Of all the centers of rug production in the Orient, none equals Persia (modern-day Iran) for its rich diversity of designs, color and weave. A Persian rug has long been considered as the apogee of everything an exotic oriental rug should be.
As early as the fourteenth century, fine rugs were an integral part of sophisticated Persian court life. Beautifully detailed miniatures show brightly colored geometric patterned rugs as often the sole item of furnishing. The rugs were used to decorate the floors of palaces, mosques and sometimes even garden pavilions.
Ever since Persian rugs first made their appearance in seventeenth-century Europe via the ancient silk route and through ports on Persia’s southern coasts, they have been venerated as objects of great beauty and fine workmanship.
Persian rugs are reflective of Persian wonderful design and architecture.
The ‘golden age’ of the Persian rug spanned the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Persia was conquered by the Safavids in 1499 and it was Shah Tahmasp, crowned in 1514, who was instrumental in setting up royal workshops specializing in the production of textiles and carpets, notably at Kashan, Kerman, Isfahan and Tabriz. Hitherto the weavers in the existing rug workshops had probably been responsible for all aspects of rug design, but in the new court ateliers they often worked with court miniaturists and book illuminators. The miniaturists brought their inherently highly disciplined approach to bear on the composition of the designs, imbuing them with a strong sense of rhythmically controlled patterns whilst retaining a painterly eye. The ensuing designs are astonishingly sophisticated and beautiful to behold. The skilled weaving required to render the finally graduated curves of an arabesque using the asymmetrical Persian knot, a finer knot than the symmetrical or Turkish knot, are a good indication of the consummate art of rug weavers working under the Safavid dynasty.
Symmetrical or Turkish knot
Asymmetrical or Persian knot
But Persian rugs are not just confined to the rarefied world of court ateliers. There is an equally long tradition of rugs being woven by urban workshops, remote villages and nomadic camps. As is to be expected, these rugs are much more direct and simple in coloration and pattern and often smaller than the elegant formality of the court carpets, appealing to a totally different eye.
The early aniline dyes were increasingly used from around 1875 and the early years of the twentieth century, and rugs dating from this period often have a mixture of natural and chemical colors. Whereas the natural colors have kept their vibrancy, the chemical ones have often faded to a dirty grey. The ensuing results have none of the vitality of rugs produced by weavers working to methods and designs passed down through generations.
In many areas of Persia the degenerative qualities of these dyes were noted by the authorities and measures were taken to omit them from rug production, including punitive taxes on their import. Aniline dyes were gradually superseded by the more light-fast chrome dyes which are still widely used today.
Since the mid-1980s there has been a renaissance of interest in traditional methods in Iran. This is because the subtle colors of vegetable dyes, as opposed to the garish colors of poor chemical dyes, are beginning to be appreciated, and there is a general swing towards individual handcraftsmanship after decades of rejection. Vegetable dyes are once again beginning to be used and many weavers are returning to historic patterns.
Floral designs
Floral Rugs are fit for palaces, and also your very own home!
Tabriz
There is a long tradition of rug weaving in Tabriz, a town in north-west Persia. It is best known as a major center of finely woven rugs during the nineteenth-century revival period.
The knotted-pile carpets produced by a network of town workshops are generally wool, finely woven and are fairly stiff to handle. Not so common are silk rugs including some with metallic thread. A central medallion surrounded by arabesques and floral motifs and corner patterns are frequently found in Tabriz carpets. Hunting scenes are not uncommon. Often the original colors have faded to a browny/coral pink with an ivory ground color. Tabriz are populated with interior decorators, particularly those in pale colors. Modern Tabriz rugs use modern production methods such as chemical dyes and machine-spun wool.
Kerman
Situated in south-east Persia, Kerman was one of the towns where the Safavids set up a court atelier. It has remained an important center of rug production ever since, particularly over the last century.
It is often hard to pinpoint exactly what constitutes a Kerman design, as the motifs and patters used are typical of many centers of Persian rug production. Floral medallions and corner motifs are popular, as are flowering tree patterns and pictorial hunting designs. Pale washed-out colors such as beige and white are typical.
