These wonderful rugs draw their inspiration from embroidered Kaitag textiles. These are not traditional rug designs but textile designs that have been repurposed and redrawn to make these extraordinary rugs.

Kaitag textiles originate from the Kaitag district of Daghestan. The abstract designs found in Kaitag embroideries translates beautifully into rugs. These rugs look modern and tribal and colorful and exciting!

Stop by to check them out. These rugs don’t last! Thanks, Chris

The Seljuk Empire ruled over Anatolia (modern Turkey) from around the 11th century to the 13th century. The capital of the Empire was Iconium or modern day Konya. Three complete Seljuk rugs and five fragments were uncovered in the Konya Aleddin Mosque in 1905. How these rugs were discovered is fascinating in itself! You can read more about the discovery here on Tea and Carpets Blog.

In any event, whenever I am in Istanbul, I visit these wonderfully evocative carpets. I took these pictures myself without the use of a flash so things may be a bit dark. But hopefully you can sense some of the majesty these carpets inspire in me. For me, a visit to this museum is like a religious pilgrimage. Thanks for looking! Chris

Anyway, this is likely the last batch of Iranian kilims I will get in a long time. In addition, the kilims from this group are stunners! Check out the images below. Kilim rugs (or “gelims” as they are called in Iran) were incredibly popular in the Eighties and into the Nineties. But in recent years, they have lost some of their popularity. What that means fro you and me is that prices have come down! Yes, antique kilims are probably going for about half of what they were going for at their peak in the late eighties. Some are speculating that kilims are coming “back in” but it is too early to call. In any event, I love kilims! In fact, I started my business by importing only good naturally dyed kilims from Turkey such as this one. I have always carried a nice stock of flat-woven rugs and intent to continue to do so. So, I am very happy to share this new shipment with you. Please enjoy! Chris, Nomad Rugs

What is a suzani? Good question! “Suzani” is the Persian word for embroidery. And in Uzbekistan, the art of embroidery  was taken to incredible levels. Uzbek women embroidered elaborate panels of vibrant silk thread into works of startling beauty. Older 19th century embroideries are highly collected with better pieces reaching prices of tens and even hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Close-up of an Uzbek embroidered "suzani"

But what does this have to do with rugs? Yes…. I was just getting to that. Well, some of today’s more creative rug producers began to look at  classic 19th century Uzbek suzanis and they said to themselves, “That is a beautiful design! Why not make a rug with that design?”. And that is exactly what they did. They made new rugs with beautiful Uzbek suzani designs. I almost imagine a 007 type rug producer pulling up to the bazar and requesting, “I’ll have one suzani, knotted, not stitched…. hold the olives.”

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, there are some incredible rugs being made today! We are witnessing a rug renaissance. And these suzani rugs are a new breed of rug that I sometimes call “Hybrid Rugs”. Like the Ikat rugs that I previously wrote about, these rugs are inspired by traditional textile designs. There are a few other cool “hybrid” rugs around today that I will include in some latter blog posts including rugs that are modeled from traditional African textiles as well as Indonesian textiles.

It is cool to see the continuing evolution of rugs and rug designs. New rugs mining the rich field of traditional textiles and coming up with bold and beautiful pieces of woven wonder!

Here are some photos of some of our new Suzani rugs. Click on the image to take you to more info about the rug.

Afghan Suzani Rug closeup

Thanks for looking! Chris, Nomad Rugs

PS: Here is a little musical bonus. Lyrics to the “Suzani Song” to be sung to the music of “My Sharona”. Just sing along to the Knack, use these words… or make up yer own.

Oh you little pretty one
You pretty one
Makin you musta took a long time
Suzani

I’m a gonna make you mine
Suzani

My, my, my, mine
Suzani

For a while now, we have been stocking some superb examples of Mamluk rugs. What is a Mamluk rug? Good question! First, a little history.

