Village rugs from the small town of Abadeh, which sits between Shiraz and Isfahan in Iran, recognized by hexagon shapes in the medallionA large motif at the center of a rug's field, around which the rest of the design is organized; the large central medallion is said to have been introduced in the Safavid era (16th-17th centuries). Floral medallions, typical of city rugs such as Tabriz, Kashan and Sarouk, are often read as a lotus blossom, and the motif has also been read as mirroring the interior dome of a mosque; geometric ones, often hexagonal or diamond-shaped, mark village and tribal rugs such as Heriz and Zanjan. A medallion may stand alone, come with four corner pieces, be flanked by smaller medallions above and below, or repeat down a runner. Rugs with no central motif are called allover. In a well-made rug the medallion sits at the center and the corners mirror one another, as closely as handwork allows., corners and field, usually with a small rosetteA round, flower-like ornament in which petals radiate evenly from a center, like a blossom seen from above. From about the 16th century, as floral design entered Persian rugs, weavers began placing a rosette at the center of the field, which produced the central medallion of floral city rugs, as in the circular rosette medallion with scrolling lines on a round Shah Abbasi Tabriz. On Abadeh rugs a small rosette worked in navy, red or cream marks the center of the medallion, one way to tell the type apart. Rosettes also repeat along borders, as in Tabriz and Bakhtiari rugs, and among the vines and palmettes of Sultanabad rugs. at the center of the medallion, and by animal and plant motifs. The woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs.pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms. is typically on a cotton foundation and stands fairly high. At about 225 knots per square inchThe 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. (roughly 350,000 per m²) the knot count is high for a village rug, which the detailed motifs require. Fields are usually dark navy or deep red with cream, yellow, orange, blue and green accents. The town is too small to have its own rug market, so the finished rugs are sold in the Shiraz bazaar.
Subtle shifts in color within a handmade rug, often visible as horizontal bands across the field. They arise because successive dye batchesA single batch of dye, together with the yarn colored with it, all of which takes the same shade. Natural dyes are made in small artisanal batches, and when one runs out the replacement cannot be matched exactly, so yarn from different lots differs slightly in tone. In a finished rug the difference shows as the color shifts known as abrash, which is read as a sign of hand dyeing, whereas a perfectly flat, uniform color suggests synthetic dyes and machine making. never match exactly, because differences in the woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs.'s fat and oil content make colors change unevenly with age, and, in cream areas woven from undyed woolWool left in its natural fleece colors, with no dye applied, so its shades run only through white, cream, brown, gray and black. Weavers combine white and black wool to reach these tones, which is how natural Gabbeh rugs, usually on a cream ground, get their palette. Many cream grounds in Persian and Oriental rugs also contain undyed wool; these areas can show slight variations of tone that shift as the rug ages, which is normal and not a defect., because the fiber changes tone as it ages. Abrash often grows more distinct with age, so in an older rug it counts as a sign of natural dyes and hand production rather than a fault, while a newer rug is still checked for even color. Machine-made and some new hand-knottedA rug construction in which the weaver ties each knot of wool or silk pile yarn by hand around adjacent warp threads on a loom, then runs a weft through the row and beats it down. The cut knot ends form the pile, the warps and wefts form the foundation, and the warp ends become the fringe. A rug can take months or even years, and the work leaves subtle irregularities: patterns not perfectly symmetrical, opposite edges a few inches different in length, an uneven fringe. Authentic Persian, Oriental and Turkish rugs are hand-knotted, unlike hand-tufted rugs (sometimes sold as “handmade”) and machine-made ones, whose backs feel stiff and evenly aligned. rugs imitate it on purpose.
A synthetic fiber used in carpet manufacturing known for its woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs.-like appearance, softness, and resistance to staining, fading, and mildew.
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 woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs.pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms. on a cotton foundation carries mostly geometric layouts, sometimes with curvilinear florals or botehA teardrop-shaped motif with a curved upper tip, ubiquitous in Persian and Kashmiri weaving for centuries. The Persian word is glossed as “budding flower or plant,” and the motif stands for growth and regeneration; it is also read as a cypress that bends in the wind but rarely breaks, a flame, a seed, a pine cone or a stylized almond. When Scottish mills began imitating Kashmir shawls in the 19th century, the boteh became known in the West as “paisley,” after the town of Paisley. In rugs it usually repeats throughout the field, notably in Tabriz, Sarouk, Kerman, Mashhad and Malayer pieces., in vegetable-dyed navy and deep reds. Knot densityThe 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. 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).
Colorful rugs of the Bakhtiari, a Zagros Mountains tribe that was nomadic until much of it settled southwest of Isfahan in the 19th century and whose weaving now spreads across more than 200 villages; smaller pieces tend to be tribal work and larger ones come from the region's villages. The foundation is usually cotton under a woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs.pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms. from the tribe's own sheep, though some small tribal pieces are wool throughout, and every row is beaten down so hard that the pile ends up dense and long-lasting. The signature layouts are the garden panel designA layout in which the field is divided into a grid of framed, mostly square panels, each holding its own imagined garden of flowers, plants, trees and birds, usually on a single background color of its own. Scenes vary, from cypress trees and villas to lakes, deer in a forest or a tree of life, and in some rugs the panels carry the four seasons. Weavers treat each panel as a window onto paradise and a sign of hope for a bright future. Best known from Bakhtiari rugs, it is also woven in Tabriz, Sarouk, Kashmar, Kerman and Qum. The Persian name Kheshti comes from khesht (“brick”), after the square frames. (Khesti, also spelled Kheshti), a grid of framed squares that each show a garden scene meant as a view of paradise, and the medallion-and-corner designA layout built around one large central medallion with a matching motif set into each of the four corners of the field. Kashan rugs typically use it, with the corner pieces usually in the same color as the medallion, and it also appears in Hamadan, Bakhtiari, Kashmar, Heriz and Tabriz rugs. Village and tribal examples tend to be geometric, while Bakhtiari medallions are often semi-geometric, ringed by geometric motifs and filled with florals. with a semi-geometric center medallionA large motif at the center of a rug's field, around which the rest of the design is organized; the large central medallion is said to have been introduced in the Safavid era (16th-17th centuries). Floral medallions, typical of city rugs such as Tabriz, Kashan and Sarouk, are often read as a lotus blossom, and the motif has also been read as mirroring the interior dome of a mosque; geometric ones, often hexagonal or diamond-shaped, mark village and tribal rugs such as Heriz and Zanjan. A medallion may stand alone, come with four corner pieces, be flanked by smaller medallions above and below, or repeat down a runner. Rugs with no central motif are called allover. In a well-made rug the medallion sits at the center and the corners mirror one another, as closely as handwork allows.. Deep red and dark navy are the usual field colors.
Tribal rugs woven by the Baluch people of the border region between northeastern Iran and Afghanistan, who sell them in the bazaar of Mashhad because they have few buyers nearby. The designs blend Turkish, Persian, and Caucasian influences and stay closest to TurkmenTribal rugs woven by Turkoman (Turkmen) nomads, whose forebears came from the Afghan and Uzbek region and who later settled in the Turkmen region of Iran. Rows of octagonal guls (“flowers”) cover a deep red, reddish-brown or occasionally cream field, accented in black, blue, green or beige; prayer designs also occur. Foundation and pile are usually wool, said to come from the soft undercoat of Karakul sheep, though a cotton foundation is occasionally used. In older pieces each tribe kept its own gul design, whereas newer rugs freely mix them. Turkoman designs inspired Bokhara and Khal Mohammadi rugs and are the Persian design closest to Baluchi work, which they predate; the low-to-medium pile suits places where doors swing over the rug. weaving, which came first: repeating guls (flowers set in octagons), botehA teardrop-shaped motif with a curved upper tip, ubiquitous in Persian and Kashmiri weaving for centuries. The Persian word is glossed as “budding flower or plant,” and the motif stands for growth and regeneration; it is also read as a cypress that bends in the wind but rarely breaks, a flame, a seed, a pine cone or a stylized almond. When Scottish mills began imitating Kashmir shawls in the 19th century, the boteh became known in the West as “paisley,” after the town of Paisley. In rugs it usually repeats throughout the field, notably in Tabriz, Sarouk, Kerman, Mashhad and Malayer pieces., tree-of-life motifs, and prayer designs, mostly on dark navy, red, or brown fields with ivory and dark-purple accents, though newer pieces run lighter. The thin pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms. is woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs., usually on a wool foundationA rug base in which the warp and weft threads are wool instead of cotton. It is typical of tribal rugs such as Baluchi, Turkoman and Gabbeh (Gabbeh and Quchan sometimes use goat hair instead), turns up in some Qashqai, Shiraz, small Bakhtiari and Iranian Azerbaijan pieces, and is common in older village and tribal rugs, including some Hamadan and very antique Karaja. Experts use it as a clue to age, since rugs made after about the 1930s usually have a cotton foundation, once machine-spun cotton became widely available. Wool's soft, less rigid structure gives the design a fluid, warm character, and the fringes are sometimes braided or in different colors. The drawback is that wool shrinks and stretches with humidity, so these rugs tend to be less straight than cotton-based ones.. Because the weavers move around and cannot set up large looms, rugs are small, typically 4 x 6 ft (1.2 x 1.8 m), 5 x 7 ft (1.5 x 2.1 m) or smaller, and runners reach only about 10 to 12 ft (3 to 3.7 m) long and 1.5 to 5 ft (0.46 to 1.5 m) wide.
A step of hand-knotting in which the weaver, after finishing each row of knots and weft, pounds the row down against the rows below with a beater toolA hand tool a weaver uses to beat down each finished row of knots and weft against the rows already woven, compacting the pile and making the rug denser. It is one of the basic implements of hand-knotting, and how firmly it is applied shapes the result: Bakhtiari weavers, for example, pound each new row down hard, which gives their rugs a dense, solid and durable pile. to pack the pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms. tight. The harder a rug is beaten, the denser and longer-lasting it turns out: BakhtiariColorful rugs of the Bakhtiari, a Zagros Mountains tribe that was nomadic until much of it settled southwest of Isfahan in the 19th century and whose weaving now spreads across more than 200 villages; smaller pieces tend to be tribal work and larger ones come from the region's villages. The foundation is usually cotton under a wool pile from the tribe's own sheep, though some small tribal pieces are wool throughout, and every row is beaten down so hard that the pile ends up dense and long-lasting. The signature layouts are the garden panel design (Khesti, also spelled Kheshti), a grid of framed squares that each show a garden scene meant as a view of paradise, and the medallion-and-corner design with a semi-geometric center medallion. Deep red and dark navy are the usual field colors. and BijarRugs from the city of Bijar in Kurdistan province, northwestern Iran, and the villages around it; the name covers both fine and coarse double-wefted pieces, woven by Kurdish tribes and, in workshops, Afshar weavers. Nicknamed the “iron rugs” of Iran, they are among the heaviest rugs for their size: double wefts, symmetrical (Turkish) knots, and rows beaten down hard, often while the wool is kept wet, give a thick, dense pile. Designs run from floral, Herati, and medallion to geometric, drawing on Isfahan and Kashan as well as Russian, Caucasian, and European sources (a French-style rose bouquet among them), in jewel tones of rust, red, beige, and navy. Bijars are often small rugs or runners, large sizes are rare, and the flat-woven ends and fringes are typically braided. weavers are known for especially forceful beating, and Bijar weavers often keep the woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. wet so the weft and knots can be pounded down with more force. Because a weaver's beating force also varies over time, it is one reason hand-knottedA rug construction in which the weaver ties each knot of wool or silk pile yarn by hand around adjacent warp threads on a loom, then runs a weft through the row and beats it down. The cut knot ends form the pile, the warps and wefts form the foundation, and the warp ends become the fringe. A rug can take months or even years, and the work leaves subtle irregularities: patterns not perfectly symmetrical, opposite edges a few inches different in length, an uneven fringe. Authentic Persian, Oriental and Turkish rugs are hand-knotted, unlike hand-tufted rugs (sometimes sold as “handmade”) and machine-made ones, whose backs feel stiff and evenly aligned. rugs are not perfectly symmetrical.
Rugs from the city of Bijar in Kurdistan province, northwestern Iran, and the villages around it; the name covers both fine and coarse double-weftedA construction in which two weft threads, rather than one, are run through the warp between successive rows of knots. The doubled weft covers the foundation, so on the back of a finely and tightly woven rug only knots and weft show, without the white flecks of warp that give away a single-weft rug, and the rug is thicker, denser and heavier. Bijar and Heriz are typical double-wefted types, as are finely woven Persian rugs in general. pieces, woven by Kurdish tribes and, in workshops, Afshar weavers. Nicknamed the “iron rugs” of Iran, they are among the heaviest rugs for their size: double wefts, symmetrical (Turkish) knots, and rows beaten down hard, often while the woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. is kept wet, give a thick, dense pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms.. Designs run from floral, Herati, and medallionA large motif at the center of a rug's field, around which the rest of the design is organized; the large central medallion is said to have been introduced in the Safavid era (16th-17th centuries). Floral medallions, typical of city rugs such as Tabriz, Kashan and Sarouk, are often read as a lotus blossom, and the motif has also been read as mirroring the interior dome of a mosque; geometric ones, often hexagonal or diamond-shaped, mark village and tribal rugs such as Heriz and Zanjan. A medallion may stand alone, come with four corner pieces, be flanked by smaller medallions above and below, or repeat down a runner. Rugs with no central motif are called allover. In a well-made rug the medallion sits at the center and the corners mirror one another, as closely as handwork allows. to geometric, drawing on Isfahan and Kashan as well as Russian, Caucasian, and European sources (a French-style rose bouquet among them), in jewel tones of rust, red, beige, and navy. Bijars are often small rugs or runners, large sizes are rare, and the flat-woven ends and fringes are typically braided.
