Since when did they love carpets in Russia, why did they fall out of love and what to do with this addiction now
We look at myths and memes with a critical eye, remember the true history and talk about carpets in the modern interior.
Encyclopedia of delusions
1. Homeland of carpets in the East and Russia has nothing to do with it.
Actually, the oldest pile carpet was discovered to the world by Russia during excavations of the Altai mountain mounds in 1949. The carpet has been perfectly preserved, having been lying in the ice for about 2500 years, and is now in the Hermitage.
2. The carpet on the wall is a Soviet invention, bourgeoisie and a sign of bad taste.
Carpets have been decorating the houses of Europeans for thousands of years, and it is the pile carpets with our usual ornaments. Tapestry, which is produced in Europe for 11 centuries, was designed just for the walls.
3. Russian carpets are not worth anything and are not valued by anyone.
Then why did the first emigrants after the October Revolution take carpets from Russia to Europe as the most expensive? In the twenties, the Soviet government abroad exchanged carpets with hundreds of poods for light bulbs and medicines. Only in 1928, the export of carpets abroad brought the state ten million rubles.
4. The “Grandma's carpet” from the USSR should be thrown away.
The most expensive carpet in the world was sold at Southey's auction for 34 million dollars: its image is lower. So it is better just in case to estimate the grandmother's goodness at the specialist.
That's what an old Muscovite did: she wanted to get rid of the velvet tablecloth. The Museum of Oriental Art explained in time: the woman-owned a rare silk lint-free carpet of the XVII century, made at the court of the Great Moguls in India. All over the world now they can be counted on their fingers, it is an incredible rarity. The cost is appropriate.
5. Carpets are good only for heat and sound insulation.
Like clothes made of thin wool, natural carpet perfectly holds the temperature, smoothing out its sharp changes. It's a thermostat, not a hot-water bottle. The carpet absorbs noise too, it is so. But it's more reliable to rid the carpet of unnecessary sounds behind the wall than your own. And vice versa: steps and even running children will not bother the people living below if your apartment carpet is on the floor.
“Psychologists say that carpets are more likely to warm the soul, especially the generation that grew up in the Soviet sixties and seventies. People want to recreate an environment that has surrounded them since childhood. ”
Art object or investment object?
Single modern carpet production facilities in Russia make a name for themselves and attract customers with shocking campaigns.
For example, the Samara — based company for the production of printed (tapping) carpets works with private orders based on sketches of the capital's designers and has been reported in the media since its first pop art experience was shown in St. Petersburg. A smaller copy, a tester, exhibited in the hall of the gallery without an alarm, was stolen immediately.
And their provocatively red carpet “USSR” with a bas — relief haircut based on the forged lattice of the Park of Culture and Recreation directly from the exposition in the Moscow Manege tried to buy a famous collector with a suitcase of cash.
Few people are in a hurry to buy a new domestic model, even if it is of high quality and unique. The so-called European handmade carpets, first, cost from four and a half thousand euros per square meter. Secondly, they are still produced in the East, Middle East or Far East, and are supplied from there by resellers with the addition of the label “made in...”.
What remains for carpet connoisseurs? Relying on flea markets, Internet flea markets or auctions (or rather) in search of worthy specimens with a history: their value can grow up to 30% per year with the right choice, but they require professional, expensive care.