The World's Oldest Persian Rug — The Pazyryk Rug

The world’s oldest known (Carbon Dated 5th Century BCE) surviving, hand-knotted pile carpet is ‘The Pazyryk Rug’, was found in 1947/1949 by Russian archaeologist, Rudenko in the ancient burial tomb of a Scythian (Kurgan) nobleman in the Pazyryk Valley of the Altai Mountains in Siberia. The rug had been frozen in ice and it was very well preserved. Its main border depicting warrior horsemen was almost perfectly intact, bar one corner.

Woven using hand-carded and hand-spun wool, dyed using natural vegetable dyes, the beautifuly detailed rug must have been very brilliantly coloured when it was created some 2500 years ago. Today, due to its age, conditions in the tomb, and the subdued lighting in the museum designed to avoid light damage to this irreplacable artefact, the vibrance of the original colours can only be imagined.

The Pazyryk Rug is now housed and preserved in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg in Russia. It is considered by many experts, including Ulrich Schurmann—the pre-eminent authority on ancient carpets—to be of specifically Armenian origin. Conflicting opinions exist however, suggesting it is of Scythian origin and probably woven by the nomadic tribes living in the steppes area where it was found.

Woven with the Turkish double knot technique, it shows great sophistication and evidence that there was already a long history of pile carpet weaving by this time. Despite being frozen in ice for 2500 years, the Pazyryk Rug is extraordinarily well-preserved, being almost perfectly intact.

This 6×6.5 feet rug has 36 symmetrical knots per cm², suggesting a very advanced weaving technique for the time. Its rich and intricate motifs have been the subject of much study and interpretation.

With its complex design and excellent craftsmanship, the Pazyryk rug, offers a rich narrative of the cultural and artistic life of ancient Central Asia and a fascinating glimpse into early rug-making techniques and designs.

The central field of the rug has a red ground and 24 small, decorative squares depicting a diagonal cross shaped 4-stemmed stylized lotus flower buds in gold, light and dark blue, again on a red ground. Each square is separated and bordered by the same narrow white framed bands with repeating groups of blue, yellow and red small squares or dots.

This motif is thought to be of Assyrian origin and may symbolize life, health, and rebirth. A narrow band using the same colours borders the middle field.

The Pazyryk Rug is framed by four different borders, each with distinct motifs. The first broad decorative band surrounding the middle field contains a row of yellow squares, again with narrow with cut-off corners on a red ground.

These yellow squares contain mythical Gryphons within a dark-blue jagged frame, each with the body and tail of a lion, a backward-looking eagle’s head and beak, and wings standing upright.

The next outer broad band shows 6 red grazing stags with dark blue dorsal stripe along their backs, yellow antlers and body spots against a blue / green background on each of the 4 sides of the band.

The following outer band is narrower, and shows the same design as the cross-shaped squares in the middle field, this time on a yellow ground colour with sky-blue flowers and red or dark blue sepals and petal veins in dark blue.

The next band is the broadest and the most interesting. Set on a red ground it shows 28 light grey superbly decorated horses and horsemen following each other on a red ground—7 on each row.

The depiction of horsemen is a prominent feature in the Pazyryk rug, reflecting the importance of horse-riding and warfare in Scythian culture. The men are depicted in great detail, complete with clothing, weaponry, and distinct hairstyles, providing insight into Scythian attire and aesthetics.

The horsemen are abstract in style, either mounted or marching beside their horse holding the reins, wearing gold / orange hood-shaped helmets with chin straps, knee-length white, red and blue braid-trimmed coats, close-fitting long trousers and ankle-length boots.

The horses are all very upright muscular looking animals, with yellow mains, plaited with ribbons and sporting feathers on their forelocks and plaited, beribboned tails.

The third border showcases fantastical creatures, including winged griffins and a man riding a mythic creature – possibly symbolizing the Scythians’ beliefs in the supernatural.

The innermost and outermost borders have a ‘burial’ motif, depicting horsemen and stags. These images could be related to Scythian religious beliefs and rituals, including those linked to burial and the afterlife.