Terminology

Kilim/Ghilim (gilleem)
These are made of a flat-woven fabric, as opposed to 'knotted' and have no 'pile'. They are produced in most of the centres where rugs are made, hence you will come across Anatolian ghilims, Afghan ghilims and so forth. Earlier this century they were used with nonchalant disregard to wrap or bale the knotted, more prestigious rugs for shipping. Not so today, however - some rare old examples fetch very high prices.

Sumak (soomak)
A soumak is like a ghilim in that it is flat-woven, but it is also embroidered and the embroidery threads are not cut off at the back. The soumak is therefore characterised by a shaggy, erratic collection of loose ends or strands of wool on the back.

Baff
This word literally means 'knot' and appears in terms such as 'Farsibaff' meaning made with the Persian or Senneh knot q.v. or 'Turki-baff', the Turkish knot q.v.

Fringes
Fringes do not exist as such. What you see at the top and bottom of rugs are the ends of the warps running throughout the rug from north to south; they are therefore an integral part of the rug. Their treatment varies according to the whim of the weaver from one rug to another and the same rug even, quite commonly, is different at the north end from the south end. They often wear down as a result of neglect or misuse, and cannot, or rather, would not be replaced by the purist with any type of machine-made tasselling.
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Pile
Most oriental rugs consist of 'knotted' pile. It is important to realise that 'knotted' is a misnomer. A 'knot' in our vocabulary is a filament interwound with itself and then pulled tight into a locking position: the 'knots' in oriental rugs are convoluted loops, cut off to leave loose ends or 'pile' on the front of the rug.

Selvedge
This is the term applied to the sides of a rug, east and west. It consists either of several warps bound together with overcasting or a thicker piece of yarn or rope sewn on to the edge to firm up the margin and protect the 'knotting'. If a piece works loose therefore, it is easily fixed and of no great significance in terms of the rug's value. Missing or broken knotting in the body of the rug is of more serious concern.

Carpet Sizes
Genuine Oriental rugs are rectangular in shape with rare exceptions. Ninety-nine per cent of circles and ovals come only in 'commercial' goods — Chinese and Indian. Oriental rugs come in basic graduated steps approximately as follows: .

Hali	General term for the carpet although not commonly used.
Seccade	A prayer rug. Possibly never used as such but in very popular sizes, ranging from about 1.20m x 1.60m to 1.40m x 1.75m.
Namazlik	Another term for the prayer rug most often used in the context of Turkoman weaving.
Yastik	Small pile knotted cushion cover, extremely popular with collectors. Usually from about 0.40m x 0.70m to 0.60m x 1.10m.
Karyola	Originally meaning bedstead, this word is now used to describe carpets made to cover beds between 1.30m x 1.90m to 1.50m x 2.00m. The term is seldom encountered in the West.
Kelle	Derived from the Persian meaning “head”, this term for any medium sized rug between 4m2 and 6m2 .
Ceyrek	Literally quarter. A rug of smaller size than a kelle, hali or seccade.
Yolluk	Literally food a journey. An unusual term sometimes used for a long narrow carpet or runner