare modern carpets have similar characteristics. Sheep wool was used as the material for making the carpet.

It is clear that when making the Pazyr carpet, great importance was paid to its appearance: riders on horses, deer and griffins are depicted on the belts. They are separated from each other by various patterns made with amazing precision.

How could the owner use this carpet? He probably belonged to the tribal nobility - only its representatives could afford to have such an expensive thing. It is obvious that the Pazyr carpet was not used as protection from the cold, but was a luxury item and could hang somewhere near the wall of the tent. Some archaeologists believe that the Pazyr carpet, with its complex geometric shapes and numerous designs, could have been used as a dice board. Other researchers draw attention to some asymmetry of the elements of the drawings, which, in their opinion, are not the master’s mistakes, but were made on purpose. Perhaps there is some message hidden in the carpet that we have yet to decipher?

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Etymology

It is believed that the word "carpet" was borrowed by the Old Russian language from the Turkic languages. One of the earliest uses of this word in the Old Russian language is The Tale of Bygone Years, under the year 6485 () it is written:

Original text (Old Russian)

“And look for Ambassador Oropolk. and dragging the corpse from the rowing from morning until noon. and the lie came from under the corpse. and put it outside and on the carpet"

Processing specifics

According to the nature of the patterns and the technique of execution, all carpets can be divided into three main groups: pile, lint-free and felt.

With the invention of aniline dyes in the 19th century, carpet production experienced a real boom. Carpets have dropped sharply in price and competition has increased. The centuries-old hegemony of Persia began to be squeezed by Türkiye, China and even Europe. But the best carpets, for example those made of silk threads, are still very expensive. Today, aniline dyes are gradually being replaced by polymer and synthetic dyes, which do not require fixing and do not fade. The most modern, third generation of dyes are chrome. In terms of properties, they are practically indistinguishable from natural ones, but not as rich in color.

However, modern technologies have made it possible to equalize the quality of synthetic carpets with classic wool ones. Synthetic carpets have a significant advantage in operation: they are easier to care for.

Depending on the production technology and the method of fastening the yarn onto the base, the following types of carpets are distinguished: woven, braided, felt, tufted (from the English tuft - “to grow in bunches”) and needle-punched. Needle punching and tufting production is high-speed, automated, and cheap. The process of making woven carpets is much slower and more complex. Imitating traditional handwork, woven carpets are significantly more expensive than tufted and needle-punched ones. They are flat textile products consisting of two intersecting systems of threads: longitudinal and transverse.

History of carpet weaving

Machine used for carpet weaving, vertical direction, top part on the wall

The history of woven carpets goes back thousands of years. Since ancient times, people have decorated their homes with carpets. Simple, hand-woven and dense pieces of knitted material served not only decorative purposes, but also testified to the wealth of the owners, and most importantly, served as a reliable way of protection from the cold.

The first woven paintings in history made using the carpet technique date back to the 16th -11th centuries BC. e. Their images were found in a tomb from the New Kingdom era. And a fresco found in Beni Hassan (10th century BC) hid the oldest image in history of the carpet-making process.

Perhaps a fragment of the oldest carpet was discovered in an Urartian settlement of the 9th century BC. e. in Karmir-Blur. S. Rudenko came to the conclusion that the carpet was woven by one of the Iranian peoples - the Persians, Parthians or Medes, but Elizabeth Barber believes that Rudenko did not analyze all possible locations of the origin of the carpet.

The Pazyryk carpet is made so-called. Turkish symmetrical double knot (3600 knots are manually tied per 1 dm², and there are over 1,250,000 of them in the entire carpet), and therefore it has a fairly high density. Decorated with laconic ornaments with pronounced anthropomorphic and zoomorphic elements (riders on horses).

Nomads

Gallery

Small rug

Wool carpet

Carpet for prayer

see also

Notes

1. carpet // Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language by Max Vasmer
2. English cover - blanket, covering

3. Carpet - Based on the fact that this word has unusual phonetic features, it can be assumed that it is a borrowing; Wed Brückner 241. The source was probably Danube-Bulgian, Volga-Bulgian. (Old Chuv.) *kavǝ̂r-from *kebir; Wed Middle-Turkic kiviz, küwuz, chagat., eastern Turkic. kigiz “felt blanket”, Tat., Kazakh. kīz, Mongolian kebis "carpet", Kalm. kews; see Räsänen, FUF 29, 196; ZfslPh 20, 448; Ramstedt, KWb. 230. Incredibly phonetically borrowing from ancient history. ko

   - Max Vasmer. Etymological dictionary of the Russian language by Max Vasmer.

