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Rug Information:
“Were a man to live as long as Methuselah
He would never cease to find beauties
In Persian rugs.” - M. Charles Blanc
Persian Rug General:
Name of the rug Persian Rugs are named after the city or the region in which they were made. Among the most popular ones are Tabriz, , Nain, Qom, Isfahan, Mashhad, Kirman, etc. Each region has a unique characteristic and method of making rugs, so take a moment a look up a name on a map to see where the rug is from.
Design In design, whether made in the royal palace, in a village hut, or in a tent of a nomad, a Persian rug can usually be distinguished by its realistic floral patterns with borders of wavy lines connecting floral figures in harmony with the field.
Color In color, harmony rather than contrasts predominates, giving marvelous combinations and blending of tones.
Dark blues and reds are favorite background for display of floral patterns.
Texture There is a great variety in texture from the close weave of the Senna, Kirman, and Tabriz rugs to the soft Shiraz and the coarse Hamadan rugs; But as a family, Persian rugs are of fine wool from sheep, and occasionally camels’s hair or silk for the pile, with the warp and woof of cotton, tied with the Senna knot.
Wool:
Material used to make the pile of the Persian rug, unless otherwise specified it is Sheep wool that is used to make the rug. There are some Persian rugs that are also made with goat wool. Virtually all Persian rugs are made with Sheep wool and that's all there is to it.
Kurkwool:
Kurkwool is a much finer kind of wool than regular Sheep wool. It comes from Lamb. Just like the hair of a child is finer than the hair of an adult, the wool of a Lamb is much finer than a Sheep. Since a Lamb can only generate so much wool before it matures, the amount of wool is much less and therefore much more expensive than regular wool. Kurkwool is only used in high quality rugs and when you see it, you will know instantly the difference between regular wool and Kurkwool.
Silk:
Most finer Persian rugs have silk included in them, some have silk added to the wool while others are made completely of silk. The silk comes from the plants and is all natural.
Foundation:
The foundation is the base of the rug. The most visible parts of the foundation are the fringes. Most Persian rugs have a cotton foundation, but there are also some carpets that have a silk foundation. These types of rugs are very valuable and are much more expensive than rugs with a cotton foundation. Either foundation will basically last a lifetime, but silk is one of the strongest natural substances and is extremely durable. As rule, silk foundation rugs are 20-30% more expensive that the same high quality rugs with a cotton foundation.
The most famous City-Rugs and tribal-Rugs from Persia (Iran) are:
Mashad
Location:
Is located 909 km(564 Miles) from TEHRAN in Norteastern IRAN between the two mountain ranges of Binalood and Hezarmasjed.
Mashad is a center of transactions for carpet in eastern side of Iran, in which carpets of Meshed and rustic carpets, Baluch hand-woven rugs, Turkmen's carpet and rugs and even Afghani carpets go under research.
Designs of Mashed Rugs:
Carpet weavers of Meshed, more than 22000 usually make carpet with a size of 6 meters and up, somewhat wide and quadric-forms mostly 3x2.5 m2 in red colors, following their habit they usually pass ( two thin thread and one thick ) through the wraps. Using livestock products, such as wool and for has been prevalent since old days, therefore textile industry was a frequent profession among the public. So that Meshed may be counted one of the most prominent center of carpet weaving of Iran and world.
Designs mostly used in Mashad rugs are flower design, corner medallion, overall flower design, vase design, overall, paisley design and the most common is "Herat".
Color & Texture:
They use natural herbal colors such as indigo, yellow weed, walnut skin pomegranate and chemical colors, however, color of Meshed carpets is always stable and invariable.
Carpet of Meshed is thick, resistant, hard, durable while its wool is softer than the wool of many other regions of Iran. Quality of wool is good enough to supply more than half quantity needed for local weavers.
Ordinary carpets of Meshed have less than 40 wale.
ISFAHAN
Location:
Isfahan is the center of Isfahan province and is placed in a vast region of Central Iran, Isfahan is within 424 kilometers South of Tehran. Isfahan is in 1590 meter above the sea level.
Rug in the city of Isfahan:
Isfahan rug isone of the fine woven carpets, that number of its wale is above 40 (Isfahan rugs have 800 knots per square inch). Knots are Persian (asymmetric) and usually with double weft, so rugs have been woven finely.
In Isfahan, like other Persian weaving parts, knitting is done by hand, without using hook. Usually Isfahan rug is woven in small and middle sizes and hardly in big sizes.
Fine woven rugs and silk motifs of Isfahan are very famous and outstanding. Usually these rugs are woven on silk warp. Fringes of these rugs sometimes reach to 15 centimeters. Round shaped rugs are also woven here.
Motives of Isfahan Rugs:
Isfahan has been the design center of nice and pleasant motives of many crafts specially weaving.
Its colorful, various, traditional and harmonious motives designs, were famous.
