Lachak
The four corner elements in a medallion and corner layout.
Lachak-o-toranj
(Turkish/ Persian) word meaning medallion-and-corner. Lachak-o-toranj refers to a design, where a medallion is quartered into four corners of the rug, plus an extra full medallion is in the center.
Lapis Lazuli
A striking blue, violet-blue or greenish-blue semiprecious gemstone used as a source of blue dye.
Layout
The overall arrangement of motifs or objects woven into a rug.
Ladik
A Turkish carpet production center, famous for small wool prayer rugs with triple arch mihrabs, stepped mihrabs, or two column mihrabs. Main colors are red and blue.
Lahore
A city in northern Pakistan where Turkoman design rugs are produced. A major rug center for the British East India Company in the 17th century.
Line Count
Number of horizontal knots in a foot of rug. The greater the number of knots, the higher the quality of the rug.
Loom
A structure firmly holding warp strands for weaving and knotting. Looms can be vertical, horizontal, fixed or mobile. Horizontal looks are small and used for nomadic weaving. Vertical looms are used for weaving of large rugs.
Lotto
A design which appears on rugs in the paintings of Lorenzo Lotto, a sixteenth-century Venetian painter. These rugs were woven between 16th and 18th centuries are usually seen in Ushak rugs from Turkey. Lotto rugs are typically
recognized by a red field with all-over yellow branching lines.
Lenkoran
A medallion in a shape of a geometric crab with two or four arms. Named after a town on the Caspian Sea and is commonly used on Kazaks and Talishes.
Lesghi Star
A popular design in Caucasian rugs, lesghi star has eight points with four radiating arrows. It can be frequently found on rugs from Daghestan.
Lozenge
A diamond-like shape.
Luser
Brightness and sheen of the rug fibers or yarns.
