Discover the history of the rug!

Long ago in a land far away, the phenomenon of the 'rug' began to exist. Born under the name 'carpet', but already famous for its dazzling beauty. The fact that carpet barely lay on the floor until 1900 is a fun fact and only the beginning of the secrets behind the coveted little floor mat you're about to discover in this blog!

Already in the Old Testament the carpet was praised, so the oldest knotted rug was called the 'Pazyryk'. The use of carpets has had a wonderful journey. Do you want to know how the rug then ended up in our living rooms? You will soon be like this poet, one of those who knows in this short summary about the history of the rug. So. A touch of poetic art to get you in the artistic mood. Because although the rug started as something practical, over time it has grown into a coveted work of art. Once only for the elite, fortunately nowadays also for the everyday person.

The carpet, back in time

Let's start at the beginning. Back to the time when men were truly hairy, women didn't cook from packets and children never got spoiled. In the time of nomads, everyone was busy surviving. Each people in their own way, but both the Chinese, the Egyptians and the Maya's on the South American continent filled their days with gathering food, hunting, seeking shelter and staying warm. First people hung animal hides on the walls of huts to keep the warmth inside, but soon humans figured out that knotting and weaving wool yarns and plant fibres into large pieces of cloth worked much better. The first carpets were therefore primarily practical in nature.

The carpet and its beauty

But as time went on and life became less primitive, the beauty of the living environment also became more important. Men became a bit less hairy, women wore dresses with slightly more of a waist. So the carpets came under scrutiny! Through new knotting and weaving techniques, patterns could be created, allowing knotted rugs to be fitted with different colours, prints and decorations. Over time, carpet knotting became increasingly sophisticated, developing into a true art form in the Middle East.

The carpet of the oldest age

The golden-oldie among carpets is the aforementioned "Pazyryk" carpet. In 1949, archaeologists stumbled upon the remarkably well-preserved Persian carpet during an excavation in Siberia. However, research suggests that the carpet, made from a considerable amount of precious camel hair, must have originated from Armenia, which was then a region within the Persian empire. The carpet probably served to accompany a highly honoured prince on his journey to the afterlife. At that time, the elite were buried with everything that could be moved, to make life in heaven as comfortable as possible. That a few days after burial the grave tombs were completely looted is another story. In this case, fortune had it that the robbers forgot the rug, permafrost did its work and the rug from 400 BC until the day of excavation was exceptionally well preserved and can call itself 'the oldest and entirely preserved carpet' in the world.

The carpet in the trading struggle

Around the 10th century, global trade began to flourish. Because European crusaders, merchants and explorers enjoyed themselves in the oriental Middle East, they came into contact with the beauty of carpet knotting art. Being greedy as they were, they laid down considerable sums for the Eastern carpets so they could show them off in their European homeland. In this way, the carpet trade became very expensive and therefore extremely important. At some point it was the French king who decided that he could better invest all that money in a carpet factory in his own country so that at least the money from the merchants would stay in France. However, every time a carpet was finished, the good man was enchanted by its beauty, so he wanted to keep them all himself!

From carpet to rug

That the French king with his l'amour for carpets would be the forerunner of the European carpet industry, he probably didn't know at the time. For although carpets until the 18th century were mainly seen as art objects, the industrial revolution put an end to that. The production of carpets became easier, faster and cheaper through the use of machines. This meant that carpets evolved from exceptional luxury to mass-produced goods. This meant that you could not only look at them but also walk over them. And that is how a rug was created!