Glossary of Rug Terms #3

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

Always educate yourself on a topic before you make a purchase!

Sample, set of samples –

A set of rugs, usually 6 by 9 feet, representing a broader range of programmed rugs. A sample rug is shown to a customer in a retail store.

The customer may then select a rug, on the basis of the sample, from a range of as many as 20 to 50 different rug sizes and colorways.

Ru-onaghi– A donkey cover. Such a cover is distinguished from a horse cover in that it has only one pectoral piece, rather than two.

Romania– Modern pile rug production in Romania was begun by Armenian refugees after the first World War. In the 1920s and 1930s, workshops in Romania wove fine copies of Caucasian and Turkish pile rugs. These copies were so convincing that some were purchased as authentic by major museums. Significant pile rug weaving for export began about 1950 and increased in 1975 after US tariffs were lifted.

Room-size rug–

Large rugs intended to cover most of the floor of a room in a Western dwelling. Typical sizes are from 8 feet by 10 feet, 9 feet by 12 feet, 10 feet by 14 feet, 12 feet by 15 feet, 12 feet by 18 feet, and 14 feet by 20 feet.

These sizes are not traditional Islamic carpet sizes, but sizes and proportions developed for the Western market in Iran and the late nineteenth century.

Lackchi– In India, sinuous weft in rugs.

Lampas– A fabric in which a pattern of supplementary weft floats is bound by a secondary binding warp which is supplementary.

Lanceolate leaves– A common floral motif in oriental rugs consisting of a narrow, curving, tapering leaf. Often, one or both edges are serrated.

Lamp–

The hanging oil lamp is a common motif in prayer rugs. It is placed close to, or hangs from, the apex of the mihrab.

The motif may refer to hanging lamps in mosques or serve as the symbol of God who is described in the Koran as “the light of the heavens and the earth”.