Hand Wovenpersian Carpets

Tabriz

Tabriz, capital of azarbaijan,has for centuries enjoyed a great reputation as an omportant weaving centre in Iran.in this city. carpet weaving has had a long record. The dimentions vary from the smallest up to the biggest sizes.for many long years, Tabriz carpets, with theire intresting designs, durability, fineness, and pleasant colours have always been sought after in iran and abroad.
Tabriz is the second largest city in Iran, situated in the north. The carpets from Tabriz are of high quality and come in a great variety of sizes. The pattern could be floral, vases, trees, hunting scenes or teardrop medallions. The most famous design is called “Mahi”. The pile is of wool or wool/silk, while the warp cotton or silk. Antique carpets from Tabriz are extremely valuable and can be found only in museums or in exclusive private collections.

Ardebil

During the second world war, when carpet weaving in shirvan and other parts of caucasia came to a standstill, the ardebil weavers thout to seize the opportunity and take advantage of the situation. They decided to change and modify their designs to increase their sales. The runners and the carpets woven in ardebil are definitely under the influence of Caucasian and Tabriz designs. Recently, the prevalent colours of the ardabil rugs are turquoise blue, off-white, blue, beige and sometimes green.

Hamedan

the province of hamedan is located in the west of Iran, and the city of hamedan,the capital of this province, in one of the most ancient and historical cities of Iran. Its origin goes back to the second millennium B.C. the medes made in their capital. After the conquest of Alexander the great the greek(331 B.C.)name Ekbatana was used. This province is one of the most important regions in Iran that produces large quantities of carpets. in this province the carpets are wovwn in floral and stylized patterns. Many years ago the colours used for weaving them was natural beige or camel wool which had agreat success amidst the Europeans, as they found them very suitable to spread in the dark and narrow corridors and halls of their buildings. Nowadays they still use these natural colours.

Malayer

in the city of malayer carpet weaving is very popular and has a good market. The design, especially the older ones,which are very common in malayer, are more or less similar to those made in arak region such as sarugh and farahan.some carpets of this region are famous by the name of “Armani-baft” that has the same design as the Caucasian carpets. The ancestor of these weavers had emigrated from caucasia and Armenia in the 17th century, therefore all the carpets woven in malayer and its surrounding villages are in stylized patterns, mostly in medallion and Harati design. The sizes often demanded are runners, kalleghi and sajjadeh.

Kerman

kerman is both the name of the province and its capital.although carpet weaving in kerman precedes the safavid dynasty, yet the flourishing period was during the reign of the same rulers. The Americans became fond of carpets with high pile and larg flowers. After a short period their taste changed and they preferred carpets with a plain background and design with small flowers.

Qum (Qom, Kum, Koum, Kumm, Qhom, Ghom)

These carpets are named after the holy town of Qum, located 150km south of Tehran. Here one finds the tomb of Shah Abbas (1586-1628), the great patron of carpet weaving. These carpets are very tightly knotted and the pile is mostly of silk. One can even find extremely fine carpets where both pile warp and weft are of silk. If the pile is of wool there is often silk decor in the details. Qum has a great variation of patterns, flowers, medallions, cypresses, gardens, hunting scenes, vases and birds. The colours are often reddish brown, dark blue, orange or pink, but somewhere in the Qum carpet you almost always find turquoise.

Nain

These carpets are made in the small town of Nain which has always had a reputation of producing high quality wool. The carpets from Nain are also known for their fine patterns, similar to those of Isfahan. Many carpets have patterns of plants and animals, but most of them have intertwined branches with small flowers. The colors are typical of the region, light ivory or white with branches in blue or green. The knots of wool and threads of silk are often seen to emphasize the pattern.

Isfahan

These carpets come from the old Persian capital Isfahan and were probably the first to be recognized in the west. During the reign of Shah Abbas, many carpets were sent as gifts to the rulers of western countries. The Isfahan carpets - as well as those from Nain - have patterns of flowers and intertwined branches, often with a medallion, but one can also find hunting scenes and the tree of life. In Najafabad, close to Isfahan, they produce similar carpets, but then the warp is of cotton.

Kashan

Kashan is a well known industrial town of Iran and the carpets produced in this region bear its name. There are two kinds of Kashan carpets. The first is made of unbleached cotton warps and double wefts of cotton using the Persian knot technique and the second kind of Kashan uses pure silk wefts and double silk warps, employing the same Turkish known method. The Mehrab and medallion are common patterns of Kashan carpets.

Hereke

There are two kinds of Hereke carpets, one has a wool pile and cotton warp and the other silk pile with silk warp, which makes it a very elegant carpet.

Tekke

This is a Turkoman carpet produced by the Tekke tribe and is known in the west as “Bokhara”. The town of Bokhara being the main trading centre of the area. The typical Tekke has a broad border and the center field is decorated with octagon-shaped “guls”. The pattern is always geometric and the colours are often dark red with the pattern in blue and white.

Qashaqai (Qashqai)

Qashaqai is a tribal city of Iran. Qashaqai weave is finer with a tight ridged back construction and shorter pile. Genuine old Qashaqai, are miracles of weaving and colouring skills. But it is a great pity since the Qashqai, the most important of the Turkish tribe in Iran, use only the Turkish knot.

Bakhtyari (Bakhtiari)

The Bakhtyari nomads live in the south west of Iran between Isfahan and Malyar. The three main carpet-weaving areas being Chahar Kurd, Chahar Shutur and Shalem Zar. Many have now abandoned their nomadic life, which explains why some Bakhtyari carpets can be quite large. The wool is thick on sturdy warp of cotton. This makes the carpets heavy but very hardwearing. Many Bakhtyaris, particularly those from Shalem Zar, have the “garden motif” with a pattern is squares with animals, trees, and flowers.

Caucasian Rugs

Warm natural shades and strong designs are the common features of these rugs. If used with modern or antique furniture, they will give a new dimension of luxury to homes. The majority of Caucasian pile rugs have woolen warps and wefts. There are many kinds of Caucasian pile rugs relating to the places like Koba, Baku, Shirvan, Kazak, Karabakh and Azerbaijan.

Baluch (Balouch)

These carpets are made by the Baluchi nomads in the Khorsan area (from the town of Meshed, Afghanistan). They use horizontal primitive looms and mostly weave small carpets. The pile is often sheep wool dyed into a dark rd or blue color but they also use camel hair in brown and beige and goat hair for the edges. The warp is often a wool, except in the Meshed-Baluh where they use cotton. The pattern is geometric.

Kilim (Soumak, Somac)

There are many kinds of kilim rugs. Kilim differ from one another depending upon their region of origin. Some are made by unbleached woolen warps and single unbleached woolen wefts. In making kilims like Soumak, but it differs from other kilims with it’s softer outer surface and colourful shades. There is no pile in kilim.