A respected Tabriz workshop opened in 1923 by Amir Khizi Javan (born 1899), who founded it at about age 24; the name Javan means “young” in Persian. It began with four or five looms and grew to more than 150 looms and about 200 weavers, known for fine weaving, high knot density and distinctive color combinations. The founder, also known for his charity toward the poor of Tabriz, died in the early 1970s; his son continued the work until retiring in 2020, when production ended, so no new rugs with the Javan signature are made.
Village rugs woven in the Azerbaijan region of northwestern Iran, where Tabriz rugs also originate (the Iranian region, not the country of that name), traditionally by families working indoors through the cold winters. Designs pass down the generations without written blueprints, each generation adding small personal touches. A dense, durable wool pile on a cotton foundation carries mostly geometric layouts, sometimes with curvilinear florals or boteh, in vegetable-dyed navy and deep reds. Knot density is commonly quoted at about 120 to 170 KPSI (roughly 1,900 to 2,600 per 10 by 10 cm), and the thick pile suits busy areas, including runners wider than about 3 feet (90 cm).
Rugs woven today chiefly in Pakistani workshops by Pakistani and Afghan weavers who rework older Persian-Turkmen designs rooted in Central Asia; in the trade they count as Oriental rather than Persian rugs. The hallmark is an allover repeat of guls, stylized octagonal (sometimes diamond-shaped) flower motifs, on a field most often red, then cream, sometimes blue or green, and more recently black, with black, peach, blue, and green accents, all in plant-based dyes. The pile is soft, silky-looking 100 percent wool on a cotton foundation, medium in height, and some pieces come oversized; a finer grade has higher knot density, more detailed drawing, and premium Ghazni wool.
A signed and sealed document that a dealer issues with a hand-knotted rug to record what it is: its origin, type, materials, size, knot density and age, any signature the rug carries, and often a photograph. It is commonly likened to a birth certificate for the rug. Some dealers also state the rug's value on it, which lets it serve as proof of value for an insurance claim or a later resale. Buyers use it to confirm that a rug is what it is sold as, particularly for a gift or an investment piece; its worth rests on the reputation of the dealer who issues it.
The standard, entry-level grade of modern Kazak rug, also called regular Kazak and the one buyers see most often, woven by Afghan weavers in Pakistan. It has the lowest knot density of the three grades (commercial, Super Kazak and Kazak Azari), which suits its large, bold, mostly geometric patterns, and it comes in softened, subdued colors with a good choice of shades. It is generally the lowest-priced of the three.
A style of drawing built from flowing curves, such as vines, scrolls, tendrils and rounded flower outlines, in contrast to the straight edges and angles of geometric design. It is the usual look of floral city and workshop rugs from Nain, Kashan, Tabriz and Isfahan, where curved lines and flowers are combined for a harmonious, fluid effect, while village and tribal rugs are mostly geometric and carry only some curvilinear flowers. Fine curves need a high knot density; with too few knots they look blurry or pixelated.
A measure of how tightly a carpet is packed. In machine-made carpet it describes the fibers in the pile and is calculated by multiplying the face weight by 36 and dividing by the pile height; higher density generally indicates better durability and performance. In hand-knotted rugs it means knot density (KPSI, knots per square inch), counted on the back and averaged over several areas (150 KPSI is about 23 knots per cm²). Like image resolution, higher density allows finer curves and sharper designs, usually with a lower-trimmed pile and more labor, but it is not the sole measure of quality: bold geometric village rugs are made at low to medium density.
A structural technique in which alternate warp threads are pulled to a second, lower level inside the rug, so the knots pack into two planes instead of one. This is the hidden engineering behind many very finely knotted carpets: it nearly doubles the achievable knot density and produces a stiff, heavy handle. Running your fingers across the back of a rug and feeling ribbed, offset knot nodes is a classic connoisseur's test for warp depression.
One of the three principal design families of Persian rugs, alongside geometric and Herati: patterns of flowers, leaves and vines drawn in flowing curves. It dominates city and workshop rugs such as Tabriz, Kashan, Kerman, Sarouk, Nain and Isfahan, where high knot density allows fine detail, and it typically draws on forms such as the Shah Abbasi design and rosettes. Floral motifs, though known to weavers earlier, are said to have become common in Persian rugs from the 16th century. Floral rugs come in two layouts: with a central medallion, where flowers and branches are smaller, or allover, with larger flowers.
