Rajasthan’s Hand-Knotted Carpets

The soil of Rajasthan indeed has something special in it; the art and crafts industry here never stops to amaze us. From grand architectural masterpieces like ‘The great wall of India’- Jaisalmer fort to miniature Rajasthani paintings, every art this state of kings has to exhibit is awe-inspiring. Another area where this craftsmanship is getting global attention is that of carpet making. 

Beautiful hand-knotted carpets of Rajasthan have earned world recognition for their superior qualities.  With mind-blowing knot density of up to 600 knots per inch square, they are counted among the most durable and robust handmade fabrics, making them more than suitable for the role of the firm, yet flexible and incredibly smooth underlay.

Though strength is an essential feature of Rajasthani carpets, their elegant beauty too is captivating. In fact, most of the people had become the textile’s patron impressed by its sheer beauty. The deluxe carpets of Rajasthan even have silky and sometimes velvety surface with graceful patterns printed over them, a quality that brings to notice another splendid feature of the textile- its colorfastness.

The elegantly designed motifs and patterns of Rajasthani carpet are said to remain same throughout its lifetime, which is way too long than what we may expect, sans any depreciation in color.

The prominent designs found on Rajasthani carpets are rosettes, geometrical patterns, long serrated leaves, big flowers, paisley, and hybrid motifs. The traditional designs made using these motifs are known as Charkona, Mehrab, and Shikar. All these designs distinctly represent the Indo-Herati, Indo-Kerman, and Indo-Persian inspirational source of designer Rajasthani carpets.

These designer carpets are found in abundance in the districts Ajmer, Bikaner, Jaipur, and Tonk where the art is flourishing considerably, raising Rajasthan’s contribution to over 15 percent in the whole handmade carpet industry of India (which is the largest of its kind on the globe of almost whooping 75 percent).

The origin of this substantial industry in Rajasthan had begun at the end of 16th century when the art had reached India via Afghan carpet artists. Erstwhile rulers immediately had become patrons of the textile and furnished all their palaces with a large collection of Persian and Mughal carpets. The actual foundation of the industry, however, had begun in the 19th century, when the art was introduced as a jail craft.

Since then, the industry has never taken a back step. In fact, the fine quality of the carpets prepared in Rajasthan gradually took over the whole import market from western nations. Eventually, the craftsmanship had reached to the level where people started considering it superior to its progenitor.