A strip of fabric sewn along the edge of a carpet or rug to prevent fraying and give a finished look, as on area rugs and stair runners. A hand-knottedA rug construction in which the weaver ties each knot of wool or silk pile yarn by hand around adjacent warp threads on a loom, then runs a weft through the row and beats it down. The cut knot ends form the pile, the warps and wefts form the foundation, and the warp ends become the fringe. A rug can take months or even years, and the work leaves subtle irregularities: patterns not perfectly symmetrical, opposite edges a few inches different in length, an uneven fringe. Authentic Persian, Oriental and Turkish rugs are hand-knotted, unlike hand-tufted rugs (sometimes sold as “handmade”) and machine-made ones, whose backs feel stiff and evenly aligned. rug is normally finished differently: the weaver wraps the weft several times around the outermost warp to form the overcast, or selvageThe woven-in side edge of a hand-knotted rug, made during weaving as the weft is wrapped several times around the outermost warp to form a rounded, corded band. Depending on the region, the wrapping may use wool of a contrasting color, use the warp itself, or be kept flat rather than round, so the edge is one clue experts use to place a rug's origin. The word overcasting names this same edge and also appears in lists of common rug repairs., usually a rounded, corded edge (sometimes flat, or in a contrasting woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs.) whose regional style helps experts tell where the rug was made.
Rugs woven today chiefly in Pakistani workshops by Pakistani and Afghan weavers who rework older Persian-TurkmenTribal rugs woven by Turkoman (Turkmen) nomads, whose forebears came from the Afghan and Uzbek region and who later settled in the Turkmen region of Iran. Rows of octagonal guls (“flowers”) cover a deep red, reddish-brown or occasionally cream field, accented in black, blue, green or beige; prayer designs also occur. Foundation and pile are usually wool, said to come from the soft undercoat of Karakul sheep, though a cotton foundation is occasionally used. In older pieces each tribe kept its own gul design, whereas newer rugs freely mix them. Turkoman designs inspired Bokhara and Khal Mohammadi rugs and are the Persian design closest to Baluchi work, which they predate; the low-to-medium pile suits places where doors swing over the rug. 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 pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms. is soft, silky-looking 100 percent woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. on a cotton foundation, medium in height, and some pieces come oversized; a finer grade has higher knot densityThe 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., more detailed drawing, and premium Ghazni woolA prized rug wool from the Ghazni region of Afghanistan. Like other top-grade fleece it is thick and oily, and it is ranked with Manchester wool and New Zealand wool among the three best-known high-quality wools for Persian and Oriental rugs. Kazak rugs woven by Afghan weavers in Pakistan use it hand-spun..
An animal fiber from camels, used less often in rugs than woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs., cotton or silk and found mostly in tribal Persian rugs. Its natural warm tan tone has also become a color name: camel hair is a recurring field color in Mehraban rugs, alongside dark blue, dark red, cream and peach, so the phrase can refer to the fiber or merely to the shade.
A stage of woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. preparation that follows scouring and precedes cardingA wool-preparation step in which cleaned wool passes through a carding machine that lines the fibers up in one direction and removes any impurities still left. It follows scouring and carbonizing and comes before spinning, leaving the wool ready to be spun into yarn for the rug., in which the fibers are softened and whitened. It is one of the washing steps that turn freshly shorn fleece into clean wool ready to be carded, spun and dyed into rug yarn.
A woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs.-preparation step in which cleaned wool passes through a carding machine that lines the fibers up in one direction and removes any impurities still left. It follows scouring and carbonizingA stage of wool preparation that follows scouring and precedes carding, in which the fibers are softened and whitened. It is one of the washing steps that turn freshly shorn fleece into clean wool ready to be carded, spun and dyed into rug yarn. and comes before spinning, leaving the wool ready to be spun into yarn for the rug.
A Persian rug made in a city, often inside a workshop, one of the three families (city, village, tribal) into which Persian rugs are commonly sorted. Weavers usually follow a designer's drawn plan under experienced or master weavers, and a workshop can buy woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. in bulk and color it all at once, so standards are stricter than in memory-based village and tribal weaving. City rugs generally reach the highest knot densities and the widest range of sizes, colors and designs, most often florals (Tabriz, Kashan, Isfahan, Kerman, Nain, Mashhad, SaroukPopular, durable Persian city rugs from Sarouk, a town in central Iran about 50 km (31 miles) north of Arak, prominent from the 19th century and exported to Europe and America. A cotton foundation carries a medium-to-thick wool pile, at times with silk highlights, usually tied with the Persian knot (some older pieces use the Turkish knot) at medium-to-high density of up to about 320 knots per square inch (roughly 50 per cm²). Floral, medallion and allover designs, with some Herati, boteh and pictorial patterns, appear on beige, ivory, cream, navy or red fields, the red leaning toward orange or rust, usually with a thin secondary border. American Sarouks, woven mainly in the 1920s and 1930s, adapted designs and colors to U.S. taste, and many were re-dyed to a preferred rose red.). Workshop origin usually signals higher quality, but not every workshop rug is signed.
The dyed variety of GabbehA 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., the thick-piled, simply drawn tribal rugRugs woven by mostly nomadic tribes, chiefly in Iran but also across the Middle East, Central Asia, and North Africa; a few names, such as Bakhtiari and Gabbeh, span tribal and village weaving. The tribes move with their flocks from spring to fall and typically settle in winter to weave on compact, portable looms, so rugs are small, often 4 x 6 ft (1.2 x 1.8 m) or 5 x 7 ft (1.5 x 2.1 m), or runners, and oversized pieces are rarely found. Wool from the tribe's own flocks often serves for both foundation and pile (goat hair is also used), dyed with local plants. Designs, mostly geometric, are passed down and woven from memory rather than from a drawing, so unlike city rugs the pattern often fails to resolve neatly at the corners. Qashqai, Baluchi, and Turkoman rugs are named after their tribes. of Fars province. Because the weavers dye the woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs., any palette is possible, from reds, blues and greens to yellows, and the strong colors usually go with bold, abstract designs of trees, animals and people. The counterpart is natural Gabbeh, woven from undyed white and black wool in cream, brown, gray and black tones.
Low-grade woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. taken from dead sheep rather than shorn from living ones; in the wool trade it is usually pulled from the hides of slaughtered animals. The fiber is thin and dry, so it ends up mainly in cheaper, poorer-quality rugs and counts as a mark of low quality. Its opposite is wool shorn in spring, especially from sheep raised at high elevation, which is thicker and oilier.
A flat-woven rug from India, traditionally made of cotton or woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs., characterized by geometric patterns and reversible design.
A type of carpet made by compressing and matting woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. fibers together using heat, moisture, and pressure rather than weaving or tufting. The resulting material is dense, durable, and naturally water-resistant. Modern felted wool carpets combine traditional techniques with contemporary designs for a unique textile that provides excellent thermal and acoustic insulation.
Antique Persian carpets from the Ferahan (also spelled Farahan or Feraghan) plain in central Iran, known for all-over Herati patterns and subtle color palettes. These 19th-century rugs typically feature a diamond lattice of small floral motifs, often in navy blue, rust red and ivory, and are prized for their fine weave and balanced, restrained compositions. In today's trade the name is also used for newly made Pakistani workshop rugs of the Peshawar (ChobiHand-knotted rugs from Pakistan, made in the city of Peshawar in the north of the country and also called Chobi. They copy old Persian and Turkish designs, mostly floral all-over or repeating patterns (medallions are rare, because all-over layouts suit more rooms), using hand-spun wool and vegetable dyes. The rugs are woven in darker tones, then stone-washed and left in strong sunlight, and the pile is cut short so the pattern shows, which gives a new rug an antique finish. Colors are soft and subdued, often beige-based, with deliberate light-and-dark variation that imitates aged rugs; the rugs feel thin yet wear well. The same look is also sold as Oushak, Ziegler or Ferahan.) type, woven from hand-spun woolWool yarn spun from cleaned, carded fleece by hand or on a manual wheel rather than by machine, after which the spun threads are twisted together into thicker, stronger strands before dyeing. It gives finer, softer threads than machine spinning, so the wool feels softer and looks shinier, and hand spinning is said to preserve the wool's natural lanolin. It is usual in Kazak and Peshawar rugs woven in Pakistan and in Afghan Khal Mohammadi rugs, all of which are also colored with natural dyes. and vegetable dyes in subdued colors and mostly Persian-inspired all-over designs, and sometimes for SaroukPopular, durable Persian city rugs from Sarouk, a town in central Iran about 50 km (31 miles) north of Arak, prominent from the 19th century and exported to Europe and America. A cotton foundation carries a medium-to-thick wool pile, at times with silk highlights, usually tied with the Persian knot (some older pieces use the Turkish knot) at medium-to-high density of up to about 320 knots per square inch (roughly 50 per cm²). Floral, medallion and allover designs, with some Herati, boteh and pictorial patterns, appear on beige, ivory, cream, navy or red fields, the red leaning toward orange or rust, usually with a thin secondary border. American Sarouks, woven mainly in the 1920s and 1930s, adapted designs and colors to U.S. taste, and many were re-dyed to a preferred rose red. rugs from the same region; such rugs are not antique Ferahan carpets.
A traditional handmade Greek rug characterized by its long, shaggy pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms. made from 100% woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs.. Authentic Flokati rugs are woven in Greece, then washed in the cold waters of the Pindus mountains, causing the wool to fluff and create their distinctive fluffy texture. Originally used by shepherds for warmth, they are now popular decorative pieces known for their luxurious softness and natural cream color.
The warp ends that extend past both short ends of a rug. In a hand-knottedA rug construction in which the weaver ties each knot of wool or silk pile yarn by hand around adjacent warp threads on a loom, then runs a weft through the row and beats it down. The cut knot ends form the pile, the warps and wefts form the foundation, and the warp ends become the fringe. A rug can take months or even years, and the work leaves subtle irregularities: patterns not perfectly symmetrical, opposite edges a few inches different in length, an uneven fringe. Authentic Persian, Oriental and Turkish rugs are hand-knotted, unlike hand-tufted rugs (sometimes sold as “handmade”) and machine-made ones, whose backs feel stiff and evenly aligned. rug the fringe is not a trim added at the end but the visible continuation of the foundation, whose warp threads can be followed through the whole rug on its back, so it is made of the same fiber (cotton, woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. or silk) and shows what the foundation is made of. It should not be cut off; if it has to be hidden, it can be tied back against the reverse. Weavers cut, tie, braid or decorate it, with braided or decorated ends especially common in tribal and village rugs, and how it is finished helps identify the origin; it is also seldom perfectly even, one end often running longer than the other. A fringe attached afterward, or none at all, points toward a machine-made rug.
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 woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. or goat-hair foundation (rarely cotton), with a long, thick, dense wool pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms. that is not clipped short. Its low knot densityThe 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. gives simple, bold designs in which trees, animals, and people become abstract geometric shapes. Color GabbehThe dyed variety of Gabbeh, the thick-piled, simply drawn tribal rug of Fars province. Because the weavers dye the wool, any palette is possible, from reds, blues and greens to yellows, and the strong colors usually go with bold, abstract designs of trees, animals and people. The counterpart is natural Gabbeh, woven from undyed white and black wool in cream, brown, gray and black tones. 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 QashqaiTribal rugs woven by the Qashqai, a nomadic tribe of southwestern Iran that unites Turkic, Arab, Kurdish and Lur groups and has lived in the region since at least the 16th century. Designs come from memory rather than written plans, pairing geometric and medallion layouts, occasionally in a simpler, sparsely detailed form, with animals, plants and household objects, in jewel-tone reds, saffron gold and indigo, often on deep red or dark navy grounds. The thick, hard-weaving wool of the tribe's own flocks is durable yet soft, forming a medium-height, dense pile on a cotton or wool foundation that suits busy areas; compact looms keep sizes small, typically 4 x 6 ft (1.2 x 1.8 m) or 5 x 7 ft (1.5 x 2.1 m) plus runners., though they are not true Qashqai rugs.
A prized rug woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. from the Ghazni region of Afghanistan. Like other top-grade fleece it is thick and oily, and it is ranked with Manchester woolA high-grade wool imported from Manchester, England, that Kashan weavers typically use for the pile of their rugs. It is ranked with Ghazni wool and New Zealand wool among the three best-known high-quality wools for Persian rugs, so where a rug's wool comes from is one of the quality points that can be checked. and New Zealand woolWool sourced from New Zealand, ranked with Manchester and Ghazni wool among the three best-known high-quality wools for Persian and Oriental rugs; good rug wool of this kind feels thick and oily. Because it is imported rather than taken from local flocks, its use affects a rug's price. It is cited for the pile of Pakistan-woven Oushak, Ziegler and Peshawar rugs, sometimes paired with Ghazni wool, and for the thick pile of Kazak Azari rugs. among the three best-known high-quality wools for Persian and Oriental rugs. Kazak rugs woven by Afghan weavers in Pakistan use it hand-spun.
