Every month or so, we will post a few interesting rug-related terms and their definitions in this glossary for your knowledge and enjoyment.

Always educate yourself on a topic before you make a purchase, especially with something like Persian Rugs!

Art Squares- Late nineteenth-century, power-loomed English carpets. These carpets were woven as whole, independent carpets, rather than as carpeting strips to be sewn together according to prior practice.

ashik gul- A gul of serrated or stepped diamonds. The diamonds may be concentric.

asymmetric knot- A pile knot. The pPersian (Farsibaff) or Senneh knot. This knot may be open to the right or left.

Floral carpet- A design classification of early Caucasian rugs.

The oldest rugs of this design are eighteenth-century Caucasian carpets derived from the Dragon carpets. Early examples show a leaf lattice which contains palmettes and a variety of floral motifs.

Ay-gul- A generally circular medallion of Eastern Turkestan rugs, especially rugs of Khotan. There are many variations, but the most common ay gul medallions contain rosettes or cloud bands.

Azo dyes- These are synthetic direct dyes introduced about 1880, including Ponceau 2R, Amaranth and Roccelline. For the early azo dyes, particular acidity conditions were needed to fix the dye. These conditions were not always met in a rug-producing areas with the result that these dyes bled and faded.

Glossary Source: The Oriental Rug Lexicon (Paperback) By (author) Peter F. Stone