Kashan
In the Middle Ages, the town of Kashan in west central Persia was the center of the Persian silk textile industry. By the eighteenth century, there was little of any weaving in Kashan. It was not until the revival period that fine rugs once again began to be produced in Kashan, some woolen, some silk, and a number woven with a mixture of wool and silk.
Typical designs have a central diamond-shaped medallion set in a densely patterned ground featuring arabesques often with spandrels to the corners. A few silk rugs are still produced today including a style known as ‘raised silk Kashan’, in which the design is woven in pile on a flatweave ground, sometimes embossed with metal. These are show pieces and not very practical. There are two typical color palettes of Kashan, one using a strong combination of dark reds and blues (madder and indigo); the other in more subdued pastel hues which are often referred to as ‘blonde’ or ‘white’ Kashans.
Meshed
The principal town in the region of Khorasan in north-west Persia is another place which underwent a renaissance of carpet weaving in the late nineteenth-century revival period. To this day it is still a major center of rug production.
The rugs tend to be densely patterned with graceful arabesques and either circular of oval medallions with corresponding spandrels in a rich palette of madder reds and blues.
Veramin
Situated just south-east of Teheran, Veramin’s rug-weaving tradition did not really get going until the late nineteenth century.
The rugs are tightly woven in superb rich colors with quite formal designs, often with large flower-heads and with a beautiful light turquoise color dominating the field patterns. Early Veramin rugs are much sought after as their designs are freer than recent productions. Veramin weavings come in the form of rugs, runners and also kilims.
Saruk
Finely woven small rugs are to be found in Saruk, a town in north-west Persia. The weaving is much admired for its fineness and subtlety of design, which is similar in execution to the equally admired Feraghans. Few Saruk rugs of any size can be found today. The colors of Saruk rugs tend to be gentle. The red dyes can be fugitive, and blue wefts are common.
Bakshaish
The rugs produced at the beginning of the twentieth century in the small village of Bakshaish in north-west Persia were produced in quiet colors which suit modern decorating tastes. They are usually finely woven, with bold open designs.
Bidjar
Rugs made in the area around Bidjar in north-west Persia are the most robust of any oriental rugs, because of the weavers’ characteristic technique of beating the weft into place with a long iron bar, which is inserted between the warps during weaving then pounded against the wefts. The designs are usually typical nineteenth-century Persian in style and produced in a rectilinear format. Red or cream grounds combined with a strong light or dark blue are typical. Because of their great strength (when wet a Bidjar is impossible to fold), they are suitable for areas of heavy wear in the home, such as hallways or landings. Bidjar rugs were made in a range of sizes, and can be very large.
Afshar
The Afshar are a Turkish-speaking people originally from Azerbaijan, of whom some are now settled and a few are semi-nomadic. To this day their designs still clearly show a strong Azerbaijan, as well as a discernible Caucasian, influence.
The multiple border designs are repeated in many Afshar rugs. The weavers do not weave from a pattern in front of them, but instead rely on their visual memory, incorporating stylized flowers and animals motifs and symbols in a great variety of colors. Afshar rugs are slightly more subdued than those of the Qashqai, who are their neighbors in western Persia. Afshar rugs are square in shape with a deeply ribbed back.
Mahal
The large open designs using traditional motifs that feature in many Mahal rugs are reminiscent of Ziegler rugs, but they are more affordable. Natural dyes continued to be used on Mahal rugs for a longer period than on other Persian rugs. Workshops run by European firms made many of the older Mahals.
Kirmanshah
The town of Kirmanshah is in north-west Persia, and should not be confused with the similar-sounding weaving town of Kerman, which is in the south-west. Kirmanshah rugs were at their best during the nineteenth-century revival period, and were not produced in great number, which is reflected in their high price. Fairly typical are cypress tree motifs and pinky-red backgrounds. Another typical Kirmanshah style is the ‘garden’ or ‘compartment’ design.
Modern Persian rugs
The Miri Iranian Rugs company was the first major producer of new rugs in Iran to use vegetable dyes, in rugs woven to high standards and incorporating traditional designs, some adapted from traditional motifs but still pleasing to the eye. This family firm based in Teheran has been producing rugs based on nineteenth-century examples since 1987. Miri represent the beginning of an important revival, producing rugs that have not appeared for more than a hundred years.
