Glossary

Below is our Glossary of Oriental Rug terms to help buyers and collectors alike. Where possible, we try to provide definitions, points of origin, care instructions and as much general information as possible. If you don't see the term you're looking for, you can click here to use our internal search engine.

	Abrash	Variation in a particular color resulting from the difference in dye lots.
	Anatolian	A name loosely applied to all Turkish rugs.
	Ara-Khachi	Middle or main stripe in the border (see Bala-Khachi)
	Aubusson	A rug hand-woven in France, with a flat weave and pastel colors
	Baff	Knot
	Bala-Khachi	Small border strips on either side of the main border strip (see Ara-Khachi)
	Behbehlik	Saddle bag or saddle cover

	Berdelik	Wall hanging; silk rugs generally fit into this category
	Bid Manjum	Weeping willow design, or a combination of weeping willow, cyprus and poplar trees.
	Cartoon	A piece of graph-like paper on which the rug pattern has been drawn; as a guide in waving the rug, each square represents a single knot, the color of which is keyed to the color of the square.
	Cartouche	A cloudlike enclosure which surrounds a date or an inscription woven into a rug
	Caucasian	Refers to rugs woven in the Caucasus Mountain region. The patterns of these rugs are brightly colored, highly stylized and geometrical.
	Chuval	A large storage bag (see Juval)
	Dasgah	Loom
	Dozar	Refers to carpets 4 by 6 feet in size
	Enessi	Door (tent) drapery
	Fringe	The loose ends of a carpet's warp threads emerging from the upper and lower ends of the carpet; it may be either or plain.
	Ghali	see Kellei
	Ghiordes Knot	Turkish knot; the knot encircles both warp threads
	Gul	Turkoman tribal emblem, which is unique to each tribe
	Guli	Flower
	Guli Henna	Pattern with small yellow plant shape set in rows with profuse flower forms uniting them in a diamond arrangement.
	Hammamlik	Bath rug
	Harshang	Crab design; pattern with large motifs similar to the Shah Abbas pattern which suggest a crab
	Hatch	Flower
	Herati	Pattern that consists of a rosette surrounded by four leaves or "fish". The rosette is usually found inside a diamond shape (lozenge), although it need not be.
	Jufti Knot	"false knot"; a modified Turkish or Persian knot, in which the weaver uses four warp threads per knot instead of two.
	Juval	A tent bag (see Chuval)
	Keleyghi	Small (5 by 10 to 6 by 12 feet) kellei used at the top of the Kellei Kenareh arrangement
	Kellei	Large, rectangular (6 by 16 to 8 by 20 feet) carpet used at the center of a traditional Persian room arrangement. (Also called Ghali)
	Kenareh	runners (3 by 16 to 4 by 20 feet) used on either side of the kellei.
	Kelim	a pileless rug created by interweaving colored weft threads through the warp threads; or a finished terminal portion of a carpet falling between the pile and the fringes.
	Kiaba	Refers to a rug approximately 5 1/2 by 9 feet in size.
	Lechai	Corner design in a rug
	Lechek Torunj	Ay design with corner and central medallions.
	Mafrash	Large saddle bag
	Makatlik	Long, narrow rugs; runners
	Metnih	Main ground or field of a rug
	Mihrab	Arch or niche of a prayer rug
	Mina Khani	Design comprised of repeated floral motifs surrounded by four similar smaller flowers joined by vines to form a diamond arrangement.
	Mir-I-Boteh	Design made of multiple rows of repeated boteh (pine cone or pears).
	Morgi	"hen" pattern, an imaginative design resembling a chicken, which was originated by the Afshari tribe.
	Nagzh	Pattern (Persian)
	Namazlik	Namazi; prayer rug
	Odjaklik	Hearth or fire rug
	Palas	a Caucasian kelim
	Panel Design	Design in which the field is divided into rectangular compartments, each of which encloses one or more motifs
	Patina	the sheen acquired by the pile of the rug with age and use
	Perde	refers to a rug approximately 5 by 9 feet in size
	Persian Knot	Senna knot; a strand of wool encircles one warp thread and winds loosely around the other
	Pile	nap of the rug; the clipped ends of the knotted wool
	Pushti	Persian small mat or pillow cover, approximately 2 by 3 feet
	Saff	"family" prayer rug that has multiple mihrabs in a series
	Savonnerie	A rug hand-knotted in France with a thick, heavy pile and pastel colors.
	Sedjadeh	Medium-sized carpet, approximately 7 to 10 feet in length
	Selvedge	The sides of a carpet, which have been overcast with wool or cotton for reinforcement
	Senna Knot	Persian knot; encircles one warp thread and winds loosely around the other
	Shah Abbas	Patron of carpet-making (A.D. 1571-1629); also the pattern with an all-over design with various types of palmettes, cloudbands and vases interconnected by some form of stalk or tendril.
	SU	Lines dividing the border stripes
	Talim	A piece of paper on which the design of a carpet has been written out, knot by knot (Cf. cartoon)
	Tereh	Design (Persian)
	Tevehr	Band of solid color on the outside of a rug
	Tarbo	Storage bag
	Turbehlik	Grave carpet, spread over graves as those in the West spread flowers.

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