An animal fiber that tribal weavers sometimes use for a rug's foundation in place of woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs., as in GabbehA 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. and Quchan rugs, while the pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms. itself stays wool. Together with mohairThe long, silky, lustrous hair of the Angora goat. In Persian rugs it is one of several animal fibers, listed together with goat hair, camel hair and cow hair, that can serve as a material but are much less common than the usual wool, cotton and silk; this group is seen mostly in tribal rugs., camel hairAn animal fiber from camels, used less often in rugs than wool, cotton or silk and found mostly in tribal Persian rugs. Its natural warm tan tone has also become a color name: camel hair is a recurring field color in Mehraban rugs, alongside dark blue, dark red, cream and peach, so the phrase can refer to the fiber or merely to the shade. and cow hair it is among the less common rug materials, seen mostly in tribal work, and it also turns up in some flat-woven kilims.
Rugs from the city of Hamadan in western Iran, a long-established weaving region, and from the more than 1,500 villages around it, which together produce thousands of designs. Village pieces, often woven by families at home in winter, are usually smaller rugs or runners (some longer than 20 ft, about 6 m) in geometric, hexagonal- or diamond-medallionA large motif at the center of a rug's field, around which the rest of the design is organized; the large central medallion is said to have been introduced in the Safavid era (16th-17th centuries). Floral medallions, typical of city rugs such as Tabriz, Kashan and Sarouk, are often read as a lotus blossom, and the motif has also been read as mirroring the interior dome of a mosque; geometric ones, often hexagonal or diamond-shaped, mark village and tribal rugs such as Heriz and Zanjan. A medallion may stand alone, come with four corner pieces, be flanked by smaller medallions above and below, or repeat down a runner. Rugs with no central motif are called allover. In a well-made rug the medallion sits at the center and the corners mirror one another, as closely as handwork allows., or Herati designs in red, deep blue, and cream, tied with the symmetrical Turkish knotOne of the two main knots of hand-knotted rugs, also called the symmetrical knot (the other being the asymmetrical Persian or Senneh knot). The yarn is looped around two adjacent warp threads with both ends emerging between them, so the back shows small, even, squarish knot heads; weavers often tie it with a hook. Named after the town of Ghiordes (modern Gördes) in Turkey, it is typical of Turkey, the Caucasus and northwestern Iran (Tabriz, Bijar, Heriz, village Hamadan), where Seljuk Turks are said to have introduced it, and gives a durable, precise pile. The Persian knot is often credited with finer detail, yet knot type is a tendency, not a limit: Tabriz rugs woven with the Turkish knot reach about 500 knots per square inch (roughly 78 per cm²). at a densityA 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. that is usually low to medium. City workshop pieces are more floral and more finely knotted. The pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms. is woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. on a cotton foundation (wool in some older rugs), and the single-weft construction standard around Hamadan tends to give a soft pile thinner than in double-weftedA construction in which two weft threads, rather than one, are run through the warp between successive rows of knots. The doubled weft covers the foundation, so on the back of a finely and tightly woven rug only knots and weft show, without the white flecks of warp that give away a single-weft rug, and the rug is thicker, denser and heavier. Bijar and Heriz are typical double-wefted types, as are finely woven Persian rugs in general. rugs.
A rug construction in which the weaver ties each knot of woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. or silk pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms. yarn by hand around adjacent warp threads on a loomThe frame on which the warp (vertical) threads are strung first and held under tension so the weft (horizontal) threads can be interlaced through them and the knots tied onto them. Hand-knotted rugs are made on simple looms, from those set up in weavers' homes to the compact, transportable ones of nomadic weavers, where every knot is tied by hand. Loom size sets rug size: nomads' small looms typically yield rugs no larger than about 4 x 6 or 5 x 7 ft (1.2 x 1.8 m or 1.5 x 2.1 m), city workshops with very large looms weave palace sizes, and the number of looms a workshop runs gauges its scale. Wooden looms in tribal and village weaving expand and contract over time, one cause of crooked rugs. Power looms such as Wilton, Axminster, and Jacquard, the industrial descendants, make machine-woven carpet., then runs a weft through the row and beats it down. The cut knot ends form the pile, the warps and wefts form the foundation, and the warp ends become the fringe. A rug can take months or even years, and the work leaves subtle irregularities: patterns not perfectly symmetrical, opposite edges a few inches different in length, an uneven fringe. Authentic Persian, Oriental and Turkish rugs are hand-knotted, unlike hand-tuftedA rug made by punching pile yarn through a stretched cloth base with a hand-held tufting tool and fixing the loops with a glued backing, rather than tying knots by hand around warp and weft threads. Its back shows cloth and adhesive instead of individual knots and feels less soft than a knotted rug's. It ranks below hand-knotted and above machine-made rugs, does not last as long as a knotted rug, and is not considered a genuine Persian or Oriental rug. Because it is sometimes sold simply as "handmade", the term hand-knotted is the one that identifies a knotted rug. rugs (sometimes sold as “handmade”) and machine-made ones, whose backs feel stiff and evenly aligned.
WoolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. yarn spun from cleaned, carded fleece by hand or on a manual wheel rather than by machine, after which the spun threads are twisted together into thicker, stronger strands before dyeing. It gives finer, softer threads than machine spinning, so the wool feels softer and looks shinier, and hand spinning is said to preserve the wool's natural lanolinThe natural wax that coats wool fibers and serves as the fleece’s own protection, waterproofing it. Wool from sheep raised at higher elevations is thicker and oilier ("fatty"), and a warm, slightly oily hand is a quick sign of real wool. In a carpet, the lanolin that remains repels liquids, so spills bead on the surface for a few moments instead of soaking in, one reason wool resists spills and soil. Hand spinning preserves it, while repeated harsh chemical cleaning strips it away, so gentle washing is recommended.. It is usual in Kazak and Peshawar rugs woven in Pakistan and in Afghan Khal MohammadiRugs of Afghan origin and design, named, unusually, after a person rather than a place: according to trade legend, a master rug maker and dyer who stayed in northern Afghanistan during the Russian invasion and began producing them there. They are known for deep, naturally dyed reds and blues with orange, black and rust accents, and for geometric layouts with fine floral details inspired by Bokhara and Turkoman designs; slight shade variation is normal in natural dye. The pile is 100 percent wool from mountain sheep whose fatty wool has a soft sheen, on a cotton foundation, at a medium height. Some are classed as Pakistan-made. A finer, denser grade, often labeled Belgique, draws the same design more sharply. rugs, all of which are also colored with natural dyes.
The rust red for which HerizBold 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. rugs are best known, usually set with dark navy and cream in the field and border. According to local tradition, the weavers keep the dyed woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. for a while in a river of the Heriz area that carries copper minerals, and the copper shifts the dye to this rustic tone, which is why the color is tied so closely to Heriz.
Bold village rugs from the Heriz area of northwestern Iran, near Tabriz, and the best-known of all Persian village rugs. A coarse, tough woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs.pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms. on a cotton foundation, usually double-weftedA construction in which two weft threads, rather than one, are run through the warp between successive rows of knots. The doubled weft covers the foundation, so on the back of a finely and tightly woven rug only knots and weft show, without the white flecks of warp that give away a single-weft rug, and the rug is thicker, denser and heavier. Bijar and Heriz are typical double-wefted types, as are finely woven Persian rugs in general. for extra thickness, and a low-to-medium knot densityThe 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. (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 medallionA large motif at the center of a rug's field, around which the rest of the design is organized; the large central medallion is said to have been introduced in the Safavid era (16th-17th centuries). Floral medallions, typical of city rugs such as Tabriz, Kashan and Sarouk, are often read as a lotus blossom, and the motif has also been read as mirroring the interior dome of a mosque; geometric ones, often hexagonal or diamond-shaped, mark village and tribal rugs such as Heriz and Zanjan. A medallion may stand alone, come with four corner pieces, be flanked by smaller medallions above and below, or repeat down a runner. Rugs with no central motif are called allover. In a well-made rug the medallion sits at the center and the corners mirror one another, as closely as handwork allows. with four corner piecesThe ornament set into each of the four corners of the field around a central medallion, usually echoing the medallion's motifs or color; in Tabriz rugs the corners are often made by dividing the medallion design into four and using one part per corner. Spandrels complete a medallion-and-corner layout, and in a well-made rug the corner pieces match one another and sit symmetrically., sometimes an allover layout, in a rust red traditionally credited to copper minerals in the local river, with dark navy and cream. BakshaishRugs of the older, more tribal-looking phase of Heriz-area weaving, made in the 1870s and earlier with open, loosely arranged compositions. Specialists place them before the more structured but still open Serapi of the late 19th to earliest 20th century and the busier Heriz patterns woven after the 1910s, and how closely a design matches this phase helps them estimate a Heriz-area rug's age. The name comes from Bakhshayesh, a town in the Heriz district of northwestern Iran. and SerapiAn antique Persian rug from the Heriz weaving area of northwestern Iran, the middle stage of Heriz design: more structured than the tribal, more open Bakshaish of the 1870s and earlier, yet less busy than the Heriz woven from the 1910s onward. Woven from the late 19th to the earliest 20th century, Serapis keep an open, spacious layout with bold geometric drawing in an earthy palette. All are now over a century old and fairly rare, and collectors prize them for their decorative appeal and durability., the latter now over a century old, are their older forms.
Weakening of a rug's pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms. and foundation caused by prolonged exposure to high humidity or damp conditions. Moisture working into the natural fibers leaves them frail and can eventually make them decay, and the same dampness attracts moths and other pests. Damp, hot or poorly ventilated storage, bathrooms and humid climates are the usual settings; remedies are a dehumidifier, good airflow, a rug padA cushioning layer placed under an area rug to prevent slipping, protect the floor, cushion the weight of furniture, and extend the rug's life by guarding it from underside friction and floor moisture. It matters most for small or lightweight rugs, such as those in entrances, kitchens and bathrooms or on tile, which otherwise slide and become slip hazards. Very large rugs stay put under their own weight, but a pad still helps beneath heavy tables and sofas and in humid rooms, where it insulates against ground moisture. that blocks moisture rising from the floor, a lower pile that absorbs less humidity, and airing the rug outdoors in the sun for a few hours once or twice a year, without leaving its face in strong sun for long. Humidity swings also make a wool foundationA rug base in which the warp and weft threads are wool instead of cotton. It is typical of tribal rugs such as Baluchi, Turkoman and Gabbeh (Gabbeh and Quchan sometimes use goat hair instead), turns up in some Qashqai, Shiraz, small Bakhtiari and Iranian Azerbaijan pieces, and is common in older village and tribal rugs, including some Hamadan and very antique Karaja. Experts use it as a clue to age, since rugs made after about the 1930s usually have a cotton foundation, once machine-spun cotton became widely available. Wool's soft, less rigid structure gives the design a fluid, warm character, and the fringes are sometimes braided or in different colors. The drawback is that wool shrinks and stretches with humidity, so these rugs tend to be less straight than cotton-based ones. stretch and shrink and distort the rug, whereas a cotton foundation holds its size better.
Generated illustration: an indigo source leaf and processed dye cakes.
A deep blue natural dye, traditionally obtained from Indigofera plants and named alongside madder rootThe root of the madder plant (Rubia tinctorum), a natural red dye and the source of the terracotta tones in Persian and Oriental rugs. Together with indigo and walnut husks it is among the plant dyes used to color the wool, bonding to its natural lanolin. Slight shade variations within one color area, known as abrash, are normal in rugs dyed this way. and walnut husks among the plant dyes that color the woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. of natural-dye rugs. It provides the deep midnight blues of rugs such as HerizBold 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. and BakhtiariColorful rugs of the Bakhtiari, a Zagros Mountains tribe that was nomadic until much of it settled southwest of Isfahan in the 19th century and whose weaving now spreads across more than 200 villages; smaller pieces tend to be tribal work and larger ones come from the region's villages. The foundation is usually cotton under a wool pile from the tribe's own sheep, though some small tribal pieces are wool throughout, and every row is beaten down so hard that the pile ends up dense and long-lasting. The signature layouts are the garden panel design (Khesti, also spelled Kheshti), a grid of framed squares that each show a garden scene meant as a view of paradise, and the medallion-and-corner design with a semi-geometric center medallion. Deep red and dark navy are the usual field colors., and the dyed yarn reveals its full blue only as the dye oxidizes in air. In rug descriptions the word also names that deep blue shade itself.
A very large government-owned Iranian rug producer, known by the initials ICC and in the United States as the Iranian Rug Company, whose roots reach back to 1934. It runs a network of workshops in about 44 cities, including Tabriz, Hamadan and SaroukPopular, durable Persian city rugs from Sarouk, a town in central Iran about 50 km (31 miles) north of Arak, prominent from the 19th century and exported to Europe and America. A cotton foundation carries a medium-to-thick wool pile, at times with silk highlights, usually tied with the Persian knot (some older pieces use the Turkish knot) at medium-to-high density of up to about 320 knots per square inch (roughly 50 per cm²). Floral, medallion and allover designs, with some Herati, boteh and pictorial patterns, appear on beige, ivory, cream, navy or red fields, the red leaning toward orange or rust, usually with a thin secondary border. American Sarouks, woven mainly in the 1920s and 1930s, adapted designs and colors to U.S. taste, and many were re-dyed to a preferred rose red., with some 25,000 workers, and turns out roughly 50,000 square meters (about 540,000 square feet) of rugs a year. It supplies woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. and materials and lends money for replacing old looms. Dyeing and weaving are tightly controlled, and even a small flaw has to be unpicked and redone, so its signature signals consistent, high quality whichever town the rug comes from.
