If you’re searching for Oriental wool area rugs and wondering why it’s easy to find Persian designs, but can’t find a collection that’s genuinely Chinese, the reason why may surprise you. But it’s quite simple: The art of crafting wool area rugs is Persian not Chinese. While silk tapestries and paintings are Chinese, weaving wool into rugs has been learned from other Oriental peoples. So called Chinese rugs may be Tibetan, Indian or Persian by design – others may have Chinese emblems or motifs to satisfy foreign demand, but it’s not a Chinese tradition to have carpets in homes.
Large Chinese Rugs From The Art Deco Period
The famous Chinese Art Deco rugs, which can be found in vintage shops, are items crafted in the 30’s and 40’s as a response to a western demand for Chinese floral motifs. While these rugs were indeed crafted by the Chinese, it was purely with western buyers in mind. These unique non-traditional carpets are now collectible items and are very expensive. They are easily recognized, even the imitations are not hard to spot, because the large Chinese rugs in the art deco style were very unusual colors for Oriental pieces, often pastels woven in wildly contrasting combinations that is absolutely not a Persian or Turkish influence.
The thickness of the weave is very different from Persian ones because it’s common for Chinese wool area rugs to be sculpted, meaning 5 ply of yarn is required to create raised patterns. Since the carpets seldom had a pile that was all one length, these sculpted or raised motifs is what makes the art deco Chinese wool area rug so unique. Because these distinctive pieces were created almost exclusively for export to Western countries, North America and Europe, the quality of a genuine pieces from this period is considered outstanding. However, unless you’re prepared to pay several thousand for a small item, they’re usually out of reach for people on average home decorating budgets. You may be lucky to find an art deco replica, but mostly you’re stuck with Persian designs made in China, or medallion, dragon or floral motifs crafted into cheap rugs designed exclusively for export.
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