A new version of the oldest rug ever discovered......
The Pazyryk carpet
In a unique archaeological excavation in 1949, the exceptional Pazyryk
carpet was discovered among the ices of Pazyryk Valley, in 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. This carpet is 283 by 200
cm (approximately 9.3 by 6.5 ft) and has 36 symmetrical knots per cm²
(232 per inch²). The advanced weaving technique used in the Pazyryk
carpet indicates a long history of evolution and experience in this art.
Pazyryk carpet is considered as the oldest carpet in the world. Its
central field is a deep red color and it has two wide borders, one
depicting deer and the other Persian horsemen.
The Pazyryk carpet
was thought, by its discoverer Sergei Rudenko, to be a product of the
Achaemenids.Currently, whether it is a nomadic product with Achaemenid
influence, or a product of the Achaemenids remains the subject of
debate.
Historical records show that the Achaemenian court of Cyrus
the Great at Pasargade was decked with magnificent carpets. This was
over 2,500 years ago, while Persia was still in a weak alliance with
Alexander the Great. Alexander II of Macedonia is said to have been
dazzled by the carpets in the tomb area of Cyrus the Great at Pasargade.
By the sixth century, Persian carpets of wool or silk were
renowned in court circles throughout the region. The Bahârestân (spring)
carpet of Khosrow I was made for the main audience hall of the Sassanid
imperial Palace at Ctesiphon in the Sassanid province of Khvârvarân (in
present-day Iraq). It was 450 feet (140 m) long and 90 feet (27 m) wide
and depicted a formal garden. With the occupation of the Sassanid
capital, Tuspawn, in the 7th century CE, the Baharestan carpet was taken
by the Arabs, cut into small fragments and divided among the victorious
soldiers as booty.
According to historians, the famous Tāqdis
throne was covered with 30 special carpets representing 30 days of a
month and four other carpets representing the four seasons of a year.
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