Piled carpets, whether of Eastern or European production, appeared in colonial homes soon after the colonisation of North America in the early 17th century. Initially displayed on tables and cupboards, they were subsequently used as floor coverings in the homes of political and social elites. Over the 18th century Eastern carpets appear to have lost their original semiotic function: ‘English’ having become synonymous with elegance, led colonial consumers increasingly to substitute carpets made in Great Britain for those imported from Persia or Turkey; this shift was motivated in large part by both the wider range of English styles and their lower cost. Probate inventories provide much of the information on the position of carpets in colonial homes. Such data are subject to various shortcomings, which are noted and discussed, especially in relation to their use as valuation measures.

在17世纪早期北美殖民之后不久，无论是东方生产还是欧洲生产的堆积地毯都出现在殖民地房屋中。最初显示在桌子和橱柜上，后来被用作政治和社会精英家庭的地板。在18世纪，东方地毯似乎失去了最初的符号功能：“英语”已成为优雅的代名词，导致殖民地消费者越来越多地用英国制造的地毯代替从波斯或土耳其进口的地毯；这种转变在很大程度上是由更广泛的英语风格和更低的成本推动的。遗嘱认证清单提供了许多有关殖民地家庭地毯位置的信息。此类数据有各种缺点，请注意和讨论，