Geometric designs
Whoever thought that geometry could be so beautiful
Heriz
Heriz is a generic term which is used to describe rugs made in the town of Heriz in north-west Persia and the surrounding villages.
One of the best and most recognizable of all Persian rug types, Heriz rugs have a very direct appeal, being extremely decorative in design. Many are coarsely woven and are consequently very robust. Bold exuberant geometric designs with a dominant central medallion or overall designs with a field of geometrically stylized floral forms are typical. Bright colors: brick reds, burnt orange and tangerine – all shades that come from madder dyes – and blues predominate, set off by contrasting shades of beige, ivory and yellow ochre. The bold wide borders are a defining characteristic, consisting of flowerheads that are found in many variations: angular, geometric and naturalistic.
Heriz rugs are extremely popular with the western taste and are relatively easy to acquire. Interestingly they are more in demand in the West than in Persia, as Persians tend to go for a slightly finer woven rug.
Ziegler
Highly sought after, Ziegler or Sultanabad rugs are hard to find and as a result very expensive. They typically feature great open designs uncharacteristic of other Persian nineteenth-century rugs. The best known is a pattern composed of large detached floral motifs scattered throughout the field. The innovation of expanding small detailed designs into a much larger format produced the famous Ziegler look which is always bold with the use of strong motifs, particularly palmettes, beautifully spaced on a plain field. Yellow, blue, green and madder and coral red are the most typical colors. Less typical is the highly detailed field.
Feraghan
Feraghans are regarded as among the finest Persian rugs to be woven in the nineteenth century. They are finely woven with good quality wool and sophisticated designs, they are also very durable, which helps to explain their popularity.
Feraghans have distinctive ‘showing-off’ characteristics. They typically wide borders are often magnificent, with small guard stripes and a pistachio green ground color. The copper vitriol used to make the green color has a corrosive effect which can be felt if one runs one’s hand over the rug, where the pile has been corroded down. This explains the etched appearance of many Feraghans. Reds and a golden yellow are also typical. The centre is usually composed of an all-over tightly controlled Herati pattern composed of what seems to be a floral design, but on closer inspection usually reveals itself to be a geometrical motif.
Hamadan
Hamadan rugs are instantly recognizable due to the high proportion of plain camel hair used in the outer border. The designs are similar to those of Caucasian rugs made to the north of Iran, with medallion and anchor designs in many different permutations being typical. Many Hamadan rugs come in the form of runners, and a few large rugs were made. Hamadans have long been popular in the American market.
Qashqai
The Qashqai from the Fars district in south-west Persia weave very fine semi-geometric designs, often filling the field of their rugs with animals and flowers. The sophistication of their weavings is particularly impressive if one remembers that all their work is produced by tent dwellers living in harsh desert conditions. There are a rich variety of types produced by the tribe including the world of the animals – lions, tigers, dogs, birds, as well as thousands of flowers. Colors of deep madder red, rich golden yellow and ultramarine are all loved by the Qashqai weavers.
Baluch
Confusingly, the Baluchi tribes do not originate from the area called Baluchistan, which lies south-west of what is now Pakistan. The finest Baluchi rugs come from the large Afghan-Persian border district, north of Baluchistan.
The majority of Baluch production was small rugs easily transportable by this nomadic people. Prayer rugs with a mihrab field and a tree-of-life pattern are one of the best-known of Baluch designs. The typical combination of dark colors, predominantly deep tones of red and blue, but also black (produced by using natural wool darkened with indigo dye) and brown, with small amounts of white looked particularly effective in the dark Baluchi tent interiors.
Large Baluchi rugs are quite rare, because as nomadic tent dwellers, the looms had to be small and easily transportable.
Gabbehs
Persian gabbehs are made by the nomadic people in southern Persia. Although crude, they appeal to collectors of tribal weaving because of their simplicity and naïve charm. The designs of contemporary gabbehs date back to the nineteenth century, demonstrating the respect shown by oriental weavers for past traditions. Gabbehs typically may display a strong graphic quality of design, zigzag borders and simple color use.
Jean Lynn
