Round Rugs and Carpets around the World

Carpets are used all over the world, for protection, comfort, decoration, and warmth. While carpet is the blanket term, the word rug is also used to describe carpets that are not fixed within a room, such as the many varieties of small round rugs. Many places and societies around the world are associated with the kind of rugs that they produce, from the aboriginal tribes of Africa through to the royal classes of Europe.

There are a number of different types of carpet in use around the world, which differ from each other in terms of their backing, their decoration, the material used, and the method of production. Some of the places around the world that have a culture strongly linked to carpet include Persia, China, Turkey, Pakistan, Morocco, Spain, France, and England.

Carpets and rugs are used all over the world, and differences in carpet decoration and manufacture continue to represent the diversity of the human race. While the terms carpet and rug are often used interchangeably, they do have different meanings. The term rug is used to describe any kind of carpet that does not stretch from wall to wall, such as common small round rugs. The first hand knotted carpet is said to originate from southern Central Asia, between the 3rd and 2nd millennium BCE. However, there is evidence of animal fur being used for warmth as far back as 6000 BCE. China is one country with a long carpet history, although it was not until the 19th century that they started to export their carpets to the rest of the world. Persia and Armenia are famous for their culture of carpets and rug decoration, and carpets in this part of the world were treated like works of art for many centuries.

Stories and traditions are often recorded on traditional carpets, a practice that is still common in the Middle East. Turkey has a vibrant carpet history as well as a strong modern carpet industry, with many famous Turkish carpets represented in European paintings in the 15th and 16th centuries. Pakistan is another place that has a rich history of carpets and rug coverings, and one of the most important locations in the development and refinement of weaving and carpet decoration. Carpets are also widely used in Europe and throughout the new world, with designs native to a number of European countries like France and England.