The term carpet was used originally to describe
coverings for tables, beds, and other furniture, and only from the
early 18th century was it associated with the floor. The history
of area rugs and carpets is divided into two major traditions: the
Asian and the Western. The older and opulent carpet is the Asian
tradition, which includes Central Asian, Middle Eastern, North
African, Indian, and Chinese artisans. The Western tradition,
derived from the Asian, was established much later. It had a brief
period of individuality in France, but succumbed to imitation and
to mechanical weaving in the 19th century. The origins of the
technique of pile-woven carpets in Europe are obscure, although
Asian carpets were imported from early times.
The earliest European pile carpets were produced
in 12th- and 13th-century Spain, which had familiar ties with the
Islamic world. All carpets were woven with a single warp knot
peculiar to the Spanish. France was the most important center of
pile-woven carpet manufacture in 17th- and 18th-century Europe.
Two major weaving centers were Savonnerie in 1627 and Aubusson in
1742. These centers were established for the production of carpets
based on Eastern techniques; today the name Savonnerie is
equivalent for luxurious French pile carpets. It was not
until the second half of the 16th century and the early part of
the 17th century that carpets were produced in England. The three
main centers of production were Kidderminster, Wilton, and
Axminster. These first machine-made carpets were inexpensive,
coarse, reversible floor coverings woven for utility.
Tapestry is probably the oldest of the
flat-surfaced patterned carpet weaves. Wefts, or horizontal
threads, that do not run the full width of the fabric,
characterize it. Instead, discontinuous wefts of different colors
form the design patterns. Soumak, another technique for making
flat-woven rugs, originated in the Middle East as early as the 7th
century BC. With this method wefts are wrapped onto the warps in a
lateral direction. Frequently, rows of soumak are alternated with
rows of plain weave. Other flat-woven rug techniques include
brocading and embroidery. In some cases, two or more techniques
may be used in the production of a single rug. Ingrain carpet,
popular in middle-class homes in 18th and 19th
century America, was a flat, woven, reversible wool carpet. This
coarse area rug was woven on a jacquard loom accommodating up to
six colored weft threads. In many middle class homes of the 1800s
at least one room had ingrain carpet.
