This decorative art goes back thousands of years to its functional purpose as insulation from the elements when hung from walls or placed over the floor of dwellings. These woven works served various functions through time such as cloaks and bed coverings in Scandinavia to prayer rugs in Muslim regions. By the 16th century in Persia and Turkey carpet weaving developed into an artistic tradition. In the 16th and 17th centuries rug making peaked in India under the Mughal rulers who imported the tradition from Persia. Traditional Oriental carpets are made of wool or cotton using vertical looms and are typically rectangular in shape.
Techniques vary from region to region but usually a denser weave results in a finer quality piece.
The yarn is either left in its original color or changed with natural dyes. Although the colors and designs vary they are almost always comprised of a border and a field. The patterns range from geometrical and abstract to literal and naturalistic with flowers, animals, and garden scenes. The patterns and colors are not incidental but often have symbolic or allegorical references. The patterns of Muslim prayer rugs are always marked by the inclusion of the mihrab which is a reference to Mecca because of the direction the rug would face during prayer.