Persian city rugs from Isfahan in central Iran, among the most finely knotted anywhere: usually 500-700 KPSIThe 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. (roughly 7,750-10,850 knots per 10 x 10 cm), second only to QumPersian 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.. Most are woven in fine kork woolA fine, soft grade of wool taken from the neck and inner fleece layer of young sheep, often from the first shearing. Oily with natural lanolin, it feels soft and resilient and gives colors extra shine. It is used for the pile of many fine city rugs from Isfahan, Kerman, Qum, Tabriz, and Mashad, and older antique Sarouks cut to a short pile use it too. Also spelled cork or kurk wool. from young sheep; some have a silk-and-woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs.pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms. on a silk or cotton foundation, and a few are reportedly pure silk. Designs draw on nature and the city's architecture, from medallionA large motif at the center of a rug's field, around which the rest of the design is organized; the large central medallion is said to have been introduced in the Safavid era (16th-17th centuries). Floral medallions, typical of city rugs such as Tabriz, Kashan and Sarouk, are often read as a lotus blossom, and the motif has also been read as mirroring the interior dome of a mosque; geometric ones, often hexagonal or diamond-shaped, mark village and tribal rugs such as Heriz and Zanjan. A medallion may stand alone, come with four corner pieces, be flanked by smaller medallions above and below, or repeat down a runner. Rugs with no central motif are called allover. In a well-made rug the medallion sits at the center and the corners mirror one another, as closely as handwork allows.-and-corner and floral allover layouts to hunting scenes, trees of life, prayer niches and pictorial gardens, usually in soft pastels with indigo and bright red on an ivory ground. Most pieces are signed, and large sizes are scarce and costly.
Handcrafted carpets from Jaipur, India, known for their vibrant colors and intricate designs. Traditional Jaipuri rugs feature distinctive floral patterns, geometric motifs, and sometimes incorporate block-printing techniques. These rugs often use a cotton foundation with woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs.pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms. and are renowned for their craftsmanship, with techniques passed down through generations of artisans in Rajasthan.
Village rugs from a group of villages in the Azerbaijan region of Iran, at the western edge of the HerizBold 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. weaving area and named for the village of Karaja at their center. WoolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs.pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms. on a cotton foundation (very old pieces may have a wool one), Turkish knotOne of the two main knots of hand-knotted rugs, also called the symmetrical knot (the other being the asymmetrical Persian or Senneh knot). The yarn is looped around two adjacent warp threads with both ends emerging between them, so the back shows small, even, squarish knot heads; weavers often tie it with a hook. Named after the town of Ghiordes (modern Gördes) in Turkey, it is typical of Turkey, the Caucasus and northwestern Iran (Tabriz, Bijar, Heriz, village Hamadan), where Seljuk Turks are said to have introduced it, and gives a durable, precise pile. The Persian knot is often credited with finer detail, yet knot type is a tendency, not a limit: Tabriz rugs woven with the Turkish knot reach about 500 knots per square inch (roughly 78 per cm²). and single weftA construction in which the weaver passes just one weft thread between successive rows of knots. Because the warp is not fully covered, the back of the rug shows a zigzag of small white foundation specks, an easy way to recognize it, and the pile tends to be thinner and lower than in double-weft weaving. Single weft is standard practice in the greater Hamadan area, from Hamadan, Karaja and Mehraban rugs to Senneh and many Kurdish tribal pieces, and in the Hamadan-influenced type of Malayer rug., so the pile is thinner and softer than the usually double-weftedA construction in which two weft threads, rather than one, are run through the warp between successive rows of knots. The doubled weft covers the foundation, so on the back of a finely and tightly woven rug only knots and weft show, without the white flecks of warp that give away a single-weft rug, and the rug is thicker, denser and heavier. Bijar and Heriz are typical double-wefted types, as are finely woven Persian rugs in general. Heriz, and knot densityThe 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. 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.
WoolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. from the Karakul sheep, the breed of the region where the TurkomanTribal rugs woven by Turkoman (Turkmen) nomads, whose forebears came from the Afghan and Uzbek region and who later settled in the Turkmen region of Iran. Rows of octagonal guls (“flowers”) cover a deep red, reddish-brown or occasionally cream field, accented in black, blue, green or beige; prayer designs also occur. Foundation and pile are usually wool, said to come from the soft undercoat of Karakul sheep, though a cotton foundation is occasionally used. In older pieces each tribe kept its own gul design, whereas newer rugs freely mix them. Turkoman designs inspired Bokhara and Khal Mohammadi rugs and are the Persian design closest to Baluchi work, which they predate; the low-to-medium pile suits places where doors swing over the rug. (Turkmen) nomads live. The fleece has two layers, a thicker, coarser outer coat and a softer, finer inner coat, and Turkoman rugs are made from the softer inner layer.
Fine Persian carpets from the city of Kashan in central Iran, a weaving center since the 17th-century Safavid era, when the rulers holidayed there and furnished their villas with local rugs. The pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms. is typically all woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs., often imported Manchester woolA high-grade wool imported from Manchester, England, that Kashan weavers typically use for the pile of their rugs. It is ranked with Ghazni wool and New Zealand wool among the three best-known high-quality wools for Persian rugs, so where a rug's wool comes from is one of the quality points that can be checked., of medium height on a cotton foundation; silk-and-wool pieces are mostly older. Designs are formal and vary little: a central medallionA large motif at the center of a rug's field, around which the rest of the design is organized; the large central medallion is said to have been introduced in the Safavid era (16th-17th centuries). Floral medallions, typical of city rugs such as Tabriz, Kashan and Sarouk, are often read as a lotus blossom, and the motif has also been read as mirroring the interior dome of a mosque; geometric ones, often hexagonal or diamond-shaped, mark village and tribal rugs such as Heriz and Zanjan. A medallion may stand alone, come with four corner pieces, be flanked by smaller medallions above and below, or repeat down a runner. Rugs with no central motif are called allover. In a well-made rug the medallion sits at the center and the corners mirror one another, as closely as handwork allows., a medallion with matching corner piecesThe ornament set into each of the four corners of the field around a central medallion, usually echoing the medallion's motifs or color; in Tabriz rugs the corners are often made by dividing the medallion design into four and using one part per corner. Spandrels complete a medallion-and-corner layout, and in a well-made rug the corner pieces match one another and sit symmetrically. or allover florals, plus a rare design called Darbari, reportedly with little or no border. Rugs of about 5 by 7 feet (1.5 by 2.1 m) and smaller show more variety, such as tree of lifeA design in which one large, elaborate tree rises through most of the field, surrounded by botanical ornament, with birds, animals and flowers spread among its branches. The tree can also occupy a single panel of a garden-panel rug or appear as a border pattern. In Persian tradition it stands for the connection between earth and the environment, is also read as a link between heaven and earth, and symbolizes strength, wisdom and the continuity of life. It is woven in Tabriz, Kashan, Isfahan, Kerman and Malayer rugs and in Baluchi rugs., vase and bird patterns. Classic colors are deep red, navy and cream; yellow or green fields are rare, and newer rugs are softer pastels.
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 woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs., often high knot densityThe 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. 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 medallionA large motif at the center of a rug's field, around which the rest of the design is organized; the large central medallion is said to have been introduced in the Safavid era (16th-17th centuries). Floral medallions, typical of city rugs such as Tabriz, Kashan and Sarouk, are often read as a lotus blossom, and the motif has also been read as mirroring the interior dome of a mosque; geometric ones, often hexagonal or diamond-shaped, mark village and tribal rugs such as Heriz and Zanjan. A medallion may stand alone, come with four corner pieces, be flanked by smaller medallions above and below, or repeat down a runner. Rugs with no central motif are called allover. In a well-made rug the medallion sits at the center and the corners mirror one another, as closely as handwork allows. with corner piecesThe ornament set into each of the four corners of the field around a central medallion, usually echoing the medallion's motifs or color; in Tabriz rugs the corners are often made by dividing the medallion design into four and using one part per corner. Spandrels complete a medallion-and-corner layout, and in a well-made rug the corner pieces match one another and sit symmetrically. 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 lifeA design in which one large, elaborate tree rises through most of the field, surrounded by botanical ornament, with birds, animals and flowers spread among its branches. The tree can also occupy a single panel of a garden-panel rug or appear as a border pattern. In Persian tradition it stands for the connection between earth and the environment, is also read as a link between heaven and earth, and symbolizes strength, wisdom and the continuity of life. It is woven in Tabriz, Kashan, Isfahan, Kerman and Malayer rugs and in Baluchi rugs. or deer in a forest. The pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms. 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 KazakThe 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.. Its knot densityThe 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. equals that of a commercial KazakThe 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. or runs slightly higher, but it offers a much wider range of patterns and harmonious colors, with designs inspired by Persian HerizBold 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. rugs, and a medium-to-thick pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms. that feels more luxurious. Its hand-spun woolWool yarn spun from cleaned, carded fleece by hand or on a manual wheel rather than by machine, after which the spun threads are twisted together into thicker, stronger strands before dyeing. It gives finer, softer threads than machine spinning, so the wool feels softer and looks shinier, and hand spinning is said to preserve the wool's natural lanolin. It is usual in Kazak and Peshawar rugs woven in Pakistan and in Afghan Khal Mohammadi rugs, all of which are also colored with natural dyes. 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 woolA prized rug wool from the Ghazni region of Afghanistan. Like other top-grade fleece it is thick and oily, and it is ranked with Manchester wool and New Zealand wool among the three best-known high-quality wools for Persian and Oriental rugs. Kazak rugs woven by Afghan weavers in Pakistan use it hand-spun. and vegetable dyes, in softer modern colors such as beige, teal, indigo, and rust red, often with a red field against a cream medallionA large motif at the center of a rug's field, around which the rest of the design is organized; the large central medallion is said to have been introduced in the Safavid era (16th-17th centuries). Floral medallions, typical of city rugs such as Tabriz, Kashan and Sarouk, are often read as a lotus blossom, and the motif has also been read as mirroring the interior dome of a mosque; geometric ones, often hexagonal or diamond-shaped, mark village and tribal rugs such as Heriz and Zanjan. A medallion may stand alone, come with four corner pieces, be flanked by smaller medallions above and below, or repeat down a runner. Rugs with no central motif are called allover. In a well-made rug the medallion sits at the center and the corners mirror one another, as closely as handwork allows. and border; India also makes Kazak-style rugs. The low-to-medium pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms. is cut short and stone-washed for an antique look. Grades are commercial (lowest knot densityThe 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.), Super (finest knotting, silky woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs.), and Kazak AzariThe 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. (HerizBold 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.-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).
Fine Persian carpets from Kerman in southern Iran, a city on the old Iran-India trade route and one of the historic rug-weaving centers, famed for its master dyers. Designs vary widely: florals and allovers, tree of lifeA design in which one large, elaborate tree rises through most of the field, surrounded by botanical ornament, with birds, animals and flowers spread among its branches. The tree can also occupy a single panel of a garden-panel rug or appear as a border pattern. In Persian tradition it stands for the connection between earth and the environment, is also read as a link between heaven and earth, and symbolizes strength, wisdom and the continuity of life. It is woven in Tabriz, Kashan, Isfahan, Kerman and Malayer rugs and in Baluchi rugs., hunting, garden and open-field layouts, fine “spring” florals of tiny flowers, and the distinctive “vase” technique. The pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms. is usually soft kork woolA fine, soft grade of wool taken from the neck and inner fleece layer of young sheep, often from the first shearing. Oily with natural lanolin, it feels soft and resilient and gives colors extra shine. It is used for the pile of many fine city rugs from Isfahan, Kerman, Qum, Tabriz, and Mashad, and older antique Sarouks cut to a short pile use it too. Also spelled cork or kurk wool. on a cotton foundation, sometimes silk-and-woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. or pure silk. One rug can hold 15 to 30 colors, mostly deep reds, several blues, green and cream, with pastels such as champagne, lime green, pink and gray-blue in newer pieces. Roughly half of Kerman rugs, from lesser workshops, use the jufti knotA budget shortcut in hand-knotting in which each knot is looped around four warp threads instead of the two spanned by the symmetrical (Turkish) and asymmetrical (Persian) knots. It speeds up weaving but gives a much looser, sparser weave: a jufti rug can weigh about half as much as a regular-knotted rug of the same size, and its patterns look fuzzy, pixelated and less detailed, usually plain with open space. It is hard to spot from the back, so weight and pattern clarity are the best clues; the rugs wear less well and are cheaper. It turns up, for example, in lower-grade Kerman pieces., a shortcut yielding a sparser, lower-quality weave.
Rugs of Afghan origin and design, named, unusually, after a person rather than a place: according to trade legend, a master rug maker and dyer who stayed in northern Afghanistan during the Russian invasion and began producing them there. They are known for deep, naturally dyed reds and blues with orange, black and rust accents, and for geometric layouts with fine floral details inspired by BokharaRugs 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. and TurkomanTribal rugs woven by Turkoman (Turkmen) nomads, whose forebears came from the Afghan and Uzbek region and who later settled in the Turkmen region of Iran. Rows of octagonal guls (“flowers”) cover a deep red, reddish-brown or occasionally cream field, accented in black, blue, green or beige; prayer designs also occur. Foundation and pile are usually wool, said to come from the soft undercoat of Karakul sheep, though a cotton foundation is occasionally used. In older pieces each tribe kept its own gul design, whereas newer rugs freely mix them. Turkoman designs inspired Bokhara and Khal Mohammadi rugs and are the Persian design closest to Baluchi work, which they predate; the low-to-medium pile suits places where doors swing over the rug. designs; slight shade variation is normal in natural dye. The pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms. is 100 percent woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. from mountain sheep whose fatty wool has a soft sheen, on a cotton foundation, at a medium height. Some are classed as Pakistan-made. A finer, denser grade, often labeled Belgique, draws the same design more sharply.
