Carpets/ Durries/ Floor Coverings

The tradition of carpet making in Bihar dates back to the Buddhist and the Mauryan period. Though this craft is on the decline it continues to produce the old designs based on the Indo-Persian style.

Carpet weaving calls for a high degree of skill and dexterity and is generally done by the Monpa women in West Kameng and the tribes of North Siang, district apart form the Tibetan community settled in the area. Carpets are woven in bright colours with predominantly Tibetan motifs such as the dragon or geometric and floral designs, reflecting the Tibetan-Buddhist influence in the area. Wool colours were originally obtained using vegetable and other natural dye sources, although synthetic dyes and chemicals are now commonly used.

Elluru, near Masulipatnam is famous for carpets of Indo-Persian style. This art from was brought to India by the Persians who migrated to Andhra Pradesh during the Muhammaddin regime. Later, they developed the carpet industry here. The body designs of carpets are named after patrons or those associated with them or fruits like babul, guava etc.