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DECEMBER 2003

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Art Underfoot

For those who are looking for something that adds warmth and beauty to your home, and lasts for 60 -100 years.

We often look for beauty in a portrait, a sunset, even a building. But next time you find yourself searching for elegance, let your eyes wander to the floor. A handwoven Oriental rug is more than carpet —it is art.

These hand-made rugs are created by tightly weaving cotton foundation threads as warp (perpendicular) and weft (horizontal) on a loom. Separately dyed wool is then knotted to the cotton foundation forming the pile. The pile is what we walk on. The pile is what catches our attention and leads our eyes across a spectrum of colors and intricate designs following the symmetry and repetition of the patterns.

Sharam and Bahram Assary are in their 15th year of operating Cyrus Oriental Rugs in Central Florida. While Sharam manages the Gainesville store and acts as the purchasing agent for the company, his brother Bahram is president of the company and operates the Ocala gallery. Together, they provide support after the sale as well with cleaning services, repair and appraisal of all hand-woven rugs. They learned the trade of hand-made rugs from their father, who learned it from his father. The family name of Assary is derived from the word extractor, meaning one who extracts dyes from vegetables. Although more and more dyes are made with chemicals these days, the family name continues in the business of handwoven rugs.

Cyrus Oriental Rugs directly imports rugs from all over the world including India, Turkey, China, Pakistan, and Iran. Persia, or Iran, produces some of the more beautiful and popular hand-woven rugs. Most customers purchase a rug as the final touch in a room when they realize that even with the furniture and other artwork, something is missing. Surprisingly, hand-woven rugs are more suited to serve as the base, or the starting point in decorating a room. The color variety of each rug offers a palette to design from over and over again.

“Rugs bring a room together and add warmth. They make a house a home.” Sharam points out. “They may seem costly at first glance, but consider them an investment. A quality handwoven rug can last any where from 60 to 100 years. Artistic and portable, they can make the trip from house to house and from generation to generation.”

Cyrus Oriental Rugs is located in Gainesville at 720 West University Avenue 352.337.1900, and in Ocala at 20 SE Broadway (downtown Ocala Square) 352.629.3200