4. PSRL. - T. 2. Ipatiev Chronicle. - St. Petersburg, 1908. - Stlb. 57-88
5. Materials for the dictionary of the Old Russian language Works of I. I. Sreznevsky St. Petersburg, 1893. Volume 1. column 1244
6. The Tale of Bygone Years. Translation by D. S. Likhachev
7. E. Barber. "Prehistoric Textiles: The Development of Cloth in the Neolithic and Bronze Ages with Special Reference to the Aegean" - Princeton University Press, 1991 - p. 202 - ISBN 069100224X, 9780691002248 " A scrap of another pile fabric was found in the 7th-6th century B.C. level at Karmir-Blur in Armenia, along with a garment with a small amount of tapestry decoralion dune in wool and bast on a wool warp (Verkhovskaja 1955). Unfortunately, we are given no information as to how the woolen pile was introduced. Similarly, the charred remains of both pile and weft-faced textiles in some sort of animal fiber were recovered farther south at flasanlu, from the late 9th century B.C. (Dyson 1964, 21)»
8. Barbara Brend "Islamic art" Harvard University Press, 1991 p240 ISBN067446866X, 9780674468665 p 43 Textiles and carpets

   The earliest surviving carpet, now in the Hermitage, was found among frozen grave goods at Pazyryk in Siberia, and is dated approximately to the fifth century bc. It has a field of squared rosettes, and borders with clk lede horses. Whether the Pazyryk carpet was made Central or Western Asia is a matter of debate, but Armenia in particular has been mentioned as a possible place of origin.

9. S. I. Rudenko “The Art of Altai and Western Asia (mid-1st millennium BC)” M., 1961
10. Ulrich Schurmann, The Pazyryk, Its Use and Origin, p. 46, New York, 1982, Munich, 1982

    “From all the evidence available I am convinced that the Pazyryk rug was a funeral accessory and most likely a masterpiece of Armenian workmanship.”

The uncertainty of the carpet's origins seems to always be shrouded in mystery. However, the only thing that leaves no doubt is the fact that wicker forms of floor coverings were present in the Neolithic era (7000 BC).

However, the veil of secrecy will forever remain how the carpet actually came into being in the absence of documentary evidence. However, according to experts, there are two theories regarding this issue.

1. The first theory says that carpets were invented to serve a practical purpose for nomadic people. They were tightly bound to protect people from unfavorable climatic conditions. This also served as a reason to refuse to use the skins of their favorite animals. In this way, the carpet also served its original purpose - to protect the feet from direct contact with the ground. It is believed that such carpets came into everyday life as rudimentary forms of floor coverings that we use today. Developing from early times, this form of home decoration has become an integral attribute of not only a comfortable lifestyle, but also external beauty. The carpets had unique colors and were decorated with different motifs. In addition, such carpets were woven on a vertical loom, which could be disassembled and easily transported.
2. Proponents of the second theory believe that woven carpets were born earlier. However, they developed as a form of artistic production of sedentary peoples. Carpets then performed two functions at once - utilitarian and aesthetic. The formation of a permanent place of residence gave impetus to the sphere of carpet creation - they were used to decorate important festive and traditional ceremonies, and then carpets became an integral part of people’s lives.

Interestingly, some carpets were woven on horizontal looms, which evolved from their vertical cousin.

The Pazyryk carpet was excavated from the grave of a major Shiite military leader in the Pazyryk Valley in Altai, Siberia. Under the influence of the cold, the carpet was well preserved. Its origins date back to the 5th century BC. BC, this is the oldest example of an ancient carpet in the world. The carpet is an example of the author’s excellent craftsmanship, and there is no doubt that it was woven as a product to decorate a home; just pay attention to its appearance.

These important archaeological excavations led to the understanding that, whatever the actual reason for the birth of carpets and rugs, they all served and served for insulation from the climate along with concern for the improvement of the room.

Origin of carpets

The gradual spread of carpet art throughout the world over the centuries proved to be a hindrance in unraveling the mystery of its origin. However, many different carpet fragments have been discovered in excavations around the world. Reliable evidence from the Middle East suggests that carpet weaving was widespread in the second and third centuries BC. Therefore, this place is called the cradle of carpet weaving. People migrated to areas from Turkestan to the West, the Caucasus, Persia, eastern China, and then to India, spreading this art form. Additionally, this range of places is known as the Eastern Carpet Belt.