A flat-woven rug with no pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms., traditionally made in Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, and the Balkans. Colored weft threads are interlaced with the warp without knots, so both sides look alike. The fibers are typically woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs., cotton, or goat hairAn animal fiber that tribal weavers sometimes use for a rug's foundation in place of wool, as in Gabbeh and Quchan rugs, while the pile itself stays wool. Together with mohair, camel hair and cow hair it is among the less common rug materials, seen mostly in tribal work, and it also turns up in some flat-woven kilims., and natural dyes often give slight shade variations that are normal, not flaws. Its low profile clears doors easily, and it can hang as wall art. In a knotted rug, "kilim" also names the flat-woven band at each end, where extra weft rows secure the ends beside the fringe.
A fine, soft grade of woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. taken from the neck and inner fleece layer of young sheep, often from the first shearing. Oily with natural lanolinThe natural wax that coats wool fibers and serves as the fleece’s own protection, waterproofing it. Wool from sheep raised at higher elevations is thicker and oilier ("fatty"), and a warm, slightly oily hand is a quick sign of real wool. In a carpet, the lanolin that remains repels liquids, so spills bead on the surface for a few moments instead of soaking in, one reason wool resists spills and soil. Hand spinning preserves it, while repeated harsh chemical cleaning strips it away, so gentle washing is recommended., it feels soft and resilient and gives colors extra shine. It is used for the pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms. of many fine city rugs from Isfahan, Kerman, QumPersian 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., Tabriz, and Mashad, and older antique Sarouks cut to a short pile use it too. Also spelled cork or kurk wool.
The natural wax that coats woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. fibers and serves as the fleece’s own protection, waterproofing it. Wool from sheep raised at higher elevations is thicker and oilier ("fatty"), and a warm, slightly oily hand is a quick sign of real wool. In a carpet, the lanolin that remains repels liquids, so spills bead on the surface for a few moments instead of soaking in, one reason wool resists spills and soil. Hand spinning preserves it, while repeated harsh chemical cleaning strips it away, so gentle washing is recommended.
WoolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. yarn spun by mechanical equipment rather than by hand or on a manual wheel, the counterpart of hand-spun woolWool yarn spun from cleaned, carded fleece by hand or on a manual wheel rather than by machine, after which the spun threads are twisted together into thicker, stronger strands before dyeing. It gives finer, softer threads than machine spinning, so the wool feels softer and looks shinier, and hand spinning is said to preserve the wool's natural lanolin. It is usual in Kazak and Peshawar rugs woven in Pakistan and in Afghan Khal Mohammadi rugs, all of which are also colored with natural dyes.. Machine-made rugs are built on machine-spun or synthetic yarns, and in judging wool quality machine-spun ranks below hand-spun, which yields finer, softer threads with more sheen. Spinning is only one factor in wool quality; the sheep's grazing, the elevation they live at and the season of shearing count as well.
The root of the madder plant (Rubia tinctorum), a natural red dye and the source of the terracotta tones in Persian and Oriental rugs. Together with indigo and walnut husks it is among the plant dyes used to color the woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs., bonding to its natural lanolinThe natural wax that coats wool fibers and serves as the fleece’s own protection, waterproofing it. Wool from sheep raised at higher elevations is thicker and oilier ("fatty"), and a warm, slightly oily hand is a quick sign of real wool. In a carpet, the lanolin that remains repels liquids, so spills bead on the surface for a few moments instead of soaking in, one reason wool resists spills and soil. Hand spinning preserves it, while repeated harsh chemical cleaning strips it away, so gentle washing is recommended.. Slight shade variations within one color area, known as abrashSubtle shifts in color within a handmade rug, often visible as horizontal bands across the field. They arise because successive dye batches never match exactly, because differences in the wool's fat and oil content make colors change unevenly with age, and, in cream areas woven from undyed wool, because the fiber changes tone as it ages. Abrash often grows more distinct with age, so in an older rug it counts as a sign of natural dyes and hand production rather than a fault, while a newer rug is still checked for even color. Machine-made and some new hand-knotted rugs imitate it on purpose., are normal in rugs dyed this way.
Village rugs from the town of Malayer and neighboring villages between ArakRugs from Arak, a city in central Iran formerly called Sultanabad, and the villages around it, a weaving region that grew in the Qajar era when exports of Persian rugs to Europe and America thrived. Rug texts also use the city as a reference point: the town of Sarouk lies about 50 km (31 miles) to its north, and the Malayer villages lie between Arak and Hamadan. Older pieces of the area are still sold under the old name Sultanabad. and Hamadan, usually dated to about the 19th century and woven on an old trade route that brought in outside designs. A cotton foundation, woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs.pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms. and symmetrical Turkish knotOne of the two main knots of hand-knotted rugs, also called the symmetrical knot (the other being the asymmetrical Persian or Senneh knot). The yarn is looped around two adjacent warp threads with both ends emerging between them, so the back shows small, even, squarish knot heads; weavers often tie it with a hook. Named after the town of Ghiordes (modern Gördes) in Turkey, it is typical of Turkey, the Caucasus and northwestern Iran (Tabriz, Bijar, Heriz, village Hamadan), where Seljuk Turks are said to have introduced it, and gives a durable, precise pile. The Persian knot is often credited with finer detail, yet knot type is a tendency, not a limit: Tabriz rugs woven with the Turkish knot reach about 500 knots per square inch (roughly 78 per cm²). give a finer weave than most village rugs, with the pile clipped fairly low to show detail. Diamond or hexagonal medallions, small white dots in the border ringing the medallionA large motif at the center of a rug's field, around which the rest of the design is organized; the large central medallion is said to have been introduced in the Safavid era (16th-17th centuries). Floral medallions, typical of city rugs such as Tabriz, Kashan and Sarouk, are often read as a lotus blossom, and the motif has also been read as mirroring the interior dome of a mosque; geometric ones, often hexagonal or diamond-shaped, mark village and tribal rugs such as Heriz and Zanjan. A medallion may stand alone, come with four corner pieces, be flanked by smaller medallions above and below, or repeat down a runner. Rugs with no central motif are called allover. In a well-made rug the medallion sits at the center and the corners mirror one another, as closely as handwork allows. and a rope-like loop effect in the rug's own border are typical marks. The south-eastern, SaroukPopular, durable Persian city rugs from Sarouk, a town in central Iran about 50 km (31 miles) north of Arak, prominent from the 19th century and exported to Europe and America. A cotton foundation carries a medium-to-thick wool pile, at times with silk highlights, usually tied with the Persian knot (some older pieces use the Turkish knot) at medium-to-high density of up to about 320 knots per square inch (roughly 50 per cm²). Floral, medallion and allover designs, with some Herati, boteh and pictorial patterns, appear on beige, ivory, cream, navy or red fields, the red leaning toward orange or rust, usually with a thin secondary border. American Sarouks, woven mainly in the 1920s and 1930s, adapted designs and colors to U.S. taste, and many were re-dyed to a preferred rose red.-like style is double-weftedA construction in which two weft threads, rather than one, are run through the warp between successive rows of knots. The doubled weft covers the foundation, so on the back of a finely and tightly woven rug only knots and weft show, without the white flecks of warp that give away a single-weft rug, and the rug is thicker, denser and heavier. Bijar and Heriz are typical double-wefted types, as are finely woven Persian rugs in general. and thicker, with floral medallions or Tree of LifeA design in which one large, elaborate tree rises through most of the field, surrounded by botanical ornament, with birds, animals and flowers spread among its branches. The tree can also occupy a single panel of a garden-panel rug or appear as a border pattern. In Persian tradition it stands for the connection between earth and the environment, is also read as a link between heaven and earth, and symbolizes strength, wisdom and the continuity of life. It is woven in Tabriz, Kashan, Isfahan, Kerman and Malayer rugs and in Baluchi rugs. designs; the north-western, Hamadan-like style is single-weftedA construction in which the weaver passes just one weft thread between successive rows of knots. Because the warp is not fully covered, the back of the rug shows a zigzag of small white foundation specks, an easy way to recognize it, and the pile tends to be thinner and lower than in double-weft weaving. Single weft is standard practice in the greater Hamadan area, from Hamadan, Karaja and Mehraban rugs to Senneh and many Kurdish tribal pieces, and in the Hamadan-influenced type of Malayer rug., geometric and lighter in color. Small rugs and runners predominate, mostly on navy, deep red or cream grounds.
A high-grade woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. imported from Manchester, England, that Kashan weavers typically use for the pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms. of their rugs. It is ranked with Ghazni woolA prized rug wool from the Ghazni region of Afghanistan. Like other top-grade fleece it is thick and oily, and it is ranked with Manchester wool and New Zealand wool among the three best-known high-quality wools for Persian and Oriental rugs. Kazak rugs woven by Afghan weavers in Pakistan use it hand-spun. and New Zealand woolWool sourced from New Zealand, ranked with Manchester and Ghazni wool among the three best-known high-quality wools for Persian and Oriental rugs; good rug wool of this kind feels thick and oily. Because it is imported rather than taken from local flocks, its use affects a rug's price. It is cited for the pile of Pakistan-woven Oushak, Ziegler and Peshawar rugs, sometimes paired with Ghazni wool, and for the thick pile of Kazak Azari rugs. among the three best-known high-quality wools for Persian rugs, so where a rug's wool comes from is one of the quality points that can be checked.
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 densityThe 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. (typically above 250 KPSI, roughly 39 per cm², and exceptionally near 1,000, about 155 per cm², on a silk foundationA rug base in which the warp and weft threads are silk rather than the usual cotton or wool. Silk is finer and thinner, so many more knots fit into each square inch; silk-based rugs typically run about 500 to 1,000 knots per square inch (roughly 78 to 155 per square centimeter). It is found mainly in fine traditional city rugs, most commonly Qum and Isfahan, and also in select Tabriz workshops and a special group of Yomut Turkoman rugs. The pile above may be wool, silk and wool, or pure silk.) and intricate flower designs in medallionA large motif at the center of a rug's field, around which the rest of the design is organized; the large central medallion is said to have been introduced in the Safavid era (16th-17th centuries). Floral medallions, typical of city rugs such as Tabriz, Kashan and Sarouk, are often read as a lotus blossom, and the motif has also been read as mirroring the interior dome of a mosque; geometric ones, often hexagonal or diamond-shaped, mark village and tribal rugs such as Heriz and Zanjan. A medallion may stand alone, come with four corner pieces, be flanked by smaller medallions above and below, or repeat down a runner. Rugs with no central motif are called allover. In a well-made rug the medallion sits at the center and the corners mirror one another, as closely as handwork allows., medallion-and-corner or allover layouts, in wine-red or burgundy, deep blue, green and cream. The pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms. is woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. 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 workshopA weaving workshop in Mashhad (Mashad), northeastern Iran, founded around the mid-twentieth century by Abbas Gholi Saber and known for large, high-end rugs of typically about 12 square meters (roughly 129 square feet, or 10 by 13 feet) and up, made on about sixty looms at its peak. Some pieces use a silk foundation, very uncommon among Mashhad rugs, which are usually woven wool on cotton; one such piece is said to reach nearly 1,000 knots per square inch (about 155 per square centimeter). After the founder's death his longtime foreman reportedly kept up the same quality but stopped adding the Saber signature, so signed Saber rugs are rare, collectible and bring higher prices. are now collectible, while Astan Quds RazaviThe carpet-weaving enterprise of the charitable organization that runs the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, Iran. It began as a small operation weaving chiefly for the shrine and, in the early 1980s (about four years after the Iranian revolution), grew into a large-scale producer of Mashhad rugs, reportedly over 6,000 square meters (about 65,000 square feet) a year with more than 500 artisans. It is known for special dyes, described as natural vegetable dyes, that give deep reds and blues. Rugs bearing its signature were often destined for shrines or commissioned as gifts. remains a well-known name.
Village rugs from the Mehraban district, a cluster of villages in the north of the Hamadan region beside Kurdish Iran, so Kurdish styles appear. They are single-weftedA construction in which the weaver passes just one weft thread between successive rows of knots. Because the warp is not fully covered, the back of the rug shows a zigzag of small white foundation specks, an easy way to recognize it, and the pile tends to be thinner and lower than in double-weft weaving. Single weft is standard practice in the greater Hamadan area, from Hamadan, Karaja and Mehraban rugs to Senneh and many Kurdish tribal pieces, and in the Hamadan-influenced type of Malayer rug. rugs on cotton, knotted with the symmetrical (Turkish) knot, with a medium pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms. of fine, soft, lustrous, oily woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs., on dark blue, dark red, cream, camel-hair or peach fields. Older pieces are geometric, with repeating medallions and bird or animal motifs, largely made for the weavers' own use; newer ones follow American SaroukA type of Sarouk woven mainly in the 1920s and 1930s, with patterns and colors adapted to what international buyers, above all in the United States, appreciated, and very popular there. It is also known as Mohajeran Sarouk. Its floral design later served as a model for newer Malayer and Mehraban rugs. florals. The district is known for runners, typically 2.5 to 3 ft (76-91 cm) wide and 6 to 20 ft (1.8-6.1 m) long. It is not the Meraban of East Azerbaijan, which weaves HerizBold 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.-style rugs.
