Persia (Iran)

Persia (Iran) map

Persia has been known as Assyria, Medea, Persia and now Iran and dates back to 2.000 years b.c. The first information of carpet weaving is an extract from an Arabian manuscript regarding a carpet, made for the King of Persia, Chosroes I (a.d. 531–579). It was called the winter or spring carpet of Chosroes, and it was made of silk, gold, silver, semi-precious and precious stones and the design was of a garden carpet. The borders represented flower beds and in the flower heads were stones of red, blue, yellow, green, amber and white, a small stream was represented by clear crystal. The carpet was truly magnificent, was it an «Arabian Dream»? — as so many have said. My views are: (a) they understood carpets at that time — and (b) they had nothing to gain by such a tale.

It was not until 1063 that the country, under the Seljuks, became the core of civilisation; the days of Omar Khayyam (1063–1123). In 1218 Persia was once again conquered, this time by Ghengis Khan and in 1256 his grandson brought 100 families of engineers and artisans to Persia — was it to teach or to learn? Two facts follow this event, the first is that Marco Polo on his return to Venice (1295) remarked that the carpets of Tabriz were finer than those of India; and secondly, there is a carpet in the Kaiser Frederich Museum in Berlin which has Chinese motifs and is described as Persian made in 1320. Not until the sixteenth century, when the Ardebil carpet (1540) was produced and the Shah Abbas period began (1586–1628), did the second golden age of Persia commence, during which the world's finest carpets were produced.

Like most Oriental rugs, those from this region are frequently named for the village where they were made, the group that wove them, or for the town where they were sold. A wide variety of designs, color combinations, and styles are evident. For most people, memorizing these designs is of no practical use. However, it is helpful to become acquainted with the major Persian centers and the most important Persian rugs, especially those most readily avail­able and of the most assured investment quality. The most significant are: Kashan, Qum, Kerman, Isfahan, Nain, Tabriz, Sarouk, and Hamadan.

Master Key to Persians Rugs
1. Designs Dividing the country up you have:
  1. Western area designs — Fereghans, Sehnas, Zieglers, Mahals, Hamadans, Malayers, Mousuls, Karajas, Ghorevans, Heriz, Mirs and Bidjars (which are a group of similar designs, either heavy and bold or distin­guishable by their individuality).
  2. Central area designs — Kashans, Sarouks, Teherans, Ispahans, Qums. (Fine typical Persian designs.)
  3. Southern area designs — Kirmans, Yezds are rose-floral, Shirazs and Afshars are geometrical.
  4. Eastern area designs — Mesheds (Birjand), dark and similar to the central area designs.
2. Knot Apart from Tabriz, Herat, Ghorevan, Bidjar, Heriz and the Kurdish tribes on the western border all knots are Persian.
3. Dyes Three main groups:
  1. Western — colours, terracottas, brown, natural and pale and dark indigo.
  2. Central — red, deep reds, brick and rose.
  3. Eastern — dyes take on a darker look, Meshed/Birjand have the colours similar to the old Indian and Kashmir rugs with the dark Indian green, unlike any Persian green.
4. Wool Three main groups:
  1. North-western — dry, hard, tough yarn (sometimes mixed with hair).
  2. Central and southern — good quality wools.
  3. Eastern — poor to good quality wools.
5. Side cords Three main groups:
  1. the Tabriz with its double flat cords.
  2. in general overcast cords are used.
  3. the Shiraz and Afshar cords which have either bands of different colours or a mixture of two colours.
6. Ends (warp) Kelim ends, Shiraz fancy designs. Tabriz sometimes have four lines of wool in check pattern in two colours. Kashan sometimes have two lines of wool in check pattern in two colours. Generally cotton, although the Kurdish tribes use camel hair and the Shiraz district use a mixture of hair and wool. Most modern rugs of wool pile have cotton except very fine Nains which have silk and, of course, most silk rugs are woven on silk although cotton can be used.
7. Weft Mostly cotton and undyed. The exceptions are as follows: Shiraz — red weft of wool or wool and hair; Kashan, Mahal and fine Kirman — pale blue weft.