Isfahan designers have been influenced by motives of ceramic works and historical buildings such as Chehel-Sotun Palace, Madrassa Chahar-Bagh, Madare Shah, Mosque of Sheikh Lotfollah,… so, they have decorated their designs with smart motives of these buildings.
Designs of Isfahan rugs are mostly palmette flower corner, medallion, garden with animals, arabesque, corner-medallion, overall palmette flower, portrait and scenery.
Materials and Colors:
Wool and cotton using in Isfahan rugs supply from Isfahan, Kerman and Kermanshah provinces and also foreign countries such as France and Australia.
Natural dyes are mostly madder and weed.
Isfahan Rugs, usually have many different colors, sometimes more than fourteen.
Designers, usually select their colors on bases of turquoise, dark blue, red, beige and cream.
KASHAN
Location:
Kashan is located in North central Iran 258 km. south of Tehran between Tehran and Isfahan. Kashan is a city in the desert and one of the major rug weaving center. Kashan is the center of the silk-rug industry in Persia.
Design:
Kashan Rugs have the most curvature pattern and visibility among all the cities in central Iran. The Kashan carpets have very similar pattern. They have a single medallion in center and Persian floral motifs, including arabesques and flower-stems, palmettos, rosettes, blossom and leaf motifs. Kashan Rugs are one of the greatest looking Rugs in Iran and the world.
Materials and Colors:
Kashan rugs have soft wool and a thin, tight pile. The foundation of the rug is cotton, except in very fine pieces where it is pure silk. Ivory, light green and red predominate color. Other colors such as soft green and blue are found in newer carpets. Kashan rugs have Persian knots and rug is an all-natural, handmade product, made with pure, hand-spun wool and all-natural dyes. The weave is fine to exceptionally fine.
BAKHTIARI
Who are they?
Bakhtiari tribe, which numbers more than 800,000, inhabits an area of approximately 67,000 sq. km (25,000 sq. mi) that straddles the central Zagros Mountains in Iran. Although only about a third of the tribe is nomadic (the rest are settled agriculturists), the nomads embody the Bakhtiari cultural ideals. They specialize in producing meat and dairy products and migrate seasonally with their sheep, cattle, or goat herds from high plateau pastures, where they spend the summer, west of the city of Esfahan, to lowland plains in the province of Khuzistan for winter herd grazing. Their migration is among the most spectacular known among nomadicpaternalists anywhere.
Designs of Bakhtiari rugs:
The best known BAKHTIARI rug design is the Garden carpet with flower- and tendril-filled compartmental designs (KHESHTI Design). Another important BAKHTIARI design consists of a decorated field with lattice designs and floral ornaments that are as distinctly executed as the well-drawn medallion carpets of Saman.
There is a wide variation in quality and prices among carpets from this region, ranging from consumer carpets up to excellent collector's pieces. Hori carpets are generally of lower quality, while BIBIBAF, Chapel Shotur and Saman pieces are good to excellent.
Color:
There is great variety of color in the carpets produced in the several hundred villages of this area. The principal colors include many shades of white and ivory, as well as various reds, browns, greens, and yellows, but relatively little blue. Natural dyes generally produce a harmonious range of color, especially on older pieces and in Bibibaff.
TEXTURE:
Even with wool obtained from the weaver's own herd, there are still varying degrees of quality, ranging from dull to extremely glossy.
TABRIZ
Location:
Tabriz is the center of Eastern Azerbaijan province and 653 km. far from Tehran. It is also placed in 160 km from capital of Turkey. Its altitude is 1405m, with cold winters and temperate summer.
Having temperate climate and good pastures, have resulted flourish of husbandry and its products in Tabriz and its suburbs, which dairy products, meat, leather and wool are among those.
Material:
used in Tabriz weaving is mostly strong cotton thread. Silk thread is also used in "complete silk", "whole silk" or "silk wrap" carpets; maybe the most valuable Persian rugs are Tabriz wrap silk rugs.
Azerbaijan is one of the most important husbandry and sheep breeding centers, therefore the greatest part of needed wool for weaving is produced in Makou, Khoy, Mahabad, ... This wool is spinned either by hand or in factories.
Colors:
In Tabriz rug are both in harmony with each other and with customer's taste.
Natural dyes, used from old times in Tabriz, are madder (red), cochineal (red and fire red) and weld (yellow). Combination of yellow and indigo produces grass-green, olive-green colors.
Mouse-gray or black earth, is taken from the mines of “Mishehbar” in Arasbaran.
There is a great color variety in Tabriz rugs, especially in pictorial rugs.
Costumer's taste has important role in carpet's design in Tabriz. They update old designs, so could sell their rugs better and this is one of the reasons of Tabriz carpet flourish in carpet trading.
Design:
Costumer's taste has important role in carpet's design in Tabriz. They update old designs, so could sell their rugs better and this is one of the reasons of Tabriz carpet flourish in carpet trading.
Combination of Kerman medallion, Meshed corner and Kashan margin, creates attractive and beautiful designs for Tabriz weaving. Some of these designs keep their particularities and are not very different from their origin. Therefore, there are not few cases that is said "Tabriz rug with Kashan design", "Tabriz rug with Isfahan images"...
