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Rug weaving was introduced to India during the sixteenth century at the time of the Moghul Emperor Akbar. Indian workshops prospered about the same time as the royal Persian rug manufacturers of the Safavid Dynasty in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Many of the workshops were under the supervision of Iranian weavers.
Consequently, Indian rugs are strongly influenced by those of Iran, mainly by the curvilinear styles such as Esfahan. Some names associated with Indian rugs are Jaipur, Agra, Kashmir, Dhurries and Indo-mir. The first three refer to places in India where traditional Indian rugs and Persian, European, Chinese and Turkoman rug styles are made. Dhurries are Indian flat-weaves with designs similar to those of Native American Navajos, which were very popular in the West about fifteen years ago, and Indo-mirs are Indian rugs with an all-over design called mir-i-boteh, which has multiple rows of horizontal, vertical, and diagonal small botehs.
Agra rugs originated in the Indian city, Agra, that houses the world renowned monument, the Taj Mahal. Agra's importance grew during the reigns of Mughal Emperors, Akbar, Jehangir and Shah Jahan, and Agra became a major center of art, culture, commerce and learning. Agra evolved as a major carpet production centre, with the first Indian carpet produced here for the Court of Mughal Emperor Babur. Agra rugs are mostly floral with geometric designs
For a complete look at the hundreds of area rugs in our full inventory of over 20,000, please visit eRugGallery.com.
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