The long, silky, lustrous hair of the Angora goat. In Persian rugs it is one of several animal fibers, listed together with goat hairAn animal fiber that tribal weavers sometimes use for a rug's foundation in place of wool, as in Gabbeh and Quchan rugs, while the pile itself stays wool. Together with mohair, camel hair and cow hair it is among the less common rug materials, seen mostly in tribal work, and it also turns up in some flat-woven kilims., camel hairAn animal fiber from camels, used less often in rugs than wool, cotton or silk and found mostly in tribal Persian rugs. Its natural warm tan tone has also become a color name: camel hair is a recurring field color in Mehraban rugs, alongside dark blue, dark red, cream and peach, so the phrase can refer to the fiber or merely to the shade. and cow hair, that can serve as a material but are much less common than the usual woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs., cotton and silk; this group is seen mostly in tribal rugs.
Protection of carpets from moths and other pests that eat away natural fibers such as woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. and silk, leaving holes and spots that look eaten away, even on newer rugs. Treatment of the fibers is one measure, and mothballs are sometimes used for storage longer than about a year or in moth-prone places, though they leave a lingering odor. The main defense is upkeep: moths favor dark, damp, undisturbed places such as beneath sofas or in storage, so a clean, dry, ventilated rug that is vacuumed under furniture and shaken out and aired every few months is far less likely to be attacked. A rug going into storage is cleaned first and wrapped in breathable material, then unwrapped and checked about every six months if it stays a year or more.
Rugs of eastern Iran that the trade sells under the name Moud Mashad, listing them with Mashhad rugs. They usually carry a Herati designA classic Persian design built on a diamond repeated across the field, with a small flower or leaves inside each diamond and curved leaves at its sides; the leaves are read as stylized fish, said to circle a lotus. The name comes from Herat, the city in Afghanistan where the design is said to originate; it is also called the fish design, and Mahi means “fish” in Persian. It is one of the three main design families, woven as an allover pattern or around a central medallion with diamonds inside and outside it, and it sometimes appears as a thin border. It is common in Tabriz, Sarouk, Mashhad, Moud, Bijar, Hamadan, Abadeh, Zanjan, Kerman and Kashan rugs. in beige, blue, rust and red and are typically signed by their maker. The foundation is cotton; older pieces have a plain woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs.pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms., while newer ones use a silk-and-wool pile.
Fine Persian rugs from the city of Nain, near Isfahan in central Iran, where rug weaving began only in the 20th century on Isfahan's model and the Habibian workshopThe Nain workshop founded by Fatollah Habibian, who is said to have begun weaving in 1903 under his father and, after the family's older styles lost their market and its stock was sold off, started his own workshop with his brother. He is regarded as the creator of the modern Nain rug, and the name has become synonymous with Nain rugs: Persian-knotted, densely woven, intricately designed, with silk highlights and a modern look. Habibian is one of the few well-known signatures found on Nain rugs, most of which are unsigned, and the founder's grandsons carry the workshop on. made the name known worldwide. The woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs.pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms., often with silk highlights, is knotted on a cotton foundation at roughly 200 to 700 knots per square inchThe 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. or more (about 31 to 108 per cm²). DensityA 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. is graded by la (“layer”): the lower the number, the finer the rug, from about 650 KPSI at 4 laA Persian grading scale specific to Nain rugs, in which a number such as 4, 6 or 9 counts the layers (la, "layers") of thread at each warp position. The scale runs backward: the lower the number, the denser the knotting, typically about 650 KPSI for 4 la, 400 to 500 for 6 la and 200 to 300 for 9 la (roughly 10,100, 6,200 to 7,750 and 3,100 to 4,650 knots per 10 by 10 cm). to 400-500 at 6 la and 200-300 at 9 la. Designs are curvilinear florals in medallionA large motif at the center of a rug's field, around which the rest of the design is organized; the large central medallion is said to have been introduced in the Safavid era (16th-17th centuries). Floral medallions, typical of city rugs such as Tabriz, Kashan and Sarouk, are often read as a lotus blossom, and the motif has also been read as mirroring the interior dome of a mosque; geometric ones, often hexagonal or diamond-shaped, mark village and tribal rugs such as Heriz and Zanjan. A medallion may stand alone, come with four corner pieces, be flanked by smaller medallions above and below, or repeat down a runner. Rugs with no central motif are called allover. In a well-made rug the medallion sits at the center and the corners mirror one another, as closely as handwork allows., allover or Shah AbbasiA classic Persian floral style named after the Safavid ruler Shah Abbas, which began as a royal court pattern about 400 years ago. Its main features are stylized, feather-like palmette leaves and lotus flowers, the lotus being an ancient symbol of long life, arranged in strict symmetry with scrolling ornament around a central medallion, often a rosette. Early examples favored deep reds and blues, while later rugs in this style often turn to muted neutral tones. The design appears in Kashan, Nain and Tabriz rugs. layouts, mostly on a cream or ivory ground with blue, beige and gray. Most Nain rugs are unsigned, though the Habibian signature is a well-known exception, and large sizes are scarce and costly.
Colorants extracted from plants, seeds, flowers and roots and, in some traditions, from animal sources, used to color rug woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. and silk. Weavers, above all tribal weavers, often prepare them from local plants and other natural resources of the region, which helps give each region its characteristic tones; madder rootThe root of the madder plant (Rubia tinctorum), a natural red dye and the source of the terracotta tones in Persian and Oriental rugs. Together with indigo and walnut husks it is among the plant dyes used to color the wool, bonding to its natural lanolin. Slight shade variations within one color area, known as abrash, are normal in rugs dyed this way. (terracotta reds), indigo (blues), walnut husks (browns) and pomegranate rindThe outer skin of the pomegranate fruit, a plant dyestuff used for the yellows in naturally dyed rugs, alongside madder root for reds, indigo for blues and walnut husks for browns. (yellows) are typical dyestuffs. Because dye is made in small artisanal batches, shades differ slightly from batch to batch, producing abrashSubtle shifts in color within a handmade rug, often visible as horizontal bands across the field. They arise because successive dye batches never match exactly, because differences in the wool's fat and oil content make colors change unevenly with age, and, in cream areas woven from undyed wool, because the fiber changes tone as it ages. Abrash often grows more distinct with age, so in an older rug it counts as a sign of natural dyes and hand production rather than a fault, while a newer rug is still checked for even color. Machine-made and some new hand-knotted rugs imitate it on purpose.. Natural dyes are prized for rich, harmonious, mellow color that fades gently and evenly with age and bleeds little on a damp cloth, though a rug may combine mostly natural dyes with a few synthetic ones.
WoolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. sourced from New Zealand, ranked with Manchester and Ghazni woolA prized rug wool from the Ghazni region of Afghanistan. Like other top-grade fleece it is thick and oily, and it is ranked with Manchester wool and New Zealand wool among the three best-known high-quality wools for Persian and Oriental rugs. Kazak rugs woven by Afghan weavers in Pakistan use it hand-spun. among the three best-known high-quality wools for Persian and Oriental rugs; good rug wool of this kind feels thick and oily. Because it is imported rather than taken from local flocks, its use affects a rug's price. It is cited for the pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms. of Pakistan-woven OushakA 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., ZieglerA 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. and Peshawar rugs, sometimes paired with Ghazni wool, and for the thick pile of Kazak AzariThe 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. rugs.
Carpets woven by nomadic tribes across the Middle East, Central Asia, and North Africa, who move with their flocks through spring, summer and fall and settle in winter to weave. Working on compact portable looms, they typically make small pieces (for example 4 x 6 or 5 x 7 ft, about 1.2 x 1.8 or 1.5 x 2.1 m), sometimes runners, using woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. from their own flocks, often for both foundation and pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms., traditionally dyed with local plants. The bold, mostly geometric designs are passed down through generations without written patterns and sometimes echo city rugs. Unlike city or workshop rugs, they often show asymmetry, color variation and patterns that do not resolve neatly at the corners.
A layout in which most of the field is left open, usually one plain ground color with only a few flowers in curving lines and sometimes a medallionA large motif at the center of a rug's field, around which the rest of the design is organized; the large central medallion is said to have been introduced in the Safavid era (16th-17th centuries). Floral medallions, typical of city rugs such as Tabriz, Kashan and Sarouk, are often read as a lotus blossom, and the motif has also been read as mirroring the interior dome of a mosque; geometric ones, often hexagonal or diamond-shaped, mark village and tribal rugs such as Heriz and Zanjan. A medallion may stand alone, come with four corner pieces, be flanked by smaller medallions above and below, or repeat down a runner. Rugs with no central motif are called allover. In a well-made rug the medallion sits at the center and the corners mirror one another, as closely as handwork allows.. It comes in three forms: a single central medallion, two or more repeating medallions, or an allover scatter of motifs with generous space between them. The composition is said to echo the cover of a Quran and is found mainly in city-style Persian rugs such as Tabriz, Kashan, SaroukPopular, durable Persian city rugs from Sarouk, a town in central Iran about 50 km (31 miles) north of Arak, prominent from the 19th century and exported to Europe and America. A cotton foundation carries a medium-to-thick wool pile, at times with silk highlights, usually tied with the Persian knot (some older pieces use the Turkish knot) at medium-to-high density of up to about 320 knots per square inch (roughly 50 per cm²). Floral, medallion and allover designs, with some Herati, boteh and pictorial patterns, appear on beige, ivory, cream, navy or red fields, the red leaning toward orange or rust, usually with a thin secondary border. American Sarouks, woven mainly in the 1920s and 1930s, adapted designs and colors to U.S. taste, and many were re-dyed to a preferred rose red., Hamadan, and Kerman, and also in BijarRugs from the city of Bijar in Kurdistan province, northwestern Iran, and the villages around it; the name covers both fine and coarse double-wefted pieces, woven by Kurdish tribes and, in workshops, Afshar weavers. Nicknamed the “iron rugs” of Iran, they are among the heaviest rugs for their size: double wefts, symmetrical (Turkish) knots, and rows beaten down hard, often while the wool is kept wet, give a thick, dense pile. Designs run from floral, Herati, and medallion to geometric, drawing on Isfahan and Kashan as well as Russian, Caucasian, and European sources (a French-style rose bouquet among them), in jewel tones of rust, red, beige, and navy. Bijars are often small rugs or runners, large sizes are rare, and the flat-woven ends and fringes are typically braided. rugs. With so little pattern to hide behind, inconsistencies in the woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. or dyeing show plainly.
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-knottedA rug construction in which the weaver ties each knot of wool or silk pile yarn by hand around adjacent warp threads on a loom, then runs a weft through the row and beats it down. The cut knot ends form the pile, the warps and wefts form the foundation, and the warp ends become the fringe. A rug can take months or even years, and the work leaves subtle irregularities: patterns not perfectly symmetrical, opposite edges a few inches different in length, an uneven fringe. Authentic Persian, Oriental and Turkish rugs are hand-knotted, unlike hand-tufted rugs (sometimes sold as “handmade”) and machine-made ones, whose backs feel stiff and evenly aligned. 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 medallionA large motif at the center of a rug's field, around which the rest of the design is organized; the large central medallion is said to have been introduced in the Safavid era (16th-17th centuries). Floral medallions, typical of city rugs such as Tabriz, Kashan and Sarouk, are often read as a lotus blossom, and the motif has also been read as mirroring the interior dome of a mosque; geometric ones, often hexagonal or diamond-shaped, mark village and tribal rugs such as Heriz and Zanjan. A medallion may stand alone, come with four corner pieces, be flanked by smaller medallions above and below, or repeat down a runner. Rugs with no central motif are called allover. In a well-made rug the medallion sits at the center and the corners mirror one another, as closely as handwork allows. layouts with little geometric drawing, in woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. from Ghazni and New Zealand on a cotton foundation. Vegetable dyes, an antique washA finishing treatment that makes newly made rugs look antique, best known from Peshawar (Chobi) rugs and Kazak-style rugs woven today. The freshly woven rug, whose colors start out dark, is stone-washed (Peshawar rugs are also left in strong sunlight) so the colors soften and fade, and the pile is cut short, which is why these rugs feel thin and low yet stay durable. Oushak-style rugs from the same workshops receive a comparable antique wash. Colors treated to look old tend to show a bleached look and a sharp band of color in the middle of each fiber, unlike the even fade of natural aging., several shades of one color and a short, low pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms. give a muted, aged look, while designers choose palettes that follow color trends. Depending on design and knot densityThe 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., the same family is also sold as Peshawar, ChobiHand-knotted rugs from Pakistan, made in the city of Peshawar in the north of the country and also called Chobi. They copy old Persian and Turkish designs, mostly floral all-over or repeating patterns (medallions are rare, because all-over layouts suit more rooms), using hand-spun wool and vegetable dyes. The rugs are woven in darker tones, then stone-washed and left in strong sunlight, and the pile is cut short so the pattern shows, which gives a new rug an antique finish. Colors are soft and subdued, often beige-based, with deliberate light-and-dark variation that imitates aged rugs; the rugs feel thin yet wear well. The same look is also sold as Oushak, Ziegler or Ferahan., ZieglerA 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. or Ferahan.
The soft, mellowed look a rug's natural dyes acquire over decades of use and light, as the colors settle into subtler, more harmonious tones that mellow rather than merely fade; the woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. also grows softer and loose fibers wear away, so the pattern reads more sharply. It is fullest in antique rugs and is treated as a mark of genuine age. Artificial aging treatments imitate it but tend to give a bleached look with an abrupt band of color in the fiber instead of a gradual fade from tip to base.
