Representative "court" rugs were woven by special workshops, often founded and protected by the sovereign, with the intention to represent power and status. As such, representative carpets have developed a specific design tradition influenced by the courts of the surrounding empires. Rugs were produced in the court manufactures as special commissions or gifts. Their elaborate design required a division of work between an artist who created a design plan (termed "cartoon") on paper, and a weaver who was given the plan for execution on the loom. Thus, artist and weaver were separated.