The Rug Library

Some Mughal carpets from about 1630 show a single flowering plant under an arch; because the arch resembles a mihrab, these are usually called prayer rugs in the rug literature.

A mihrab is the niche that shows the direction of Mecca in a mosque; prayer rugs use a niche or arch shape that evokes it, usually at a size suited to one person.

Hanging lamps shown in the arch of some prayer rugs are often read as a reference to the 'Light' verse of the Qur'an.

Britannica describes fertility or abundance as the underlying theme of most carpet ornament, and reads the central medallion as symbolising two vital elements, the sun and water.

A Turkmen gul is often described as a tribal emblem, with each tribe, such as the Tekke or Yomut, using its own gul much like a heraldic device.

Turkmenistan's national flag, adopted in 1992, has a vertical stripe of five carpet guls, generally read as representing the country's major tribes.

The Met describes the Wagner Garden Carpet as a garden in eternal springtime: trees in full bloom, predators and prey, butterflies and birds, with fish and ducks in its waterways.

In Persian art the tree of life is often interpreted as a symbol of continuity, spiritual growth and the link between the natural and divine worlds.

On some prayer rugs the niche is read as a doorway opening onto a garden, possibly paradise, combining the mosque's mihrab with the older Persian tree-of-life idea.

The boteh or buta is widely described as a motif long associated with nobility and royalty.

The lotus recurs in Hindu and Buddhist art as a symbol of creation, purity and enlightenment, which helps explain its lasting presence in Indian decorative design.

A study of Mughal flora in textiles examines symbolic meanings linked to the lotus, tulip and chrysanthemum, relating them to themes of beauty, divinity and power.

Jawaja dhurries come from the Jawaja–Beawar area of Rajasthan, where weavers of the Bhambi/Bunkar community weave cotton, wool and jute on pit looms that use no electricity.

After 1959, Tibetan refugees who settled in Nepal and parts of northern India turned to carpet weaving as a livelihood, helping bring Tibetan-style rugs to Western markets.

Women of the Bhutia community in Sikkim weave hand-knotted woollen carpets with largely Tibetan designs on upright wooden frame looms, along with small square seat rugs called asans.

Monpa women in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh, weave woollen carpets featuring dragons, snow lions, birds and flowers, with designs influenced by Tibetan Buddhist art.

Kharad, a Sindhi word for carpet, is a Kutch weaving tradition of rugs made from camel, goat and sheep hair on a simple horizontal loom with two pegged rods.

Kharad is a shared craft: herding communities such as the Jats and Rabaris supply animal fibre, it is spun locally, and weavers of the Vankar community weave the rugs.

The Bhotia Dann is a handwoven rug made by Bhotia communities of Uttarakhand, including the Johari Shaukas of Munsiyari, using Tibetan-style knotting and motifs such as geometric forms, lotus and wheel.

Bhotiya weavers of Uttarakhand make the thulma, a very thick, heavy blanket of sheep's wool, alongside danns (rugs) and small asanas.

Bhotiya wool dyeing traditionally relied on natural sources such as indigo and madder, a practice documented by researchers studying the community's indigenous knowledge.

Monpa carpets are given as gifts at weddings and festivals and are also used in monasteries in the Tawang region.

Bhotia dann weaving is said to have begun roughly a century ago, when Johari women from Pithoragarh went to Tarikhet in Almora district to learn frame-loom carpet weaving.

In the Niti-Mana, Darma, Byans and Chaudans valleys of Uttarakhand, Bhotiya weavers use Tibetan-style knotting to make danns and small asana rugs.