A hand-knottedA rug construction in which the weaver ties each knot of wool or silk pile yarn by hand around adjacent warp threads on a loom, then runs a weft through the row and beats it down. The cut knot ends form the pile, the warps and wefts form the foundation, and the warp ends become the fringe. A rug can take months or even years, and the work leaves subtle irregularities: patterns not perfectly symmetrical, opposite edges a few inches different in length, an uneven fringe. Authentic Persian, Oriental and Turkish rugs are hand-knotted, unlike hand-tufted rugs (sometimes sold as “handmade”) and machine-made ones, whose backs feel stiff and evenly aligned. rug woven in Iran, the country called Persia in the West until 1935, in a tradition said to reach back some 2,500 years. It is named after the city, town, region or tribe where it was made (Tabriz, Kashan, HerizBold 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., Baluchi) and belongs to one of three groups: city rugs woven in workshops from a blueprint, village rugs, and tribal rugs, the latter two woven largely from memory. The pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms. is woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs., silk or a blend, on a cotton, wool or silk foundationA rug base in which the warp and weft threads are silk rather than the usual cotton or wool. Silk is finer and thinner, so many more knots fit into each square inch; silk-based rugs typically run about 500 to 1,000 knots per square inch (roughly 78 to 155 per square centimeter). It is found mainly in fine traditional city rugs, most commonly Qum and Isfahan, and also in select Tabriz workshops and a special group of Yomut Turkoman rugs. The pile above may be wool, silk and wool, or pure silk.. Look-alikes woven in Pakistan, India or China are not Persian rugs.
Hand-knottedA rug construction in which the weaver ties each knot of wool or silk pile yarn by hand around adjacent warp threads on a loom, then runs a weft through the row and beats it down. The cut knot ends form the pile, the warps and wefts form the foundation, and the warp ends become the fringe. A rug can take months or even years, and the work leaves subtle irregularities: patterns not perfectly symmetrical, opposite edges a few inches different in length, an uneven fringe. Authentic Persian, Oriental and Turkish rugs are hand-knotted, unlike hand-tufted rugs (sometimes sold as “handmade”) and machine-made ones, whose backs feel stiff and evenly aligned. rugs from Pakistan, made in the city of Peshawar in the north of the country and also called Chobi. They copy old Persian and Turkish designs, mostly floral all-over or repeating patterns (medallions are rare, because all-over layouts suit more rooms), using hand-spun woolWool yarn spun from cleaned, carded fleece by hand or on a manual wheel rather than by machine, after which the spun threads are twisted together into thicker, stronger strands before dyeing. It gives finer, softer threads than machine spinning, so the wool feels softer and looks shinier, and hand spinning is said to preserve the wool's natural lanolin. It is usual in Kazak and Peshawar rugs woven in Pakistan and in Afghan Khal Mohammadi rugs, all of which are also colored with natural dyes. and vegetable dyes. The rugs are woven in darker tones, then stone-washed and left in strong sunlight, and the pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms. is cut short so the pattern shows, which gives a new rug an antique finish. Colors are soft and subdued, often beige-based, with deliberate light-and-dark variation that imitates aged rugs; the rugs feel thin yet wear well. The same look is also sold as OushakA 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., ZieglerA 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. or Ferahan.
The surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knottedA rug construction in which the weaver ties each knot of wool or silk pile yarn by hand around adjacent warp threads on a loom, then runs a weft through the row and beats it down. The cut knot ends form the pile, the warps and wefts form the foundation, and the warp ends become the fringe. A rug can take months or even years, and the work leaves subtle irregularities: patterns not perfectly symmetrical, opposite edges a few inches different in length, an uneven fringe. Authentic Persian, Oriental and Turkish rugs are hand-knotted, unlike hand-tufted rugs (sometimes sold as “handmade”) and machine-made ones, whose backs feel stiff and evenly aligned. rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms.
The height of a rug's knotted pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms., measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile with a ruler or caliper, so the foundation is included. One dealer scheme sorts it into low (1/8 to 1/4 in, or 3.2 to 6.4 mm), low-medium (1/4 to 1/3 in, or 6.4 to 8.5 mm), medium (1/3 to 3/8 in, or 8.5 to 9.5 mm) and high (1/2 to 5/8 in, or 12.7 to 15.9 mm). The final trim sets it: sharply detailed, densely knotted rugs, including silk and silk-and-woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. pieces, are cut low, while coarse ones with large designs, such as HerizBold 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. and GabbehA 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., keep a taller pile. A higher pile feels more cushioned, and a medium-to-high pile suits busy areas and heavy furniture; a lower pile clears doors, absorbs less humidity, traps less dust and vacuums more easily.
The cutting back of a rug's knotted pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms. with shears. Weavers trim it lightly every few inches (roughly every 5 to 10 cm) of knotting so the pattern stays visible, and a final trim after the rug comes off the loomThe frame on which the warp (vertical) threads are strung first and held under tension so the weft (horizontal) threads can be interlaced through them and the knots tied onto them. Hand-knotted rugs are made on simple looms, from those set up in weavers' homes to the compact, transportable ones of nomadic weavers, where every knot is tied by hand. Loom size sets rug size: nomads' small looms typically yield rugs no larger than about 4 x 6 or 5 x 7 ft (1.2 x 1.8 m or 1.5 x 2.1 m), city workshops with very large looms weave palace sizes, and the number of looms a workshop runs gauges its scale. Wooden looms in tribal and village weaving expand and contract over time, one cause of crooked rugs. Power looms such as Wilton, Axminster, and Jacquard, the industrial descendants, make machine-woven carpet. sets the finished pile height. Finely knotted rugs, such as silk Tabriz and other silk and silk-and-woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. pieces, are cut short so that sharp detail shows, while rugs made to look antique, such as Kazak and OushakA 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.-style pieces, are deliberately cut short so they feel thin and look aged.
A rug whose pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms. is entirely silk, woven on a cotton foundation or on a silk foundationA rug base in which the warp and weft threads are silk rather than the usual cotton or wool. Silk is finer and thinner, so many more knots fit into each square inch; silk-based rugs typically run about 500 to 1,000 knots per square inch (roughly 78 to 155 per square centimeter). It is found mainly in fine traditional city rugs, most commonly Qum and Isfahan, and also in select Tabriz workshops and a special group of Yomut Turkoman rugs. The pile above may be wool, silk and wool, or pure silk.; when both are silk, no woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. enters the rug. Silk's fineness allows the highest knot densityThe 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. 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 QumPersian 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. 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.
Tribal rugs woven by the Qashqai, a nomadic tribe of southwestern Iran that unites Turkic, Arab, Kurdish and Lur groups and has lived in the region since at least the 16th century. Designs come from memory rather than written plans, pairing geometric and medallionA large motif at the center of a rug's field, around which the rest of the design is organized; the large central medallion is said to have been introduced in the Safavid era (16th-17th centuries). Floral medallions, typical of city rugs such as Tabriz, Kashan and Sarouk, are often read as a lotus blossom, and the motif has also been read as mirroring the interior dome of a mosque; geometric ones, often hexagonal or diamond-shaped, mark village and tribal rugs such as Heriz and Zanjan. A medallion may stand alone, come with four corner pieces, be flanked by smaller medallions above and below, or repeat down a runner. Rugs with no central motif are called allover. In a well-made rug the medallion sits at the center and the corners mirror one another, as closely as handwork allows. layouts, occasionally in a simpler, sparsely detailed form, with animals, plants and household objects, in jewel-tone reds, saffron gold and indigo, often on deep red or dark navy grounds. The thick, hard-weaving woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. of the tribe's own flocks is durable yet soft, forming a medium-height, dense pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms. on a cotton or wool foundationA rug base in which the warp and weft threads are wool instead of cotton. It is typical of tribal rugs such as Baluchi, Turkoman and Gabbeh (Gabbeh and Quchan sometimes use goat hair instead), turns up in some Qashqai, Shiraz, small Bakhtiari and Iranian Azerbaijan pieces, and is common in older village and tribal rugs, including some Hamadan and very antique Karaja. Experts use it as a clue to age, since rugs made after about the 1930s usually have a cotton foundation, once machine-spun cotton became widely available. Wool's soft, less rigid structure gives the design a fluid, warm character, and the fringes are sometimes braided or in different colors. The drawback is that wool shrinks and stretches with humidity, so these rugs tend to be less straight than cotton-based ones. that suits busy areas; compact looms keep sizes small, typically 4 x 6 ft (1.2 x 1.8 m) or 5 x 7 ft (1.5 x 2.1 m) plus runners.
Tribal rugs woven by Kurdish weavers around Quchan, north of Mashhad in northeastern Iran, a border region where the Safavid rulers settled Kurdish tribes to help guard the frontier. A woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. or goat-hair foundation carries a wool pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms. at about 120 knots per square inchThe 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. (roughly 186,000 per square meter), high for tribal work. Geometric medallionA layout in which one large angular medallion stands at the center of the field, with separate corner designs and a much lighter pattern over the remaining ground, so the medallion is the clear focal point. Smaller geometric medallions often sit above and below the main one. It is typical of village and tribal rugs such as Heriz, Abadeh, Zanjan, Karaja and Qashqai, and is the angular counterpart of the floral center medallion. or all-over designs in strong red, blue or ivory fields resemble Caucasian rugs and, above all, Anatolian ones, since the weavers' ancestors came from Anatolia. Compact looms keep sizes small to medium, seldom wider than 6 ft (1.8 m) or longer than 13 ft (4 m).
Persian rugs from the city of Qum (Qom), a comparatively young weaving center whose rugs are known for the highest knot densityThe 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. of any Persian type. About nine in ten are pure silk on a silk foundationA rug base in which the warp and weft threads are silk rather than the usual cotton or wool. Silk is finer and thinner, so many more knots fit into each square inch; silk-based rugs typically run about 500 to 1,000 knots per square inch (roughly 78 to 155 per square centimeter). It is found mainly in fine traditional city rugs, most commonly Qum and Isfahan, and also in select Tabriz workshops and a special group of Yomut Turkoman rugs. The pile above may be wool, silk and wool, or pure silk., at roughly 600 to 1,000 knots per square inch (KPSI; about 93 to 155 per cm²); the rest, with kork woolA fine, soft grade of wool taken from the neck and inner fleece layer of young sheep, often from the first shearing. Oily with natural lanolin, it feels soft and resilient and gives colors extra shine. It is used for the pile of many fine city rugs from Isfahan, Kerman, Qum, Tabriz, and Mashad, and older antique Sarouks cut to a short pile use it too. Also spelled cork or kurk wool. or silk-and-woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. 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.
The practice of estimating how old a handmade rug is by weighing several clues together, since no single one settles it. Experts look at wear, the polish of the back, how the dye fades from tip to base, the foundation (rugs woven after the 1930s usually have cotton rather than woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs.), whether the design fits a particular era or a stage in its locale's style over about 150 years, and whether a supposedly very old rug shows any repairs. Old patterns are copied today, so design alone is not enough.
The skeleton of a hand-knottedA rug construction in which the weaver ties each knot of wool or silk pile yarn by hand around adjacent warp threads on a loom, then runs a weft through the row and beats it down. The cut knot ends form the pile, the warps and wefts form the foundation, and the warp ends become the fringe. A rug can take months or even years, and the work leaves subtle irregularities: patterns not perfectly symmetrical, opposite edges a few inches different in length, an uneven fringe. Authentic Persian, Oriental and Turkish rugs are hand-knotted, unlike hand-tufted rugs (sometimes sold as “handmade”) and machine-made ones, whose backs feel stiff and evenly aligned. rug: the warp and weftThe two thread systems that make up a carpet's foundation: the warp, the vertical threads strung on the loom first, and the weft, the horizontal threads passed through them between rows of knots. The foundation is usually cotton, though wool is common in tribal and older rugs and silk in very fine ones. Single-weft rugs, standard in the greater Hamadan area, show zigzag rows of white warp dots on the back and have a thinner pile, whereas double-weft construction, standard in fine, tightly woven rugs and in Bijar and Heriz, hides the warp and gives a thicker, denser pile. The warp ends form the fringe, and extra weft passes at each end form the flat-woven kilim end that secures the pile. threads on which every pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms. knot is tied. Cotton is the usual material in city and village rugs because it barely stretches or shrinks with humidity, so the rug keeps its shape, and it is rigid enough to knot through easily; that same rigidity can carry over into the design, which reads as less fluid than on a wool foundationA rug base in which the warp and weft threads are wool instead of cotton. It is typical of tribal rugs such as Baluchi, Turkoman and Gabbeh (Gabbeh and Quchan sometimes use goat hair instead), turns up in some Qashqai, Shiraz, small Bakhtiari and Iranian Azerbaijan pieces, and is common in older village and tribal rugs, including some Hamadan and very antique Karaja. Experts use it as a clue to age, since rugs made after about the 1930s usually have a cotton foundation, once machine-spun cotton became widely available. Wool's soft, less rigid structure gives the design a fluid, warm character, and the fringes are sometimes braided or in different colors. The drawback is that wool shrinks and stretches with humidity, so these rugs tend to be less straight than cotton-based ones.. WoolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs., and sometimes goat hairAn animal fiber that tribal weavers sometimes use for a rug's foundation in place of wool, as in Gabbeh and Quchan rugs, while the pile itself stays wool. Together with mohair, camel hair and cow hair it is among the less common rug materials, seen mostly in tribal work, and it also turns up in some flat-woven kilims., is typical of tribal rugs, whose weavers can use one material for both foundation and pile; it gives more character but a less straight shape. Silk, being finer, permits very high knot counts. The fringes at each end are the foundation's exposed warp ends, so they reveal its material.