Marco Polo, a Venetian merchant and traveler, traveling through Turkey, said: “They weave the finest and most beautiful carpets in the world. They also weave silk fabrics of crimson and other colors, of extraordinary beauty and richness, and many other types of fabric."

An antique carpet as an object with a soul

Most of the antique forms of rugs and rugs we see today reflect the rich weaving and decoration of the Persian style. Developed over decades and centuries, these significant objects have endured everything with great respect and pride. Carpets woven before 1920 are classified as antiques. Traditionally, woven rugs with natural dyes are called antique rugs. Carpets woven from 1920-1930 to modern times are known as "modern carpets". Modern rugs usually take inspiration from Western designs.

The earlier chronological classification of living objects such as carpets is quite elementary. It is fascinating that carpets that were woven before the 17th century are so rare that they can only be seen in museums and large collections.

Types of carpets from different countries

Egypt

Carpets from the Islamic world, such as Egypt, are of extraordinary quality and are produced on a large scale. Thanks to their unique elegance, they sold well in the Far East. Early forms of rugs showed geometric designs. Egyptian carpets literally spread their wings to Istanbul, and then ended up in Cairo. Carpets from Cairo are very similar to those that could be found in East Turkestan.

Typically woven from wool, Egyptian carpets and rugs were made using asymmetrical knots or "gyordas" knots. Motifs like palmettes on a red carpet background were quite popular for Egyptian carpets. Unfortunately, there are practically no documents indicating the production or use of carpets from Egypt. However, Egyptian spectacular handmade carpets are famous throughout the world.

China

Chinese carpets are quite outstanding among other types of carpets around the world. Their characteristic features are motifs and a conservative choice of colors. Chinese rugs speak a mixture of languages ​​and can be either floral or geometric. However, their style is very different from the style of carpets in Islamic countries.

Surprisingly, carpet weaving was not considered an art form in China until the second half of the 1700s. The heyday of carpets took place much later than in any other eastern country. The reason for this may be a banal shortage of wool in China.

Beautiful Chinese rugs are a wonderful combination of colors and usually feature abstract geometric shapes that are curvilinear in nature. The mixture of colors does not create any confusion, but there is a distinct style that is balanced and graceful.

Uniquely colored Chinese rugs typically display symbols from the natural world, ancient myths, Buddhism and Taoism. Interestingly, each symbol carries a special meaning that is not so easy to decipher.

Türkiye

Turkish rugs in general are inspired by local culture and traditions. All rugs inspired by Islamic culture depict geometric shapes or symbols.

An eccentrically attractive element of carpets from Turkish weavers is the vibrant color palette with strong tonality. Shades range from red, blue, yellow and other warm shades. In various specialized places where carpets were woven, works of different nature were born, which were widely in demand all over the world.

Millions of people around the world enjoy the softness and warmth of carpets in their homes. Although it is impossible to say with certainty how long ago people used carpets, there are suggestions that their origins date back to thousands of years BC. Firstly, carpets were used to insulate cold walls and floors of houses, and soon became a decorative accessory for homes. This is especially true for carpets that are hand woven. These carpets are considered a luxury and are mainly used and made for the wealthy segments of the population. Luckily, carpets are a very popular and common flooring option, which explains why they are available in hundreds of styles, materials and colors.

First of all, carpets must be well-groomed. They are an ideal haven for various bacteria and allergens, so regular cleaning is a must. Some rugs hide more dirt than others, but that doesn't mean regular cleaning isn't necessary. Dirt can greatly affect the appearance of carpets, as it can cause color loss or deterioration of the fibers. If you are interested in learning more about carpets, here are some interesting facts.

