Tribal rugs, nomad rugs & Village rugs

What to consider before buying a Tribal rug or Nomad carpet?

Before buying a Tribal rug, it is important to know its origin and the technique used in weaving this rug. Tribal rugs differ in the origin region such as Turkish tribal rugs, Kurdish tribal rugs, Iran tribal rugs or Iraq tribal rugs. The other major difference consists in the technique used when weaving or knitting the carpet.

For example, lots of nomads and tribes in Turkey or Iran use a Soumak and Kilim technique when weaving their rugs. Soumak is a technique consisting of weaving first a simple kilim, and embroidering the kilim using needles. This needle technique is called soumak rugs (also known as Sumak) technique and is very specific to nomads or tribes. The base kilim can be made of wool or silk, with wool or silk needle embroideries.

Another factor to consider is the authenticity and originality of the rug. Tribal rugs are one of a kind piece of arts. They are weaved to be used and not to be sold, therefore bears unique trait of characters from the weaver that cannot be found in Traditional Rugs . Warm colors such as red, brown, or animal designs and patterns are very common among nomadic rugs or soumak rugs.

What is the difference between a Tribal, Nomadic or Village rug?

Turkey and other areas are famous for their Nomadic, Tribal rugs and its Village rugs. These are made by people who have lived in Turkey, Iran, and Afghanistan for hundreds of years and the skills for making these tribal rugs have been passed down from one tribe or nomad generation to the next. However, these two styles of rugs are actually quite different because the people who make them live very different lifestyles.

Nomadic Rugs & Tribal Rugs

Nomadic rugs are hand-woven by the nomadic tribes that live in the mountain valleys in the summer and come down out of the mountains in the winter. These people are sheepherders and as such always have fine quality wool to use in their rugs. The tribes that weave rugs include the Lurs, Qashghais and Bakhtiaris of Iran and the Turkomans of Afghanistan, Uzbakestan, Turkmenistan, and the area of northwestern China.

Nomadic rugs are made as part of a way of life and culture that has existed for hundreds of years. Women are the rug weavers and they create rugs for their everyday use. Rug weaving is such an important skill for the women in these tribes that their eligibility for marriage is judged by their carpet weaving skills. Nomadic rugs are woven on small horizontal looms that are easily transported. This means that Nomadic rugs are generally small area rugs and prayer rugs. These rugs are also limited in the range of colours used simply because nomads have few natural colours available to them. The designs are simple yet bold geometric patterns.

Village Rugs

Village rugs are woven by villagers, people who do not migrate with the seasons. As such, they can work on larger looms and can create larger carpets as well as smaller ones. Village rugs can be woven as prayer rugs, small area rugs, large are rugs, and runner rugs. These rugs are woven by all the women of a family and sometimes the men too and they produce a wider variety of styles and designs. In fact, villagers create a larger variety of styles than weavers from anywhere else. Part of the reason for this is that over time, many nomads have settled in villages and have brought their skills with them.

Our rugs

At CarpetView.com we have an exceptional selection of both Nomadic rugs or Tribal rugs and Village rugs. We go directly to the weavers to get our rugs so they are guaranteed to be of the highest quality. Each rug also undergoes three separate quality assurance checks to ensure they are good enough for our customers.