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About Carpets
Kashmir
"the heaven on earth" produces the finest handmade rugs
in the world.
Nature
has blessed Kashmir craftsmen with the finest materials to weave the classical
oriental exotic and Kashmir motif rugs.
The history of development of rug industry in Kashmir was associated with
and influenced by the opulent life styles of its RULERS, NOBLES and ARISTOCRATS.
The great Mughal Emperors Jahangir and Shahjahan (the later, who built
the famous Monument of Love "The Taj Mahal") established a distinctive
style in Art and Architecture of that era. The rugs woven during those
periods bore the similar motifs, patterns, decorative styles as found
in the palaces, monuments and museums!
After so many centuries we still find those rarefied hand knotted wonder
which has been revived by ATSAR with the help of the descendants
of master craftsmen of yesteryears.
ATSAR has not only revived the traditional crafts but imbibed professional
tinge through traditional artisans and professional designers.
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The
Design :
Lot of new motifs are created by the masters of the rug designing
in addition to the designs which are the replicas of ceilings of old
monuments, palaces, paintings, photographs and actual rugs. The designs
are created on graph paper then translated and converted into a script
known as 'Taleem'
The number of knots per square inch, color scheme, weft lines are
all in the Taleem which are chanted to the weavers by either a 'Caller'
or master craftsman himself who has memorized many patterns over the
years.
The weavers must be educated and have a good command and knowledge
of mathematics and language to design and weave skillfully. Classical
designs such as 'Kashhan', 'Kirman', 'Ardebile', 'Isfahan', 'Joshgan',
'Shalimar', 'Shaheen', 'Guldan', 'Navrattan' etc. are reproduced by
ATSAR besides the distinct Kashmiri designs and designs based on flora
and fauna of Kashmir. |
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The
Yarn :
The quality of a rug is primarily determined by the quality of materials
used in the rug e.g. the quality of silk material depends on the climate,
soil and altitude where the mulberry trees are grown, the tender leaves
of which are fed to the silk worms who produce cocoons from where
we get twenty eight silk fibers to make a single ply. For example
there are 4 plies to a thread used for a 400 hundred knot per square
inch rug. And water used for processing and the quality of fast dyes
for the yarn.
The wool quality again depends on the climate, altitude and the type
of specie of lamb from where the wool has been sheared, the type of
pastures grazed and composition of water partaken by the lamb. The
finest wool comes from the neck and the shoulder of the spring clipped
which gives a suppleness, softness and luster to the rug. |
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The
weave :
The size of the loom varies according to the dimensions of the rug.
The basic fabric of the rug is woven by tying rows of knots between
adjacent warp threads.
The Kashmiri Weaver ties his knots with great dexterity with wool
or silk threads on upright wooden looms (which gives a nap to the
pile of the rug).
The warp is mounted on the upper beam and the woven (hand knotted)
fabric wound to the lower beam so that necessity of high ceiling is
not required.
Warp weaves vertically and forms the base of the rug, weft weaves
horizontally and knotting forms the intricate design on the rug. The
warp is usually cotton, except for a few rugs that have woolen or
silken warp.
The fineness of the rug is judged by the number of knots per square
inch area, the design, the colors and the quality of the yarn. The
number of knots per square inch count is exactly like resolution of
a photograph, the more the knots count the finer the picture. The
firmness, thickness and the sharp appearance of the back of the rugs
are important considerations. |
Thus
the people, place and the artifacts justifies the famous saying "Agar
Firdaus Ba Roye Zamin Ast, Hame Ast Hame Ast Wa Hame Ast" (If there
is a heaven on earth it is this, it is this and here).
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