A rug from Fars province in Iran, first documented in the 1600s, about 400 years ago, and woven by the region's tribes and settled villagers on a wool or goat-hair foundation (rarely cotton), with a long, thick, dense wool pile that is not clipped short. Its low knot density gives simple, bold designs in which trees, animals, and people become abstract geometric shapes. Color Gabbeh is dyed in any hue, often strongly, while natural Gabbeh uses undyed white and black wool in cream, brown, gray, and black tones, usually on a cream ground. Typical sizes are about 3-4 by 6-7 ft (0.9-1.2 by 1.8-2.1 m). Finer city-woven versions come from Shiraz, and very fine, heavy pieces are sometimes called Qashqai, though they are not true Qashqai rugs.
A style of rug drawing built from angular shapes such as hexagons, diamonds and squares, outlined by straight lines, in contrast to the flowing curves of floral designs. It goes back to some of the oldest Persian rugs, before floral designs, and is typical of village and tribal rugs (Heriz, Hamadan, Zanjan, Abadeh, Karaja, Qashqai, Kazak, Turkmen), though city workshops such as Tabriz also weave it. Many shapes carry symbolic meaning. It comes as an allover pattern, a single central medallion or repeating medallions, and geometric rugs are known for strong borders. Because the shapes need little fine detail, a low-to-medium knot density is enough, as in Heriz and Karaja rugs, and Heriz is still known for durability.
Bold village rugs from the Heriz area of northwestern Iran, near Tabriz, and the best-known of all Persian village rugs. A coarse, tough wool pile on a cotton foundation, usually double-wefted for extra thickness, and a low-to-medium knot density (commonly quoted at about 120 to 170 KPSI, roughly 1,900 to 2,600 per 10 by 10 cm) make them very durable; the wool's strength is traditionally credited to copper-bearing mountain water. The classic design is a large angular medallion with four corner pieces, sometimes an allover layout, in a rust red traditionally credited to copper minerals in the local river, with dark navy and cream. Bakshaish and Serapi, the latter now over a century old, are their older forms.
The tallest pile tier in one dealer's four-tier scheme, about 1/2 to 5/8 in (12.7 to 15.9 mm) measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile. It feels cushioned and cozy underfoot and usually comes with larger, bolder patterns, because rugs of lower knot density need no close trimming to look sharp. Together with medium pile it is recommended for busy living rooms, hallways, entryways and heavy furniture, but it needs more clearance under doors and takes longer to dry in damp rooms. Heriz, Mashhad, Sarouk, Bijar, Zanjan and Gabbeh rugs typically have it.
Village rugs from a group of villages in the Azerbaijan region of Iran, at the western edge of the Heriz weaving area and named for the village of Karaja at their center. Wool pile on a cotton foundation (very old pieces may have a wool one), Turkish knot and single weft, so the pile is thinner and softer than the usually double-wefted Heriz, and knot density is low to medium. Two bold geometric medallions with hook-like edges typically alternate down a runner, often on a different ground color with each repeat, and on wide rugs the repeated medallions read as a geometric allover, in orange-reds, blues, creams and browns. Their soft, thin pile and great lengths, some over 20 feet (6 m), make them popular as hallway and stair runners.
Rugs from Kashmar, a city in northeastern Iran near Mashhad, whose weavers bring finished pieces to the Mashhad market. Less famous than Tabriz, Mashhad or Kashan, they are often undervalued relative to their quality: good wool, often high knot density and vegetable dyes at a modest price. The colors are soft earth tones: brownish cream, light and dark blue, orange, brown and a distinctive pink. Typical designs are a medallion with corner pieces and border, sometimes with vases in place of flowers, and garden designs in panels that each show a scene, such as a lake with trees, a tree of life or deer in a forest. The pile is thin to medium. Not to be confused with Kashmir.
The most expensive of the three grades of modern Kazak rugs that Afghan weavers make in Pakistan, above commercial and Super Kazak. Its knot density equals that of a commercial Kazak or runs slightly higher, but it offers a much wider range of patterns and harmonious colors, with designs inspired by Persian Heriz rugs, and a medium-to-thick pile that feels more luxurious. Its hand-spun wool is the best of the three grades, thick and rich, and its colors come from vegetable dyes. Although the rugs look antique, they are newly made.
