Oriental Rugs Dictionary
Dates
Dates appear as decorative elements in certain carpet designs, particularly in Middle Eastern and Islamic textile traditions.
The motif may represent date palms or clusters of dates, which are symbols of fertility, prosperity, and sustenance in many cultures of the Middle East.
Such motifs are sometimes incorporated into floral or garden-style carpet compositions.
Dates may be woven into the designs of rugs. Usually the date presumed to the year that the rug was woven or presented as a gift. There is some skepticism about the reliability of the such dates because a weaver may use a much earlier date or may copy a date from an earlier rug. Please also keep in mind that most weavers of the early era were illiterates, so even with good fate mistakes were done.
The dates appear on the rugs are either Gregorian dates or Islamic dates according to the weaver
