The Rug Library

In 1928 and 1929 the Jaipur Jail received carpet commissions for the Viceregal Lodge in Simla and the Viceroy’s House in Delhi.

Jaipur Rugs was founded in 1978 by Nand Kishore Chaudhary, reportedly with two looms and nine artisans, and grew into a network working with tens of thousands of rural artisans, many of them women.

Jaipur Rugs has run a carpet-weaving-for-reform project with inmates in the Dausa, Bikaner and Jaipur central jails, echoing Rajasthan’s older tradition of jail carpets.

Sanganeri hand block printing is traced to the late 16th–17th centuries, when printers of the Chhipa community are said to have moved from Gujarat to Bagru, Sanganer and nearby areas; the craft received GI recognition in 2009.

Jaipur’s blue pottery is made without clay, from a body of ground quartz, glass, fuller’s earth and other ingredients, and is decorated with cobalt-based blue; it reflects Turko-Persian influences and holds GI status.

Maharaja Sawai Ram Singh II of Jaipur (r. 1835–1880) actively promoted crafts, and in 1883 his successor Sawai Madho Singh II supported an exhibition of industrial arts and crafts in Jaipur.

The name of the Chhipa printing community is linked to the word 'chhapa', meaning to print.

Sanganeri block printing is known for fine, floral and nature-themed patterns printed on white and off-white grounds.

Bagru, a town near Jaipur, is home to Chhipa families known for hand block printing and natural dyeing, a craft they have practised for well over a century.

Jaipur Rugs Company manages the chain from village weaver to customer—covering production, export and sale—while its foundation focuses on training and support for artisans.