Pazyryk Rug

Antique rugs offer clues about the lives and folklore of ancient peoples.  Archaeologists in 1949 discovered a carpet in a frozen siberian tomb that dated to the 4th or 5th centuries B.C.  Most weavers were women who could spend months or years creating a single piece for their families or the market place.  Ottoman rulers built elaborate rug workshops as well, with workers who created purple and pink dyes by pulverizing sea snails and cochineal insects, respectively.