Russian parquet as a reflection of craftsmanship and aesthetics — tradition meets technology.
Russian parquet is an art
The traditions of making parquet were born as early as the 14th century. Up to the present day, technologies have been continually developed and fundamentally changed, increasingly advanced equipment has appeared, yet the original quality and the interest people have in this product have remained unchanged.The very word "parquet" came to Russia from France, where it essentially means an even floor or a platform. Peter I most highly appreciated the beauty of the French palace floors made from the finest wood species, and soon it was through the Great Russian Emperor that the word took root in the Russian language. However, the technique of laying wooden floors from small boards had been used in Rus' even earlier and was called "klepki". For example, in the 16th century, in public buildings craftsmen used one of the parquet patterns — the herringbone — but at that time such a floor covering was called "kosyashchatoe".
A vast experience in the art of wood carving, as well as a large number of craftsmen skilled in artistic wood processing, created favorable conditions for the emergence of the parquet-making trade in the Russian Empire. As early as the 17th century, oak parquet was laid on a lime base, and emerging gaps were filled with lime mixed with resin. It was then that various floor-laying technologies began to appear, differing depending on the use of different wood species. This made it possible to create true compositions of wood with different grain patterns and colors. Depending on the materials used by the craftsmen, parquet was called semi-colored, colored, oak, or piece parquet. And in the 18th century, technologies for manufacturing panel parquet were mastered.
Examples of antique artistic parquet can still be seen today — just look at the floor coverings of the Winter Palace, the Ostankino Palace, and the Chinese Palace in the town of Lomonosov. They, like the buildings themselves, are considered masterpieces of Russian decorative art. Nowhere else in the world can one find such a vast variety of artistic parquets as in Russia. Up until the 1870s all work on parquet production was done by hand, and only later did the first factories begin to open, their number growing significantly by the beginning of the 20th century. By that time parquet was being produced at more than 85 enterprises in the country. Of course, the shift to factory production practically eliminated artistic parquet, and even today its manufacture is largely not carried out.
With a wide range of different types of flooring available, parquet, as before, remains one of the most reliable solutions for flooring both at home and in public buildings. Even a price ranging from $20 to $100 per square meter does not deter people: they are willing to buy this wonderful natural material. And it is understandable — such a beautiful material, ideally suited to the interior of any room and possessing enviable consumer qualities such as durability, warmth, and eco-friendliness, cannot fail to be in demand.