An Aztec rug refers to a style of rug that was inspired by the art of the Aztec people. The Aztecs were a civilization that lived in Central America during the 14th to 16th centuries. Unfortunately, much of the Aztec people’s buildings and culture has been lost to time, but many of their pieces of art still exist in museums today. So luckily, we’ve been able to draw on their influence to shape the rug designs below. We can use the designs in their monuments, sculptures, and paintings to inspire our patterns and their color palettes to inspire our own.
The Aztecs are well known for their engineering and archaeological innovations including building their capital city on stilts in a swampy wetland, immense aqueducts and levee systems to control the flow and levels of water surrounding the city, and their massive temples that rival the magnitude of the Egyptian pyramids. However, they also had a vibrant appreciation and practice of art. Their art was highly ceremonial, paying homage to their many gods. They were particularly interested in creating various ornate sculptures, but they would also paint their entire bodies for their many religious ceremonies. They placed a specific importance on each color. Every color represented the raw material state you might find that color in. For instance, brown represented the Earth, red represented blood, blue represented the sky, etc. Their art has, without a doubt, a huge impact on southwestern style today.
The Aztec empire existed from 1300 to 1521. They were established by the triple alliance of the Mexica, Texcoco, and Tepanece tribes. They mainly spoke Nahuatl. Although the Aztecs were a specific group of people, many of the characteristics attributed to the Aztecs is also shared by many of the other groups of people that inhabited Mesoamerica and the southwestern regions of North America during this period. Some of these characteristics include the cultivation of Maize, the social division between nobles and commoners, construction of a pantheon, and the Xiu poh Ali calendar. The crowning achievement of the Aztec civilization was the Aztec capital city of Tenochtitlan, which was built on raised stilts in Lake Texcoco. From there, they were able to form an assault and expand their empire through much of Central America.
Aztec culture was filled with a rich and sometimes extreme religious traditions, but also included some of the greatest architectural achievements of any ancient civilization of history. One important decision that the Aztecs decided as they were expanding the reaches of their kingdom was – rather than station armies in the territories they captured – they would simply install an Aztec leader to rule over that group of people or arrange a marriage between an Aztec family and the ruling family. This allowed them to continue to expand. The Aztec empire reached as far south as Guatemala and covered the land from the Pacific to Atlantic oceans.
Our area rugs are all made in the USA. They also feature premium EnduraStran nylon. That means that if you purchase a rug from us, you enjoy a wide variety of benefits that you won’t be able to find from lesser quality rugs. For instance, our products received the highest durability rating possible, are wear resistant, stain resistant, fire resistant, treated to prevent fading, antimicrobial, very easy to clean, and features an interlocked backing that ensures our rugs lay flat and maintain their shape. Furthermore, we send zero waste to landfills in the production of our products. All of our rugs ship free and include a free 60-day in-home trial to make sure the rug is a good fit in your home. Please look around and find an Aztec rug that you love. If you need any help, feel free to get in touch with us using the live chat button on the bottom right of our site. Be sure to check out the rest of the area rugs from Southwestern Rugs Depot.
Aztec rugs and Tribal rugs are two styles that are growing in popularity recently. You might be asking yourself what is the difference between the two. Well, they are very, very similar. Most of the time, they can be used interchangeably. Aztec area rug is simply a bit more specific than Tribal area rug. Most of the time, when someone is looking for a tribal pattern on a rug then they have the image of an Aztec rug in their mind. Of course, the Aztecs are just one tribe among many throughout history. However, Aztec style is definitely the most popular and usually makes up what people come to expect when looking for tribal style. Both Aztec and Tribal rugs are however reproductions of what a true Aztec rug actually is because the Aztecs were wiped out long ago and very few authentic rugs are around today. The rugs that are around are definitely not the kind of rugs that you would have in your home, they are mainly preserved in museums. Therefore, Aztec or Tribal rugs are our current, modern representation of those styles. We are drawing inspiration from the art of that time and repurposing it so we can appreciate their culture today. And it’s not just the rugs from that time that are influencing our designs.
We draw inspiration from the paintings, architecture, ceremonies, and wardrobe from that time. Many of our rugs are designs that were first a painting from a Native American artist that we turn into a rug design and then include them in the profit for the rug sales of their design. So sometimes, our tribal rugs are us drawing inspiration from ancient tribes like the Aztec, but sometimes, it’s us actually working with members of modern-day tribes and helping their art to reach a larger audience. Either way, we take the culture and traditions of ancient and modern-day tribes very seriously and we do our best to showcase their style in the brightest and most respectful light we can. Thanks for taking the time to read this and be sure to get in touch with us if there’s anything at all we can do for you. We love chatting with potential customers or just curious people that want to learn more about our rugs.