The art of rug making reaches back into pre-history. The majority of pieces available today at dealers, auctions, antique shops, department stores and even museums are mostly products of the 19th and 20th century.

In order to meet the demands of western markets new materials and dye processes were initiated to speed up the production of rug making after the second half of the 19th century. Although the methods of production have become more organized and standardized, many aspects of weaving remain unchanged in many of the traditional places of rug making.

Unfortunately very little is known about the earliest examples of knotted rugs. A small number of these have been preserved in museums and private collections, but the sadly the vast majority of older rugs have disappeared.

The survival of the earliest knotted rug, the Pazyryk carpet, is owed to the Siberian ice in the Altai mountains near the outer Mongolian border. This rug, discovered by Soviet archaeologist S.I. Rudenko in 1949, was covered by ice in a burial chamber and had been preserved that way for over 2500 years. The Pazyryk carpet is of unknown origin, measuring roughly 6 by 5 feet woven with the Turkish knot. The design is of a dominant tile-work central motif surrounded by borders featuring rows of elk and horsemen.

As early as the Eighth Century B.C., wealthy families frequently adorned their homes with magnificent rugs. The great period of creativity in rug making took place in Persia during the Safavil period (1499-1722) under the reigns of Shah Tahmasp and Shah Abbas. From this period came the most glorious and outstanding rugs of historic significance.

Tabriz, Kashan, Herat, and Kerman became busy centers of rug production. Under the Persian king Shah Tahmasp in the late 16th Century, the famous Ardebil carpet was made. Today this priceless work of art is preserved in the Victoria and Albert museum in London. The Ardebil is considered is regarded as one of the most magnificent rugs of the world. It is approximately 17 by 34 feet with over 32 million tightly woven knots.

An interesting fact is that the art of rug weaving flourished in the 15th Century in Persia and Turkey. Followed by Indin early in the 16th Century and China in the 17th Century. Even though weaving was common to all humanity, the end result of each ethnic group was quite different. This theme of recurring ideas was coined Volkergedanken by German ethnologist Adolf Bastian (1826-1905).

In addition, paralleling urban weaving centers, nomadic and village weavers continued their centuries-old craft of knotted rugs, with the earliest surviving examples dating from the eighteenth century. In the 18th Century Oriental rugs were first used on floors as well as table coverings and wall hangings.

During the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelpia, Oriental rugs were introduced to America. This rug exhibit made a lasting impression on the Americans who saw it. The founder of W.J. Sloan, William Sloan, bought the entire collection from the exhibition and opened the first major retailing store for Oriental rugs in America.

It was in Europe in the 19th Century that Oriental rugs were first studied by scholars. The first major Oriental rug exhibition in Europe was in Vienna in 1891. The most important collections of Persian rugs are now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the National Museum in Teheran, and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

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