The Encyclopedia of Antique Carpets catalogs the diverse forms that the art and craft of the handwoven carpet has taken over twenty-five centuries, from the Far East to North Africa, from Europe to India, and within both hemispheres of the New World. The book features Classic Asiatic sources in the "Rug Belt"—Persia (Iran), Anatolia (Turkey), the Caucasus, China, India, and central Asia—and includes more than six hundred entries on all areas of historic carpet production, ranging from village to city and style to weaver. Each entry provides a photograph and information on the history, location, weaving period, technique, quality, design, coloration, size, and marketability of carpets produced around the world. This beautiful clothbound, two-volume boxed set is a comprehensive collection that is required reading for anyone with an eye on the antiques market or the cultural heritage of one of the oldest forms of artwork.