• The oldest carpet in the world is the Pazyryk carpet, excavated by archaeologists from the grave of a Scythian prince in 1949. The reason why the carpet has stood the test of time is simple: the product was frozen and lay under the ice of the Siberian mountains. The carpet is believed to be over 2000 years old.
• Today, the red carpet is used to mark the path taken by important people such as heads of state, politicians and, in recent years, VIPs and celebrities. The first event with a red carpet was held in 458 BC. e.
• Iran's Qasr Al-Alam is the longest carpet in the world. It was designed by Ali Khaliki, an Iranian designer. The project was completed in 2007 and the carpet was woven over 16 months with the help of 1,200 women.
• An Isfahan rug from central Persia, which was made from antique silk, is the most expensive rug ever sold at auction. It was sold in 2008 for $4,450,000.
• Nicholas Bakalar published a scientific study in 2003 in which he claimed that the influenza virus, also known as the “stomach flu,” could live for a month on dirty carpet in a home. This is another reason why you should keep your carpets clean.·
• It is believed that regular and proper maintenance and cleaning of carpets and upholstered furniture can significantly improve the air quality in the home due to the products' ability to trap dust and allergens.
• Without proper and regular cleaning of carpets and upholstery, bacteria multiply faster than usual. Norovirus, salmonellosis, and Kawasaki syndrome are just some of the bacteria that live in carpets.
• Carpets are the most common flooring choice in homes. About 65% of living rooms and 80% of bedrooms are carpeted.
• Bed bugs can live in carpet fibers and wood floorboards. They are extremely fast for their size and can travel over 30 meters to obtain blood, usually at night and from people who are sleeping.
• A person sheds about 1.5 million flakes of skin per hour, most of which will land on your carpet.
• Indoor air typically contains about twice as much dust as outdoor air. And this is approximately a million microscopic particles per cubic centimeter of air. About 2,000 dust mites can live happily in 30 grams of dust accumulated on your carpet.
• Wall-to-wall carpeting is more detrimental to your health than smaller rugs. Typically, wall-to-wall carpets are more likely to be exposed to moisture, chemicals, liquids, crumb infestations, and other substances that allow mold, yeast, and bacteria to grow.
• Mothballs are commonly used to clean carpets. In concentrated form, it can be hazardous to breathing and cause headaches, nausea, and vomiting. This suspected carcinogen can be toxic to children, infants and pets.
• One of the journalistic investigations in the United States highlighted the issue of cleanliness of carpet in hotels. Rooms were reviewed in a variety of price ranges, ranging from $55 to $400 per night. The results of the study are disappointing: traces of urine or semen were found in absolutely every room.
• To brighten your carpet, sprinkle salt on the carpet and leave it for one hour before vacuuming. Salt is also effective in removing dirty marks.
• In the Middle Ages, the floors of the house were covered with reeds, which acted as a disposable carpet. If it got dirty, it was simply thrown away.
• Carcinogens from cigarettes when smoked indoors can settle in carpets. Dogs and cats, not to mention children, spend a lot of time on the floor and are therefore at risk of developing lung cancer.
• Carpets are excellent places for mature fleas to live because fleas are comfortable in the dry environment of the carpet. Conversely, flea eggs love high humidity, which can be caused, for example, by insufficient ventilation in the room.

The exact date of the beginning of the production of the first carpets is unknown. The approximate beginning of the art of carpet weaving dates back to 3500 years ago. The lack of accurate data is primarily related to the material itself, which, due to its physiological properties, decomposes over time. The only information that has reached us is evidence of the existence of pile cloths preserved on stone or wood. However, there is a carpet that, despite its respectful age of 2500 years, has survived to this day. Moreover, it is stored in Russia, the city of St. Petersburg, the Hermitage Museum. We are talking about the famous Pazyr painting.

Soviet scientists found the precious canvas in Altai in 1949. Excavations in that area have been going on for almost 80 years. The archaeologist was incredibly lucky; they stumbled upon a stone mound that was practically undamaged throughout its several thousand-year existence. The peculiarities of the climate of the area and the structure of the mound itself allowed all its contents to be well preserved. The mound was the cemetery of one rich family, dating back to the Scythian era. Inside were mummified remains of people and horses, clothing, jewelry and jewelry. Among other things, scientists discovered a pile covering on one of the horse mummies. By the way, the best wool carpets can be bought in the online flooring store carpets.rf.

Description of coverage

At that time, excavation technologies made it possible to transport the canvas without much damage. Only 5% of the surface was damaged. The size of the find was 183x200 cm. The color scheme of the canvas consists of red, yellow, blue and green. Images on the carpet: 24 crosses are woven in the center, made in the form of 4 lotus leaves. Further, the field is surrounded by a frame with embroidered eagles. Further to the edge, 24 fallow deer are depicted grazing, the drawing goes clockwise. The next ornament depicts 28 riders. Some of them are depicted dismounting. And on the last final stripe there are griffins.

The density of knots is about 3600 pieces per square decimeter. For comparison, modern webs contain up to 15,000 nodes in such an area.

A detailed analysis showed that the painting was created by masters from Central Asia. There is a theory that this painting is some kind of board game. However, the most popular and plausible one says that the carpet was used by the rider as a kind of saddle.

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