The Oriental Rugs has almost exclusively developed in a rectangular format.A wide variety of nonrectangular shapes occur in limited numbers, however, being made either to fill specific local needs or to appeal to an export market. Round oriental rugs are perhaps the most common of these; they are woven ,like other rugs,on a rectangular loom warped in the usual manner, but the area of weaving is expanded and contracted to make a circular fabric.They usually function as a table covers.
Animal trappings are found throughout the Middle East in unusual shapes, from the five -sided Turkoman asmaliks to the trappings of various shapes and sizes.The woven -pile technique, indeed, has such fexibility that virtually any conceivable two- dimensional shape could be woven. Even a rectangular rug may tell us something about its purpose or age from its size and shape. Since the late nineteenth century most oriental rugs of the Middle East have been woven in dimensions suitable for the Western market; previous generations of carpets were woven in different shapes and sizes related to local use.The Western demand sizes aremostly 9' by 12' and 8' by 10' aprox.
The nineteenth-century Persian room was traditionally somewhat narrow in relation to its length and its floor was covered by four carpets. Tha "main farsh" or central persian carpet,usually measured from 12' to 20' feet by 6' to 8' feet and was oriented along the central axis of the room. On each side were the "kenerehs", long,narrow carpets that often matched the design of the main farsh.In the West these came to be used as hall runners. An old 6' by 12' Ferahan,for example,we can draw some conclusion about its age from the fact that it was made in a format for local use; most of these pieces probably date from before 1880.
