Under construction as we add detailed line drawings for each design element.

Animal combat, symplegma, especially on Persian and Indian manufactory carpets.

Arabesque. Linear interlaced or looped, systematically ordered decorative elements, with or without the addition of plant motifs.

Ashkali. Frequent omament on old Shiraz carpets.

Bamboo. (eastern Turkestan and China.)

Barber's Pole. A pattem of adjacent oblique stripes appearing in the border and also in geometric medallions. Named after the English barber's pole.

Bat. (China.)

Bird, already stylized on early knotted work of Turkish tribes, and also on carpets from other areas, naturalistic or stylized.

Boteh, bota, mir-i botar or boteh miri, also called almond and pear or palm top or Indian pear, and when very small, humorously, flea pattern. It is the most extensively employed leaf motif: a leaf, with an inclined crest top which in geometric form is bent at an angle, and some times with little feet as well, in innumerable variations. Contrary to the opinion that it is a symbol of the flame of the fire worshippers (Parsees), or of the ruler's seal showing the outer edge of his hand dipped in blood, it is proved by its appearance in the borders of early carpets to be purely of floral origin.

Buddha's Fingers. (eastern Turkestan and China.) Finger-shaped citrus fruit.

Buddha's knot (China).

Endless knots representing fate or fortune (eastern Turkestan and China).

Buffalo occasionally appears in animal carpets.

Butterfly. On Indian and Persian carpets, and particularly frequent on Chinese (see chapter on China). Camel, on nomad carpets; Shaddah and Djidjim..

Crows Foot or goosefoot pattem (trade description).

Cartouche, in main borders, more rarely in the central held.

Chess board pattern, division of the central held into squares; already appears on the Pazyryk carpet.

Clouds, cloud band, originating in China, appears on Turcoman, Persian, Caucasian and on old Anatolian carpets.

Crane. (China.) Crenellation, medakhyl. A reciprocal pattern derived from a row of pinnacles, spear points or lily-like motifs.

Do-Gul =two blossoms: a pattem of two flowers in regular alternation appearing mainly in north-west Persia. Dragon.

Dragon-Phoenix motif (Ming emblem), on Turkish carpets of the hfteenth century and Caucasian 'dragon' carpets of the seventeenth.

Duck. Mostly on Persian and the oldest Caucasian carpets.

Eagle, also double eagle. Geometricized in westem Turkestan. The Caucasian 'Eagle' is a geometricized plant motif.

Elephant. Rare, only on Persian, Indian and Chinese carpets.

'Ewer and Comb'. On carpets destined as prayer mats.

Fish. On Persian and the oldest Caucasian carpets, also Chinese.

Blossoms. Naturalistic, particularly in India and Persia, stylized in all other regions to strict geometricization in the Caucasus and westem Turkestan. Especially favoured are tulip, camation, lily, narcissus, rose, lotus, peony and chrysanthemum (see China). Small flowerheads often appear edging the mihrab in Turkish prayer rugs.

Fo lion -Chinese lion.

Forked scrolls or stems. Characteristic omament on Persian and Caucasian carpets.

Goblet border, also called Oak or Acanthus leaf or Cup and leaf border. (Trade descriptions). Description of the borders of Caucasian carpets with wineglass or goblet-like geometricized flowers between indented stylized leaves.

Graveyard motif. On Anatolian prayer rugs.

Griffon, winged mythical beast, appearing already on the Pazyryk carpet.

Gul and Gol. (western Turkestan.)

Haj = cross (western Turkestan.)

Hand. On many (especially Caucasian) prayer rugs

Hanging Lamp. Often on prayer rugs hanging from the arch of the mihrab. On Persian carpets attached above and below the medallion.

Herati or Ferrahan pattem. Also called Mahi-to-hos (fish in pond) from the lanceolate leaves arranged symmetrically round each lozenge formed of stems.

Heron. (China.)

Hexagon, particularly frequent on Turcoman carpets.

Horse, main motif on the Pazyryk carpet; stylized on nomad carpets, naturalistic on Persian and Chinese picture carpets.

Hound. Extensively used in stylized form on nomad carpets; naturalistic as an elegant hunting dog or tame hunting leopard on hunting carpets.

Hourglass border (Trade description). Geometric fragmented scroll motif with hourglass-like components.

Humans, stylized on nomad carpets or naturalistic on manufactory carpets.

Inscriptions in Kuhc, Nakshi or Talik script, referring to the subjects depicted in the carpet, the patron or the knotter, or with texts from the Koran.

Khilin. Adopted from the Chinese symbolic repertoire for Persian and Caucasian carpets, a fabulous beast like a stag.

Kufic script . Omamentally stylized Kuhc characters round a border.

Leaves. Almost always stylized, and geometricized past recognition in many nomad carpets (see also under boteh and the chapter on China).

Leopard. On hunting and animal carpets, usually preying on another animal.

Lion. Symbol of power.

Lozenge. Smooth, stepped, indented, serrated, fronded or with hooks, in everv size from scatter to main motif, in nomad carpets of every provenance.

Lozenge or diamond lattice. Especially on Caucasian carpets.

Luck circle, luck knots, character for Good Luck. (eastern Turkestan and China.)

Meander, especially frequent in the border of eastern Turkestan and Chinese car pets. Medallion, single or repeated as the main motif in the central held. Mihrab. Prayer niche on prayer mats.

Mina khani. Manifold repetition of large flowers, each with four small flowers arranged round it to form a lozenge pattem.

Mountains. (eastem Turkestan and China.)

Octagon. The most frequently occurring polygon.

Palmette. Most frequent on Persian and antique Caucasian carpets, large flowers, in side view or in long section, stylized into a circular fomm.

Peacock, geometric on Caucasian, naturalistic on Persian and Indian carpets.

Phoenix. (China.)

Pomegranate. (eastem Turkestan and China.)

Prayer niche and arch (see mihrab).

Rosette, an omament appearing on the majority of carpets.

'Running Dog', subsidiary border design; a stem scroll reduced to a hook-like motiŁ of the angular wave scroll on Turcoman carpets.

S border, and S figure. More or less geometricized scrolls or single motifs, from very small to very large.

Shekiri (sugary) border, especially in Sehna and Serabend) with delicate angled wave scroll, carrying soh boteh.

Stag or elk. Dominant motif on the Pazyryk carpet.

Stars of all kinds, isolated, in rows or hlling polygons.

Stem, stem scroll. Innumerable variations, naturalistic, stylized or geometric, continuous or reduced to a single component, on almost every carpet in some form.

Swastika, hooked cross which appears in many variants as an omament or symbol, in all cultures; especially frequent in East Turkestan and Chinese carpets.

T pattern, T border, also appears in rows of double Ts on Turkestan and Chinese carpets.

Thunder and lightning. Turkestan and China

Trees. Naturalistic (hg. go), stylized (fi), and often extremely geometricized .

Turcoman line, special form

V hook, ancient Seliuk geometric motif.

Vase, single or in groups with tall flower and twig pattern.

Volute calyx, in different forms on carpets of every provenance.

Water, on garden carpets in the form of canals, streams and ponds, in China in the sea-water-cloud motif.

Wave scroll, in different forms, frequent on borders.

X hook, geometricized scroll component, single or in rows on nomad work.

Y motif, derived from forked scroll or a pair of birds' heads, specially frequent in the Hatchlu (western Turkestan).

Zig-zag border, also triangular or seam border, the most usual design for the edging between guard stripes.