In the last issue, we talked about how antique carpet auctions have been exploding, and we also talked about how handmade carpet auctions have long been available in our country. This issue continues the story of why they have become a luxury item with high prices.
As a necessity made by nomads and used to protect themselves from the cold, hand-made carpets have gradually become an exquisite art that has been passed down from generation to generation for more than 2000 years. The well-known “Ancient Silk Road” was a “great river” through Central Asia more than 2,000 years ago, starting in Chang’an, China (now Xi’an), passing through Dunhuang into the Tarim Basin to the Pamir Plateau, connecting East Asia, Central Asia, Persia (now Iran), Turkey, and reaching ancient Rome and European countries. It reached ancient Rome and other European countries, linking the economies and cultures of China and the West. The artistic treasures that we see today are full of Persian cultural connotations, which have spread from this ancient trade route to all over the world, soaked into the daily life and become an essential part of the fashionable home.
The reason why handmade carpets are called “soft gold under the feet” and “art on the ground” is mainly due to three reasons: weight, pattern and color, and technology.
First of all, in terms of weight, the material of handmade carpet usually combines wool, cotton, silk, gold silk and silver silk. The pure wool weave has been one of the reasons why handmade carpets are famous all over the world, and wool is the main raw material for knitting handmade carpets. The Persians are very particular about the choice of wool, they usually choose koak as the raw material to weave high quality and knotted carpets, koak is the alias of wool from 8 to 14 months old lambs in the cold grazing mountains, the carpets woven with this wool are delicate, smooth and soft.
Silk is the embellishment material in handmade carpets. The smooth quality of silk can make the carpet very soft and play a good reflective effect, which can highlight the design of the carpet and emphasize the theme and inspiration of the carpet. There are also some handmade carpets that use gold and silver silk, but they are for the special use of royalty or nobility as a gift. As the weight of various materials may vary, but the lighter the better, a carpet of excellent quality and lightness is always the best collection. Patterns and colors: Handmade carpets have their own unique style, which varies from region to region, creating the quality of handmade carpets with complex processes, different styles and a wide variety.
The history of handmade carpets is as long as the history of its country, and its requirements on the selection of raw materials, color matching, design of patterns and weaving skills are extremely strict, so handmade carpets are one of the most delicate, most decorative, most valuable and best quality carpets in the world.
On the whole, domestic auction centers have intervened in the antique carpet auction market with great fanfare, because the artistic value and investment value of handmade antique carpets are getting more and more attention from collectors and investors. We still need to wait and see. This period of sharing ends here! Don’t forget to pay attention to the collection, in case you can’t find me anymore!