Silk has a multi-millennium history as an expensive fiber used to weave luxury garments, textiles, and rugs. Archaeological evidence records silk cultivation in China as early as 6,000 BCE. Spun by several insects including spiders, the silk used in rugs is produced by commercially raised moth caterpillars. The best-known silkworm is B. mori known as the Mulberry silkworm. Silk cultivation travelled from China to Asia and the Islamic world, and by the 15th century was well-established in parts of the West.
The triangular molecular arrangement of silk allows it to reflect rather than absorb light and creates an iridescent sheen that make silk rugs seem to shift in color when viewed at different angles. Silk fiber takes dye well, creating a deep saturated color. The delicacy of silk belies its relative strength while also making it slower to weave than wool but with a finer weave. Some historic silk pile rugs have cotton warps and cotton or silk wefts with the visible pile created by rows of silk knots. Sumptuous and rare antique silk rugs had gold thread diagonally wrapped around silk core fibers to highlight certain areas of a design. Less expensive but still sumptuous rugs combined silk, gold, and wool (see Wool and Silk).
India was the only carpet weaving society whose preferred luxury fiber was pashmina or cashmere wool from the undercoat of the Himalayan mountain goat, not silk. Wild or uncultivated silk (tussah) was produced in Bengal and Assam, but the silk for pile carpets was imported from China or northern Iran. Some fine weave rugs had pashmina pile on a cotton foundation with the addition of a silk weft throughout. Silk and wool rugs are the best of two worlds, contrasting the reflective luminosity of silk with the robust qualities of wool (see Wool and Silk).
Silk
Ivory, Pure Silk, Hand Knotted, Modern, Longer Soft Pile, Pastel Colors, Oriental Rug
SKU : 404150
Exact Size: 8'0" x 10'6"
$4,647
$1,975
FREE SHIPPING
Beige, Hand Loomed, Man Made Art Silk, Tone on Tone Design, Oriental Rug
SKU : 404025
Exact Size: 8'8" x 11'8"
$1,165
$495
FREE SHIPPING
Laurel Green, Mughal Design, Pure Silk Hand Knotted, Oriental Rug
SKU : 403940
Exact Size: 7'10" x 10'2"
$8,970
$3,812
FREE SHIPPING
Goose Gray, Broken Persian Design Tone on Tone, Silken Plant Base Silk Hand Knotted, Short Runner Oriental Rug
SKU : 403725
Exact Size: 2'6" x 5'10"
$929
$395
FREE SHIPPING
Teal Blue 600 Kpsi Pure Silk Hand Knotted Mat Oriental Rug
SKU : 402975
Exact Size: 2'1" x 3'0"
$929
$395
FREE SHIPPING
Silver Gray, Modern Broken Design, Plant Based Silk Hand Knotted, Mat Oriental Rug
SKU : 402790
Exact Size: 2'0" x 3'0"
$186
$79
FREE SHIPPING
Denim Blue, Modern Scenery Design, Hand Knotted, 100% Sari Silk, Oriental Rug
SKU : 376120
Exact Size: 8'8" x 11'9"
$4,320
$1,836
FREE SHIPPING
Yale Blue, Hand Knotted 100% Pure Real Silk, Khotan Repetitive Flower and Branch Design with Multiple Borders, Oriental Rug
SKU : 376210
Exact Size: 8'9" x 12'0"
$8,905
$3,785
FREE SHIPPING
Dark Magenta, Dense Weave Persian Knot, Sari Silk with Textured Pile Hand Knotted, Contemporary Design, Oriental Rug
SKU : 415455
Exact Size: 5'10" x 9'0"
$3,706
$1,575
FREE SHIPPING
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