The former Soviet Republic of Armenia, stretching over an area of over 11,000 square miles, is a mountainous country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia. Since ancient times, the craft of Armenian artisans was exported to different regions of the world. These works of Armenian art (textiles, stone, wood products and ceramics) were known as the main trading objects in European markets and occupied an important place in the daily life of various cultures. As the most important form of weaving, carpet production was one of the oldest and most important crafts practiced in the region. The records of historians and travelers testify to the extensive reputation of Armenian carpets in the Middle Ages. As a soft fabric with desirable patterns, the carpets were comfortable to lay on the floor, cover the walls, hang in doorways and throw on the tables and beds. The role of carpets in everyday rural life determined their size, choice of threads, color range, as well as their artistic structure.
Throughout the year, handicraft handicraft carpets, a Caucasian specialty, among which you can find some old and valuable objects, are offered in local markets of “decorative and applied art” through Armenia. National Art Gallery In the capital of "Yerevan" there are more than 16,000 works that belong to the Middle Ages, which show the rich history of Armenia and the history of the past. Arab, Mongolian, Tatar invasions and wars, continuous migrations and great fires destroyed many valuable artifacts of the material culture of the Armenian people, including some of the early carpets. Nevertheless, historical, linguistic, literary sources, traditional forms, as well as the origin of the artistic decorations of carpets that have been preserved, complete the history of Armenian carpets, confirm their high quality and determine their place and role in art Persian and Oriental carpets ,
Armenian carpets are in great respect for the use of local materials. Wool, silk, cotton, sometimes gold and silver threads, and also soft goat hair were used in weaving of the Armenian carpet. These Armenian carpets, completely woven from wool (warp, ducks and heaps), are reliably expensive and highly valued among others. Armenian wool stands next to Egyptian wool. In Armenia, wool is dyed with animals, vegetables and mineral dyes. Dyeing wool is an important step in weaving the carpet, since this is where the artistic meaning of the carpet begins. The usual wool dyeing system exists among Armenian carpets, although each master works according to his own inspiring forces. The process is carried out in copper or clay pots, and the contents are mixed with a wooden spoon. To dry it, the dyed thread is thrown on the stones in direct sunlight. The faded threads disappear and dry again, sometimes many times, until the required colors are achieved. Streams are sometimes produced in warm cattle sheds, although the final product may look different in this method.
Armenian weaving machines are either vertical (Western Armenia) or horizontal (some provinces of Eastern Armenia). Often, more than one carpet is simultaneously woven by Armenian women on the same loom. Most Armenian weavers use Symmetric (Turkish) knots, with the exception of East Armenian weaver carpets, which use asymmetric (Persian) knots. Instead of creating a design on a piece of paper (called a cartoon), the carpet to be copied is usually placed next to the loom or woven from memory. As the values of applied art constantly continue to pay special attention, interest in handmade Oriental carpets also continues to grow. Thanks to innovations in the carpet industry that have been occurring so quickly over the past few decades, the future of Persian carpets and oriental carpets will be very interesting to see.