Bold geometric rugs originally woven by Armenian weavers in the southern Caucasus in the 1800s, in what is now Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, with large-scale patterns, tribal motifs and many medallions. Today they come mainly from workshops in Pakistan, where Afghan weavers have recreated the designs since the 1980s and 1990s in hand-spun Ghazni wool and vegetable dyes, in softer modern colors such as beige, teal, indigo, and rust red, often with a red field against a cream medallion and border; India also makes Kazak-style rugs. The low-to-medium pile is cut short and stone-washed for an antique look. Grades are commercial (lowest knot density), Super (finest knotting, silky wool), and Kazak Azari (Heriz-inspired designs, thicker pile, best wool, highest price); examples measure about 121 KPSI (roughly 1,900 knots per 10 x 10 cm) to 169 KPSI (roughly 2,600).
Trade name among rug specialists for the finer grade of Khal Mohammadi, the Afghan rugs known for deep, natural-dyed reds. Colors and design match the regular grade, but the higher knot density gives a sharper, more detailed drawing, so the difference shows in the crispness of the pattern rather than in its overall look.
The number of knots in one square inch of a hand-knotted rug (KPSI; 1 KPSI is about 15.5 knots per 10 x 10 cm), counted on the back with a ruler by multiplying the knots along one inch of height by those along one inch of width, averaged over two or three areas. More knots give sharper detail, like a higher-resolution screen, and, all else equal, somewhat more durability and a higher price, but density alone does not grade quality: Heriz and Bijar are durable at low to medium counts, while floral curvilinear designs blur without enough knots. Figures run from under about 80 for coarse tribal weaves such as Gabbeh and Qashqai, through roughly 120 to 225 for many village rugs and 300 to 700 for fine city rugs such as Nain and Isfahan, to 600 to 1,000 or more for pure silk Qum.
Persian city rugs from Mashhad, Iran's second-largest city, in the north-east, where weaving began in the late Middle Ages. They are known for high knot density (typically above 250 KPSI, roughly 39 per cm², and exceptionally near 1,000, about 155 per cm², on a silk foundation) and intricate flower designs in medallion, medallion-and-corner or allover layouts, in wine-red or burgundy, deep blue, green and cream. The pile is wool on a cotton foundation and higher than in most city rugs; a silk foundation is rare, and newer silk-and-wool pieces add silk to the pile. Rugs of the closed Saber workshop are now collectible, while Astan Quds Razavi remains a well-known name.
A rug in the classic style of Ushak (Uşak), a Turkish weaving city with a long tradition of classical designs. Rugs sold under the name today are commonly hand-knotted in Pakistan, in workshops set up in the 1970s, in the trade account, by owners who left Iran after an embargo. They reproduce Turkish and old Persian patterns, mostly soft floral all-over or medallion layouts with little geometric drawing, in wool from Ghazni and New Zealand on a cotton foundation. Vegetable dyes, an antique wash, several shades of one color and a short, low pile give a muted, aged look, while designers choose palettes that follow color trends. Depending on design and knot density, the same family is also sold as Peshawar, Chobi, Ziegler or Ferahan.
The asymmetrical knot of hand-knotted rugs, the counterpart of the symmetrical Turkish (Ghiordes) knot. The weaver wraps the yarn around one warp thread and passes it under the neighboring one, usually working by hand without a hook. On the back of the rug the knots look staggered or diagonal rather than like tidy squares, and the pile feels softer; the knot permits finer detail and higher knot density. In Iran, a rule of thumb ties it to the central, eastern, and southern rugs (Kashan, Isfahan, Nain, Kerman), while the northwest and west favor the Turkish knot, though exceptions exist. Fine curvilinear florals are often credited to it, but Turkish-knot rugs can be just as intricate.
A rug woven as a picture, with landscape scenery, scenes from history or mythology, biblical or other stories, and human figures in place of a repeating ornament, comparable in composition to traditional art. Master weavers in city workshops make them, chiefly in Tabriz, which is known for a wide variety of pictorial designs, and also in Kashan, Isfahan, and Sarouk. Faces and floral areas are often woven at a higher knot density than the rest of the rug, so the knot count is best averaged over two or three areas.
