The Rug Library

Abu’l Fazl credits Akbar with appointing experienced carpet makers who produced many masterpieces, and records that carpet weavers of all kinds had settled in Agra, Fatehpur Sikri and Lahore.

According to Civil Society magazine, carpet weaving in Mirzapur was introduced under the Mughals and industrialised under British rule.

In Mughal India, where furniture was little used for centuries, carpets served for sitting and sleeping and also helped create an impressive setting for courtly events.

Babur, founder of the Mughal dynasty, came from Persian-influenced Central Asia and brought with him customs such as using carpets as preferred furnishings.

Sahapedia notes that by the 1850s growing colonial influence had contributed to the decline of traditional crafts such as carpet weaving in India, and jail workshops became one route to reviving it.

Dhurries are flatwoven rugs without pile, traditionally made mainly of cotton, although wool and jute are also used.

From the mid-19th century, Indian carpet production revived largely as a commercial activity centred on jail workshops, with Agra, Lahore, Yerawada and Montgomery among the notable prison centres.

Sahapedia identifies Jaipur, rather than Agra, as the place where carpet weaving first developed into a large-scale jail industry in India, even though Agra Jail later became famous for its carpets.