Carpet-weaving has been practiced in Uzbekistan for centuries, and many of the designs you see today are the same as those woven in ancient times—though due to the delicate nature of silk, specimens woven before the 16th century are extremely rare. So how do modern-day weavers know what patterns to follow? Well, one explanation is miniatures, the delicate paintings used to illustrate classic texts that often feature intricately-detailed carpets. It’s even said in some quarters that in the days of empires, court-appointed miniaturists came up with the carpet designs themselves, and they were only subsequently copied by the weavers. Read Less