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The origin of carpet weaving in Europe is obscure,
although some European countries did produce flat weaves
and tapestries more than a thousand years before the introduction
of pile carpets.
Evidence shows that Oriental
carpets were first imported after 1000 AD, so the
technique of pile-knotting would at least have been known
if not immediately imitated. You can visit our european
rugs mall at
rug stores.
The spread of pile carpets throughout Europe can be traced
to the presence of the Moors in Spain, the Crusades (11th
to 13th centuries), the travels of Marco Polo (1254 - 1324)
and the embassies of Venice from the 13th century onwards.
It was also helped by the colonial expansion of Portugal which
began in the 14th century, with later settlements in the Persian
Gulf (1509), Goa (1510) and Japan (1542) before the country
was conquered by Philip II of Spain in 1580.
One of the oldest fragments of European pile
carpets
is preserved in the Schlosskirche at Quedlinburg in the
Harz mountain region of what was formerly East Germany.
This is a portion of a rug known to have been made in
the time of the Abbess Agness (1186 - 1203) and which
must have originally measured 24 feet by 20 feet. On it,
we see rows representing scenes of Martianus Capella's
Marriage of Mercury and Philology.
It was woven using the single knot like the one used in Spanish
carpets, although no link with Spanish weavers has been determined.
In 1255 when Eleanor of Castile married Edward I of England,
she brought with her many fine Spanish rugs, which are said
to have come from Cordoba or Granada.
In most of England, however, rushes and hay were strewn as
floor coverings, even in palaces and large houses up until
the early 17th century. Some lords were even reported to have
the hay rugs changed everyday. Paul Hentzer, a German traveler,
wrote that he personally saw hay strewn on the floor of Queen
Elizabeth's presence chamber at Greenwich Palace in 1598.
Gradually, the wealthier British started using pile rugs
throughout their homes.
In old European paintings, all depicted floor coverings resemble
Oriental carpets, which is not surprising since Europeans
were importing Persian rugs long before they themselves learned
the craft.
Many believe that Venice imported rugs from
Asia Minor in the 15th century and that Europeans from
all over preferred Oriental rugs. By the end of the 17th
century, Persian and Turkish carpets were among the highest
valued possessions in Europe. Kings and emperors would
give silk Persian
carpets to other political leaders as gifts to gain
their ally or friendship.
By the mid 18th to 19th century almost all countries of Europe
were weaving rugs of their own. The top producers were Spain,
France, Poland, Italy, Great Britain, Germany, Austria, Holland,
Romania, as well as Norway, Sweden and Finland.
Today, handmade European rugs are rare as the industry cannot
compete with the quality and cost of labor of Oriental rugs.
Instead, some European countries such as Belgium have developed
significant machine-made rug industries, mainly after World
War II.
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