However, as the materials used in carpets including wool and cotton decay into dust during the course of time, archeologists are unable to detect anything special about them in archeological excavations.
What has remained for us from the early ages as evidence of carpet-weaving is nothing more than a few pieces of worn-out rugs.
Such fragments are not of any great help in identifying the traits in carpet-weaving during the pre-Seljuk period (13th and 14th centuries CE). Among the oldest pieces discovered are those found in Eastern Turkestan (China), dating back to the third to fifth centuries CE, and also some of the hand-woven carpets from the Seljuks of Asia Minor which are on display in Alaeddin Mosque in Konya and Ashrafoghlu Mosque in Beyshehir Turkey. These pieces, which draw the attention of researchers earlier this century, are currently kept in the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art in Istanbul and the Molana Museum in Konya.
The exceptional Pazyryk carpet was discovered among the ices of Pazyryk Valley, in Altai Mountains, in Siberia during archeological excavations conducted in 1949. It was discovered in the grave of a Scythian prince by a group of Russian archeologists under the supervision of Professor Rudenko. Radiocarbon testing revealed that Pazyryk carpet had been woven in the fifth century BCE. This carpet is 1.83×2 meters and has 36 symmetrical knots per square centimeters. The advanced weaving technique, used in the Pazyryk carpet, indicates a long history of evolution and experience of this art.
Most experts believe that the Pazyryk carpet is the ultimate achievement of at least 1,000 years of experience and history. According to this theory, the art of carpet-weaving in Iran is at least 3,500 years old.
The founders of the Carpet Museum of Iran established the museum with a limited number of Persian carpets and kilims In 1978 in order to revive and develop the art of carpet-weaving in the country and provide a source to satiate the needs for research about the historical background and evolution of this art.
The Carpet Museum of Iran, with its beautiful architecture and façade resembling a carpet-weaving loom, is located in the northwest of Laleh Park in Tehran. It has two exhibition galleries covering an area of 3,400 sq.m.
The ground floor gallery is assigned to permanent exhibitions while the upper floor gallery has been set aside for temporary exhibitions of carpets, kilims, and carpet designs.
Source: Irandailyonline.ir
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Tehran, Aug 29, IRNA - Carpet-weaving is undoubtedly one of the most distinguished manifestations of Iranian culture and art, dating back to the Bronze Age.
