SARUK CARPET

Saruk also spelled Sarouk originally, floor covering handwoven in the village of Saruq, north of Arak (Soltanabad) in western Iran; later, floor covering commercially produced mainly in Arak but also in the weaving villages nearby for the U.S. market. The early carpets were of very good quality, with short pile and a variety of designs. When medallion decorative schemes in curvilinear drawing were introduced in the early years of the 20th century, there were many signs of clumsiness resulting from unfamiliarity with the new methods of setting out. Saruk carpets produced on a large commercial scale are characterized by a longer pile and rose-coloured fields filled with disconnected floral sprays and plant forms. It is notorious that many of these carpets have been bleached chemically upon arrival in the United States and then the field colour painted in anew. Saruk carpets are Senna (Sehna) knotted on a cotton foundation. Mahal and Muskabad are village carpets of varying quality that come from the neighbourhood of Arak.