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Indian Carpet
is renowned the world over for their exquisite designs,
subtle elegance, attractive colors and workmanship. The
magnificence of Indian carpet weaving and the intricate
patterns that have emerged from it have substantially increased
India's carpet exports and placed it prominently in the
international carpet map.
Carpet weaving was brought to India by the
great Mughal Emperor Akbar in the 16th century. Some of the
most exclusive carpets were created during the Mughal reign,
each carpet unlike the other but infused with a common magic
of colors and design.
The carpet weaver has gradually grown as
an artist, a creator who could weave poetry in to his designs
and every knot he tied, giving a touch of aesthetic beauty
to his creations.
A carpet weaver's skills are his own and
the designs he evolves are from his mind to be translated
in to beautiful form with the help of wool and silk.
Colors fascinate. And when they are blended
with material and designs, they acquire a radiance that is
alive. Indian carpet is renowned for their exotic colors.
At the beginning of the 20th century, nature
was the most important source of perfect dyes and subtle and
attractive colors.
Madder, which grows almost everywhere, was
the most important colorant of vegetable origin. Its root
provided the whole range of pinks and reds and with the green
from the grass and brown from the kiker tree. This gave the
weaver a wide choice. Nowadays, all types of natural dyes
are used.
From the outset, wool has been the basic
material for the knotted woolen carpet. The wool used for
the pile has a variety of origins, the use related to the
role for which the carpet is being woven. However silk is
commonly used in hand knotted silk carpets in Kashmir where
the weaver also has access to the wool of the highest quality.
Pattern in a carpet
is as much an integral part of the carpet as coloring. The
Indian carpet
weaver freed carpets from the limitation of space, repeated
intricate and infinite patterns in an ordered symmetry and
wove abstract symbols into dense ornamentation.
The figurative was combined with the geometric
and floral with the arabesque. The usual procedure adopted
by the weaver is to draw his designs and transfer them to
graph paper on which each square represents a single knot.
Then the paper is divided into varying parts
depending on whether the pattern is intended for the center
medallion or for a part of a repeated pattern. These sheets
of paper are then passed on to the knotting workshop.
The other manner followed by the weavers
of Kashmir and Amritsar is the 'Talim', which demands time
and experience. A coded color chart indicates the number of
knots to be woven in their respective colors. The master-weaver
reads aloud from it and the weavers follows his directions
carefully. The colors and number of knots to be woven are
indicated by signs.
The master-weaver winds the warp around
the loom and begins chanting the 'Talim' and the knitters
chant their reply after carrying out the instruction.
The loom gives shape to the carpet-weaver's
creative expressions.
One of the most commonly used looms in India
is the roller-beam loom. The simplest of these looms has two
horizontal wooden beans between which the wrap threads are
stretched, the one beam in front of the weaver; the other
is behind the first. As the knotting proceeds, the carpet
is rolled to the back of the loom. The weaver begins by weaving
a selvedge and several shoots of weft are passed to form a
narrow band to secure the knots at the end of the carpet.
The Indian carpet weaver uses the asymmetrical
or Persian knot, which is, tied with a strand of Yarn around
two adjacent warp threads, leaving some threads free at either
side for the lateral selvedges. Each knot is separated from
its neighbor by a loop that is cut after the next shoot of
weft. This knot is also called the 'two-handed knot' as it
can be executed both from right to left and from left to right.
The process is more widespread as it is more rapid.
Washing of a carpet is done to bring sheen
and luster, therefore, it is as important as coloring, designing
and weaving. this is the final stage of carpet weaving and
hence requires a lot of careful handling.
Before washing, the carpet goes through
the stage of burning the back of the carpet, rubbing with
wired brush and berai to make it even.
Washing is done with water mixed with soap,
bleaching powder and other natural chemicals. After washing,
the carpet is kept in the sunlight for drying and then it
is sent for clipping.
The final appearance of a carpet comes after
clipping and chemical finishing. The art of clipping reflects
on the emboss like finish in the final carpet.
Finishing is a meticulous process, which
requires skillful craftsmanship and is done piece by piece
in hand knotted carpets.
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