Rug Glossary of Terms: M

• Machine made
  Rugs woven on an electrically powered machines, now usually computer controlled.
• Madder
  A Southwest Asian long lasting plant. A red root of this plant was (and in some places still is) an important source of red dye.
• Manufactory
  Made by hand in a factory.
• Mahi
  Persian for “fish,” this term refers to the Herati design which at times can resemble a fish eye design.
• Make
  Determines where a rug is made.
• Mamluk Carpet
  Large format rugs with complex geometric design and large medallions, woven in Cairo, Egypt from the 13th to the early 16th.
• Maintenance
  Preservation of the rug by assuring graceful aging, such as wash, vacuuming, and rotation.
• Malachite
  A green mineral used as a source of green dye.
• Mashad
  One of the key rug weaving centers in Iran, where production began in the late 19th century. Mashad rugs are large, double-wafted, have a red background, and are woven on a cotton foundation.
• Medallion
  The large centerpiece of the rug, a central point of the design. Most common shapes of medallions are diamonds, octagons, and hexagons.
• Medallion-and-corner
  A particular design of the rug, wherein a medallion is quartered into the four corners of the rug, plus one full medallion in the center.
• Memling Gul
  Diamond-shaped medallion surrounded with small hooks.
• Mina Khani
  An allover design consisting of two or more flowers connected by a diamond lattice.
• Minor Border
  One or a few narrower bands on each side of the main border are known as the minor border.
• Mir boteh
  (Persian) A design of small rows of botehs throughout a field.
• Moharramatt Ghakanadaani
  A pattern which consists of vertical stripes of equal width. Each stripe is different in color from the neighboring stripes and, typically has a different motif (although sometimes the motif may be repeated.) Often seem in Qum rugs.
• Morocco
  Country in North Africa, capital – Rabat. Moroccan rugs are mostly woven for local use or sold to tourists, and have not yet reached the Western markets.
• Motifs
  Any single form or a group of forms which together constitute an overall design of a rug.
• Mughal Carpet
  Indian carpets produced in the 15th-18th centuries during the ruling of the Mughal dynasty. This period is considered the golden age of carpet production in India.
• Multi-Level Loop Pile
  Yarn loops of different height which create a three-dimensional effect.