Glossary of Oriental Rugs / Carpets

S

S-spun - See yarn.

Safavid - A dynasty founded by Shah Ismail in 1501 which lasted until the early eighteenth century. Under the Safavids the Oriental carpet reached its apogee of technical; and artistic sophistication. Safavid rugs relied overwhelmingly on the sinuous patterns or arabesques developed initially in manuscript illumination and architectural décor.

Salor - The oldest and most distinguished of the rug-producing Turkoman tribes of central Asia. Distinguished by their exceptional color and design, Salor pieces are generally the finest, oldest, and most prized of all Turkoman weavings.

Saph - The most interesting and complex elaboration of the prayer rug format is the multiple-niche payer rug or "Saph." At first glance Saphs look like runners, at least in terms of their long proportions. But unlike runners, where the design is longitudinal, emphasizing the length of the runner, Saphs are oriented toward the edges, rather than the ends. Their décor consists of niches running form one long edge to the other and placed side by side in serial repetition. Practically, they appear to function as a series of prayer rugs connected side to side for three or more worshipers to use simultaneously or communally.

Sarouk - Sarouk rugs were produced in the Arak region, not far from where Fereghans and Sultanabads were made. Some of the early examples were so closely related to Fereghans that they have been designated as Sarouk-Fereghans. While the latter tend to have medallion designs, Sarouk carpets from about 1900 onward were mostly produced in an allover format, with dense sprays or bouquets of flowers and vines arrayed across the carpet symmetrically, on a deep blue or burgundy ground. This latter type is known for its soft, velvety wool and fairly thick pile.

Saryk - A rug-producing Turkoman tribe. Saryk weavings are rarer than those of other Turkoman groups like the Tekke, Yomud, or Ersari, but they still constitute an important and distinctive component of the wider body of antique Turkoman rugs and trappings.

Savonnerie - Like Aubusson tapestry rugs, Savonnerie carpets originated in France when, for a time, European taste turned away from Oriental carpets. Named for nearby factories that produced soap or “savon,” Savonnerie rugs shared with Aubussons a Neo-Classical taste for naturalistic flowers and swags or garlands in soft colors on a dominant ivory field, except that they were made in knotted pile rather than tapestry technique.

Scandinavian - The Scandinavian region became an area of rug production in Europe at a relatively early period when the knotted pile carpet was introduced from Ottoman Turkey. Scandinavians began to produce rugs for themselves, inspired initially by the imported products, and developing gradually into a distinctive northern idiom. Flatwoven tapestry rugs or coverlets became an established type, especially in Sweden, where they came to be known as “Rollakan.” Pile rugs or Ryiji (Rya), often with a long shaggy nap were produced in Norway and and Sweden, and above all Finland.

Seljuk - A dynasty of Oguz Turkish warriors from Central Asia whose rose to power across the middle East in the eleventh century, first conquering Persia and Mesopotamia, and then Byzantine Anatolia, which was then called Turkey after them. The earliest extant Anatolian Turkish rugs, presumably woven under their patronage in the thirteenth century are designated as “Seljuk.”

Selvedge – The spiral wool wrapping that protects the sides of the rug

Semi-antique - A term used to distinguish a rug between fifty and eighty-years old.

Senneh - Senneh carpets, produced in Northwest Iran, come in a range allover and medallion patterns, and consequently it is their weave rather than their design that sets them apart. But whatever their design, Senneh rugs and carpets always display a precise, crisp somewhat geometric drawing that corresponds to the precision of the weave. Certain of the more robust, tribal-looking antique Sennehs were probabl;y woven by Kurds.

Senneh knot - See asymmetrical knot.

Serapi - The term Serapi was invented in the market. to distinguish the very best and probably the oldest Herizes from Northwest Persia. They share with the latter an analogous taste for angular drawing and rich color, utilizing the same repertory of floral or motifs arranged either as medallion designs or as allover patterns. What distinguishes Serapis is the finesse in the drawing, the level of detail, the clarity and spacing of the patterns, and the tighter, finer weave of the rug itself.

Shahsevan - Shahsevan rugs and carpets have only recently been recognized among the production of the Transcaucasus or far Northwest Iran. Shahsevan weavings have a strongly tribal flavor with highly abstract, geometric designs and rich colors. The Shahsevan tribes were originally transported and resettled in the Northwest from Central Asia by the Persian kings (Shahsevan means “king lover”) in the seventeenth century. This helps to explain the ties between these rugs and those of the Turkomans and other Central Asian tribes.

Shearing - The process that that removes the wool from the animal. Shorn wool is the superior type of wool because it comes from a living animal with a maximum of moisture or lanolin.

Shed Stick - The shed stick is a long, flat piece of wood that facilitates the passing of the weft through the successive warps. By wrapping a short length of the weft yarn around one end of the shed stick, it helps to force the yarn between the warps.

Shirvan - Shirvan rugs of the Caucasus were made not far from those of which are closely related in terms of design and coloration. But Shirvans tend to be distinguished by a larger, more supple weave. They also leaned more to medallion designs, while Kubas relied more on allover patterns. Still, Shirvans and Kubas with their fine , precise detail constitute something of a contrast to the bolder more graphic quality of South Caucasian rugs like Kazaks and Karabaghs.

Silk – An extremely fine and precious animal fiber derived from the cocoons of certain worms.

Sivas – A rug-producing town in Eastern Turkey. Sivas carpets are some of the most well-made and decorative of room-sized Turkish rugs. Often finely woven, they tend to be made within a classically-derived Persian idiom of medallion and allover designs utilizing palmettes and vinescrolls. Their palette is generally soft, with emphasis on ivory ground tones and pastel coloration in the details.

Soumak – A flatwoven textile with serpentine looped pile alternating with rows of wefting. A technique named for the town of Shemaka in the Caucasus, but widely practiced across all rug-weaving regions.

Spanish - Spanish carpets represent the most venerable and honored tradition of rug production in Europe, going back to the time when much of Spain was part of the Islamic world. Native Spanish weavers had already learned the technique of making rugs by the fourteenth century, and they have continued to do so up to the twentieth century. Their coloration is soft, and although modeled initially on rugs of Ottoman Turkey, they soon developed a distinctive, uniquely Iberian or European style of vinescroll ornament

Spanish knot - A pile rug technique in which yarns are wrapped symmetrically around every other single warp in an actual knot, the only type of rug knot that truly merits the term.

Sparta - A rug-producing town in Southwest Turkey active only since the 1920’s. Sparta rugs were less expensive copies of various other productions, especially those of Persia. They are distinguished by their weave and a constant palette of purplish reds, blues, and golds, whatever their design.

Spinning – the process of twisting cleaned and carded wool into yarns that may then be woven. Yarns may be S-spun (clockwise) or Z-spun (counterclockwise).

Sultanabad - The term Sultanabad has come to distinguish the oldest and highest quality Mahal carpets which were produced in the Arak region. They are also known as Ziegler Mahals, named for an Austrian firm that supervised their production for export to the West. Sultanabad rugs & carpets tend to have a larger, more supple weave and accordingly a bolder, more large scale drawing.

Symmetrical knot - A pile rug technique in which the yarns are looped around two adjacent knots so that the yarns ends come up together between the warps, with the knor collar wrapping around both warps. Also known as Ghiordes or Turkish knots.