The most famous Tabriz design is "Fish" with a medallion inside. Common images in Tabriz are Arabesque, Palmette flower and corner-medallion, that all-over flower, types of hunting, Sheikh Safi, Scenery, underground, four seasons, Cashmere paisley, types of fish, tree, vase, frame, Hennah flower, Gul Farang, tapestry, ... are added to those for main images.
KERMAN
Location :
City of Kerman is the center of Kerman Province, where is one of the central and dry regions of Iran. Distance between Kerman and Tehran is 1076 km.
Designs & Motives of Kerman Rugs:
Distinct weaving of Kerman rug in Safavid era, contained un-symmetric (Persian) knot with woolen pile, which was common in Safavid urban weaving centers.
One of the famous designs, which belongs to triple-weft vase design group of Kerman, is one which at the first look seems, that the ground of rug is occupied by random scattered basic images like red rose, palm leaves, tendril and separated single vases; but a more preciselook shows, that ground containsthree different sets of motives, which are bounded within three group of branches, making orderly networks and technically are called "Panel".
White wool, good dye and high quality of water in Kerman, have resulted shiny colors, which along with magnificent images and in the capable hands of skillful weavers, have made Kerman rug, one of the most valuable Rug in the world.
In cities, Persian knot is used, which are used in fine rugs. In rural regions, both Turkish and Persian knots are used.
Like many other regions, some weavers use "double Knot".
Color of Kerman Rugs:
One of the most particularities of Kerman rugs is its various and shiny colors.
These dyes with different herbal and animal origins are about 30 colors, which are resulted by mixing various dyes.
Crimson colors are from non-herbal dyes, that fire-red is the most attractive color among those and is made from cochineal.
Using such a colored wool or white wool is one of the reasons of Kerman rug's high quality.
NAI’N
Location :
Nain city ( also spelled Naeen ) with 35,000 sq. km. area, is located at 130 km. distance to the east of Isfahan city and 320 km. to the south east of Tehran. It is located in the central plateau of Iran, in Isfahan Province. The climate of Nain is hot and dry. This city has many famous villages and wells.
Design & Texture:
The city of Nain is famous in the world for itsmagnificent rugs. The history of fine woolen men's cloak and cloth making dates back to centuries, but carpet making is relatively new and less than a century old. All the Rugs have asymmetrical ( Persian ) knots, wool pile and cotton warps. They are closely clipped for better look.
In some instances silk warps are used. In higher and finer knotted rugs, kork (baby
lamb wool) is used for pile. Using touch of silk around the flowers and arabesques is
common. Making very big Nain Rugs especially for Arab customers is a common practice
in Nain.
Foundation:
Warp is mostly cotton, weft is either silk or wool.
Color:
Light and dark blue and Iory are the main colors.
QASHQAI & SHIRAZ
About Qashqai Tribal:
Ghashghai rugs are made by the Ghashghai tribeswomen of the Fars province in southwestern Iran.Ghashghai rugs are among the most beautiful and popular nomadic rugs made today. The Qashqai were originally nomadic pastoralista and some remain so today. The traditional nomadic Qashqai travelled with their flocks each year from the summer highland pastures north of Shiraz roughly 480 km or 300 mi south to the winter pastures on lower (and warmer) lands near the Persian Gulf, to the southwest of Shiraz.
Design:
Ghashghai designs are bold, colorful, and almost always geometric. The influence of Turkoman and Caucasian styles can clearly be seen in their designs. One characteristic that shows the Caucasian influence and helps in identifying Ghashghai rugs is that shapes are commonly superimposed. Some of their designs include boteh, diamond panels, diamond or hexagon shapes, floral, and animal (birds are common) or human motifs in a repeating all-over layout. However, the most common designs have a medallion layout. Medallions come in diamond, hexagon or three vertically connected diamond shapes. An interesting characteristic of Ghashghai medallions is that sometimes a smaller diamond or square shape inside the central medallion is surrounded by four hooks. Sometimes, this characteristic can be seen in all-over motifs as well. A unique Ghashghai design is the hebatlu, which consists of a centerpiece and a shape of the same or smaller size identical to the centerpiece in each corner of the rug. Usually the centerpiece and the identical shapes are woven in white.
Ghashghais also weave a special type of Pictorial called gabbeh. Gabbeh rugs are decorated with small geometric caricature-like animals, birds and human figures which are sparsely placed on the field. The pile on these rugs is clipped very high. A famous gabbeh design is called the Lion Gabbeh, which consists of one or two large Lions or few smaller ones lay out horizontally. Sometimes the lion(s) is/are woven on a plain background and other times the field is crowded with floral or other animal motifs.
Color:
The colorful palette of the Ghashghai rugs is dominated by deep reds and blues, ocher, yellow, green and white. The Ghashghai also weave kelims, bags, and saddlebags. Although they weave a variety of sizes, larger size rugs are not common.
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