A rug whose pile is entirely silk, woven on a cotton foundation or on a silk foundation; when both are silk, no wool enters the rug. Silk's fineness allows the highest knot density of any Persian rug, roughly 600 to 1,000 knots per square inch (about 9,300 to 15,500 per 10 x 10 cm), so the pile is kept low to show the design, and the fibers give a luminous sheen that shifts with the light. About 90 percent of Qum rugs are silk on both foundation and pile, as are some Isfahan rugs. These are the most expensive Persian rugs; they are delicate and stains are hard to remove, so they suit display, formal rooms or wall hanging rather than dining rooms or homes with pets.
Persian rugs from the city of Qum (Qom), a comparatively young weaving center whose rugs are known for the highest knot density of any Persian type. About nine in ten are pure silk on a silk foundation, at roughly 600 to 1,000 knots per square inch (KPSI; about 93 to 155 per cm²); the rest, with kork wool or silk-and-wool piles, run about 300 to 700 KPSI (about 47 to 108 per cm²). Designs are floral medallions, hunting scenes and pictorials, mostly in soft pastel, ivory, gold and green tones (a pistachio-green field is prized) on light or dark grounds. Newer rugs usually carry a workshop signature, older ones often do not. The local water is said to soften and brighten silk, so silk rugs from across Iran are sent there for washing.
A Persian term for knot density, used alongside the knots-per-square-inch figure (KPSI) to express how finely a rug is knotted. In Iran it is traditionally counted along a stretch of about 7 cm (2.75 in) of a row of knots rather than per square inch. A higher raj means finer, more detailed weaving, but the figure is easy to over-read: a bold geometric design needs a lower count than an intricate curved or floral one, so what matters is whether the density suits the pattern.
A written document, usually signed by the dealer, that gathers a rug's details in one place, such as origin, type, materials, size, age, knot density and any signature, often with a photograph, together with its value. It serves as proof of value for an insurance claim if the rug is damaged, lost or stolen, and for resale. Dealers typically provide one, and in some shops the same single document is called the certificate of authenticity.
Silk yarn knotted into selected parts of an otherwise wool pile, such as flowers, animals and other pattern details, so those areas shimmer against the wool and the design gains vibrancy and depth. Because silk is finer than wool, it also permits a higher knot density. The device is a hallmark of Nain rugs, where blue or ivory silk picks out different areas of the design, and it is common in Tabriz and some Sarouk rugs. Stains are harder to remove from silk than from wool, so a pile of pure wool is the better choice for a dining room.
The grade of modern hand-knotted Kazak rugs with the highest knot density, woven in Pakistan by Afghan weavers. The tighter weave allows finer, more detailed geometric patterns, and the high-quality wool has an almost silky look and a soft sheen, in a good range of colors. It is priced in the middle of the three grades: the standard (commercial) Kazak, with the lowest density and large, bold patterns, costs less, and the Kazak Azari, with a wider range of designs and colors and thicker wool, costs more.
A rug woven by settled villagers, sitting between nomadic tribal rugs and city-workshop rugs. Village weavers have better tools, materials and dyes than nomads but work in a looser, semi-structured setting than city workshops, often from memory rather than a drawn blueprint, and some sell through the bazaar of a larger nearby city, as Abadeh's weavers do in Shiraz. Designs are mostly geometric (medallion, all-over, boteh or Herati) with fewer florals than city rugs; knot density is usually higher than tribal but lower than city rugs, and varied loom sizes give a wide size range, from small pieces and runners to large rugs. Heriz is the best-known example, alongside Azerbaijan, Abadeh, Karaja, Mehraban and Senneh; Shiraz and Bakhtiari are also counted as village work in some classifications.
A type of Persian carpet first made in the late 19th century for the European market by the firm Ziegler & Co., with enlarged, modified traditional Persian designs in softer, muted colors suited to Western tastes. A Ziegler Mahal design marks a particular period of production, yet old Ziegler patterns are still reproduced today, so design alone cannot date a rug. The name is also one of several trade names, alongside Oushak, Peshawar, Chobi and Farahan, used for workshop rugs made in Pakistan since roughly the 1970s in traditional Persian and Turkish designs, with a wool pile on a cotton foundation; which name applies varies with design and knot density.