The word “Mamluk” is translated to “owned”. The Mamluk were a slave caste who were converted to Islam and served as soldiers under the the Muslim Arab Caliphs. Many of the these Mamluk soldiers were Circassians. On several occasions, they rose to power, overthrowing their retainers and for more than two centuries ruled over Egypt and Syria as the Mamluk Dynasty (1250-1517 AD).

During that time, the arts flourished. The age of the Mamluks is often referred to as a renaissance of Islamic arts. Mamluk rugs are particularly resplendent. These carpets can be described as having a sublime quality; more than just fine carpets, they are evocative works of art. Their remarkable composition of arabesques and geometric forms hint at the search to represent unity or singularity within complexity.

Some of my favorite rug producers have been successfully creating killer new Mamluks rugs! These rugs are being woven in Egypt, in Afghanistan, in India and in Pakistan. Check out some of these images. Click on the image for more info on the rug. And keep on rugging! Regards, Chris

Check out these killer new rugs woven in Afghanistan. They are based on the classic “Bird Rugs” of the Luri, Khamsheh and Qashq’ai tribes of Iran.

These rug are the inspiration of rug expert and author, James Opie. Animals, especially birds, often appear in the rugs of the tribal and nomadic weavers of Iran and Central Asia. This makes perfect sense when you think about what a central role animals (and nature in general) played in the lives of these weavers.

I am absolutely delighted by these new rugs! Not only is the quality exceptional: glossy handspun wool, tight weaving and rich saturated natural dyes! But the “drawing” of the rug is also fabulous and true to the originals: powerfully tribal yet whimsical and playful at the same time. I hope you like these rugs as much as I do.

Click on any image to take you to a full sized picture of the rug.

all my best, Chris

Various Uzbek Ikats

You may have heard of Ikats? They are woven fabrics made using a complex tie-died method. This technique has been used primarily in Uzbekistan and Indonesia. Well, you may also know that the Uzbek Ikats (know there as “abr”) and Ikat designs have been inspiring western fashion designers who have been incorporating them into clothes. They have also been showing up as furniture upholstery.

And now, Uzbek Ikat is used as the design source to create unique and beautiful rugs! Very cool. Well, actually, there is some thought that Ikat designs have been influencing rug design (and vice-versa) in Central Asia for hundreds of years. But, it is new to see such faithful recreations of Ikats done in naturally dyed pile rugs made in Afghanitan. Very cool stuff! Personally, I love these new rugs! There are a few rug producers that I know who have been playing with this idea. I am lucky to have recently acquired some fabulous examples of this new cross pollination art!

Check out some of these beauties!! (the rugs I mean!) Click on a rug image for more info and additional images.

Stop by the shop sometime and check out the new Ikat rugs!

all my best,

Chris

The Ersari rugs have long been some of the favorite rugs that we carry. In fact, I personally own one Ersari rug from this weaving project that resides in my living room. I also got the chance to visit the Ersari project when it was still situated in Pakistan some years ago. Here is an image from one of the larger looms they had going.

What I love about this particular rug is the proportions! They were able to fit a wonderful Engsi design into a 2′x3′ rug! And, the rug looks perfectly balanced and well articulated! I am sort of a fan of 2′x3′ rugs. When done well, I find that a 2′x3′ rug is sort of like reading a great short-story. You can really fit a lot into a small “canvas”. But let’s face it, there are a lot of really boring small rugs (in fact, there are a lot of boring large rugs too). So, to find such a rug sort of excites me!

What is an Engsi? Good question: used to be, they were thought to be prayer rugs. Now, it is more commonly thought they were the door cover (or tent flap) of the Turkmen’s yurt. But, there is still some debate about this. Here is a great discussion of the subject.

In any event, I love the various Engsi designs! There is something strangely evocative about the directional design. And, on this particular piece there is the wonderfull camel elem (the bottom border of the rug) depicting a camel train.

What more could you ask for in a small rug woven? It is woven in a project that supports health care and education, it is woven with natural dyes, handspun wool and it is beautiful!

best regards,

Chris