A weaving workshop in Mashhad (Mashad), northeastern Iran, founded around the mid-twentieth century by Abbas Gholi Saber and known for large, high-end rugs of typically about 12 square meters (roughly 129 square feet, or 10 by 13 feet) and up, made on about sixty looms at its peak. Some pieces use a silk foundationA rug base in which the warp and weft threads are silk rather than the usual cotton or wool. Silk is finer and thinner, so many more knots fit into each square inch; silk-based rugs typically run about 500 to 1,000 knots per square inch (roughly 78 to 155 per square centimeter). It is found mainly in fine traditional city rugs, most commonly Qum and Isfahan, and also in select Tabriz workshops and a special group of Yomut Turkoman rugs. The pile above may be wool, silk and wool, or pure silk., very uncommon among Mashhad rugs, which are usually woven woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. on cotton; one such piece is said to reach nearly 1,000 knots per square inchThe 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. (about 155 per square centimeter). After the founder's death his longtime foreman reportedly kept up the same quality but stopped adding the Saber signature, so signed Saber rugs are rare, collectible and bring higher prices.
Popular, durable Persian city rugs from Sarouk, a town in central Iran about 50 km (31 miles) north of ArakRugs from Arak, a city in central Iran formerly called Sultanabad, and the villages around it, a weaving region that grew in the Qajar era when exports of Persian rugs to Europe and America thrived. Rug texts also use the city as a reference point: the town of Sarouk lies about 50 km (31 miles) to its north, and the Malayer villages lie between Arak and Hamadan. Older pieces of the area are still sold under the old name Sultanabad., prominent from the 19th century and exported to Europe and America. A cotton foundation carries a medium-to-thick woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs.pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms., at times with silk highlights, usually tied with the Persian knotThe 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. (some older pieces use the Turkish knotOne of the two main knots of hand-knotted rugs, also called the symmetrical knot (the other being the asymmetrical Persian or Senneh knot). The yarn is looped around two adjacent warp threads with both ends emerging between them, so the back shows small, even, squarish knot heads; weavers often tie it with a hook. Named after the town of Ghiordes (modern Gördes) in Turkey, it is typical of Turkey, the Caucasus and northwestern Iran (Tabriz, Bijar, Heriz, village Hamadan), where Seljuk Turks are said to have introduced it, and gives a durable, precise pile. The Persian knot is often credited with finer detail, yet knot type is a tendency, not a limit: Tabriz rugs woven with the Turkish knot reach about 500 knots per square inch (roughly 78 per cm²).) at medium-to-high densityA 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. of up to about 320 knots per square inchThe 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. (roughly 50 per cm²). Floral, medallionA large motif at the center of a rug's field, around which the rest of the design is organized; the large central medallion is said to have been introduced in the Safavid era (16th-17th centuries). Floral medallions, typical of city rugs such as Tabriz, Kashan and Sarouk, are often read as a lotus blossom, and the motif has also been read as mirroring the interior dome of a mosque; geometric ones, often hexagonal or diamond-shaped, mark village and tribal rugs such as Heriz and Zanjan. A medallion may stand alone, come with four corner pieces, be flanked by smaller medallions above and below, or repeat down a runner. Rugs with no central motif are called allover. In a well-made rug the medallion sits at the center and the corners mirror one another, as closely as handwork allows. and allover designs, with some Herati, botehA teardrop-shaped motif with a curved upper tip, ubiquitous in Persian and Kashmiri weaving for centuries. The Persian word is glossed as “budding flower or plant,” and the motif stands for growth and regeneration; it is also read as a cypress that bends in the wind but rarely breaks, a flame, a seed, a pine cone or a stylized almond. When Scottish mills began imitating Kashmir shawls in the 19th century, the boteh became known in the West as “paisley,” after the town of Paisley. In rugs it usually repeats throughout the field, notably in Tabriz, Sarouk, Kerman, Mashhad and Malayer pieces. and pictorial patterns, appear on beige, ivory, cream, navy or red fields, the red leaning toward orange or rust, usually with a thin secondary borderA narrow band running alongside the wide main border of a rug, framing it and completing the boundary around the field much as a frame surrounds a painting; it is also called a secondary border. Many Sarouk rugs, for example, wrap a much thinner secondary border around the primary one, and wide floral borders, as on some Tabriz and Kashan rugs, are often edged by narrow guards. The broad main border and its slim guards together form a hierarchy of bands that sets off the design.. American Sarouks, woven mainly in the 1920s and 1930s, adapted designs and colors to U.S. taste, and many were re-dyed to a preferred rose red.
The first washing of raw woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. after shearing, in which dirt and other impurities are removed from the fleece. It is one of the opening processes in preparing wool for Persian and Oriental rugs and is followed by carbonizingA stage of wool preparation that follows scouring and precedes carding, in which the fibers are softened and whitened. It is one of the washing steps that turn freshly shorn fleece into clean wool ready to be carded, spun and dyed into rug yarn., cardingA wool-preparation step in which cleaned wool passes through a carding machine that lines the fibers up in one direction and removes any impurities still left. It follows scouring and carbonizing and comes before spinning, leaving the wool ready to be spun into yarn for the rug. and spinning into yarn.
The Isfahan workshop founded in 1940 by Haj Agha Reza Seirafian, a banker who had long traded and produced carpets, and carried on by his family through several generations. It is widely regarded as the best-known name in fine Isfahan rugs, which are densely knotted in fine woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs., sometimes with silk, in floral and medallionA large motif at the center of a rug's field, around which the rest of the design is organized; the large central medallion is said to have been introduced in the Safavid era (16th-17th centuries). Floral medallions, typical of city rugs such as Tabriz, Kashan and Sarouk, are often read as a lotus blossom, and the motif has also been read as mirroring the interior dome of a mosque; geometric ones, often hexagonal or diamond-shaped, mark village and tribal rugs such as Heriz and Zanjan. A medallion may stand alone, come with four corner pieces, be flanked by smaller medallions above and below, or repeat down a runner. Rugs with no central motif are called allover. In a well-made rug the medallion sits at the center and the corners mirror one another, as closely as handwork allows. designs. As in other elite city workshops, the master's name is woven into a border or a small cartoucheA small framed box woven into a rug to hold the name of the master weaver or workshop, often together with the city. It is one of the two usual ways in which Persian city workshops sign a rug; the other is weaving the name directly into the border stripes., which ties the rug to the workshop's strict standards and makes signed pieces sought after by collectors.
The woven-in side edge of a hand-knottedA rug construction in which the weaver ties each knot of wool or silk pile yarn by hand around adjacent warp threads on a loom, then runs a weft through the row and beats it down. The cut knot ends form the pile, the warps and wefts form the foundation, and the warp ends become the fringe. A rug can take months or even years, and the work leaves subtle irregularities: patterns not perfectly symmetrical, opposite edges a few inches different in length, an uneven fringe. Authentic Persian, Oriental and Turkish rugs are hand-knotted, unlike hand-tufted rugs (sometimes sold as “handmade”) and machine-made ones, whose backs feel stiff and evenly aligned. rug, made during weaving as the weft is wrapped several times around the outermost warp to form a rounded, corded band. Depending on the region, the wrapping may use woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. of a contrasting color, use the warp itself, or be kept flat rather than round, so the edge is one clue experts use to place a rug's origin. The word overcasting names this same edge and also appears in lists of common rug repairs.
Finely woven small-to-medium rugs and runners from the Kurdish weaving villages around Senneh (modern Sanandaj) in western Iran, known for meticulous, thin, tight single-weft construction on a cotton foundation with a woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs.pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms.. Designs are mostly geometric medallions and allover patterns, with botehA teardrop-shaped motif with a curved upper tip, ubiquitous in Persian and Kashmiri weaving for centuries. The Persian word is glossed as “budding flower or plant,” and the motif stands for growth and regeneration; it is also read as a cypress that bends in the wind but rarely breaks, a flame, a seed, a pine cone or a stylized almond. When Scottish mills began imitating Kashmir shawls in the 19th century, the boteh became known in the West as “paisley,” after the town of Paisley. In rugs it usually repeats throughout the field, notably in Tabriz, Sarouk, Kerman, Mashhad and Malayer pieces. and Herati also woven, in dark red, navy, and brown, sometimes beige, with yellow, red, light green, orange, and white accents. The city gives its name to the “Senneh knotThe 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.”, another name for the asymmetrical Persian knot, yet its weavers actually use the symmetrical Turkish knotOne of the two main knots of hand-knotted rugs, also called the symmetrical knot (the other being the asymmetrical Persian or Senneh knot). The yarn is looped around two adjacent warp threads with both ends emerging between them, so the back shows small, even, squarish knot heads; weavers often tie it with a hook. Named after the town of Ghiordes (modern Gördes) in Turkey, it is typical of Turkey, the Caucasus and northwestern Iran (Tabriz, Bijar, Heriz, village Hamadan), where Seljuk Turks are said to have introduced it, and gives a durable, precise pile. The Persian knot is often credited with finer detail, yet knot type is a tendency, not a limit: Tabriz rugs woven with the Turkish knot reach about 500 knots per square inch (roughly 78 per cm²)..
The clipping of the fleece from a living sheep with specialized shearing tools, the first step in making a woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. rug. It is traditionally done in spring, when the wool is considered best for rugs, and the first or second shearing of the season yields wool with the most natural fat. Wool taken from dead sheep is thin and dry and turns up in cheaper, poorer-quality rugs.
Rugs woven by local tribes in and around Shiraz in Fars province, southwestern Iran, in their own homes and sold at the local bazaar. Weavers settling in the area bring their home regions' patterns, giving a hybrid of Abadeh and QashqaiTribal rugs woven by the Qashqai, a nomadic tribe of southwestern Iran that unites Turkic, Arab, Kurdish and Lur groups and has lived in the region since at least the 16th century. Designs come from memory rather than written plans, pairing geometric and medallion layouts, occasionally in a simpler, sparsely detailed form, with animals, plants and household objects, in jewel-tone reds, saffron gold and indigo, often on deep red or dark navy grounds. The thick, hard-weaving wool of the tribe's own flocks is durable yet soft, forming a medium-height, dense pile on a cotton or wool foundation that suits busy areas; compact looms keep sizes small, typically 4 x 6 ft (1.2 x 1.8 m) or 5 x 7 ft (1.5 x 2.1 m) plus runners. styles: geometric single or repeating medallions or all-over layouts, sometimes with botehA teardrop-shaped motif with a curved upper tip, ubiquitous in Persian and Kashmiri weaving for centuries. The Persian word is glossed as “budding flower or plant,” and the motif stands for growth and regeneration; it is also read as a cypress that bends in the wind but rarely breaks, a flame, a seed, a pine cone or a stylized almond. When Scottish mills began imitating Kashmir shawls in the 19th century, the boteh became known in the West as “paisley,” after the town of Paisley. In rugs it usually repeats throughout the field, notably in Tabriz, Sarouk, Kerman, Mashhad and Malayer pieces., in strong reds and browns lifted by cream, yellow, blue and green. The woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs.pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms. sits on a cotton foundation, which packs tighter, or a wool one, which is looser; densityA 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. is low to medium, about 120 knots per square inchThe 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. (roughly 186,000 per square meter).
A rug whose pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms. combines silk and woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs., usually mostly wool with silk yarn knotted into chosen details such as floral motifs to add sheen and sharpen the pattern. Silk is finer than wool and permits denser knotting, roughly 400 to 700 knots per square inchThe 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. (about 6,200 to 10,850 per 10 x 10 cm) on a cotton foundation and 500 to 1,000 (about 7,750 to 15,500) on a silk foundationA rug base in which the warp and weft threads are silk rather than the usual cotton or wool. Silk is finer and thinner, so many more knots fit into each square inch; silk-based rugs typically run about 500 to 1,000 knots per square inch (roughly 78 to 155 per square centimeter). It is found mainly in fine traditional city rugs, most commonly Qum and Isfahan, and also in select Tabriz workshops and a special group of Yomut Turkoman rugs. The pile above may be wool, silk and wool, or pure silk., although Nain, almost always on cotton, drops lower in its coarser la grades, where a higher la number means fewer knots. The wool keeps the pile thick and durable and the price below that of pure silk, though above that of wool alone. Tabriz, Nain, Mashad, BijarRugs from the city of Bijar in Kurdistan province, northwestern Iran, and the villages around it; the name covers both fine and coarse double-wefted pieces, woven by Kurdish tribes and, in workshops, Afshar weavers. Nicknamed the “iron rugs” of Iran, they are among the heaviest rugs for their size: double wefts, symmetrical (Turkish) knots, and rows beaten down hard, often while the wool is kept wet, give a thick, dense pile. Designs run from floral, Herati, and medallion to geometric, drawing on Isfahan and Kashan as well as Russian, Caucasian, and European sources (a French-style rose bouquet among them), in jewel tones of rust, red, beige, and navy. Bijars are often small rugs or runners, large sizes are rare, and the flat-woven ends and fringes are typically braided., Isfahan and QumPersian 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. all weave these rugs, usually with the pile cut short to show the detail.
A rug base in which the warp and weftThe two thread systems that make up a carpet's foundation: the warp, the vertical threads strung on the loom first, and the weft, the horizontal threads passed through them between rows of knots. The foundation is usually cotton, though wool is common in tribal and older rugs and silk in very fine ones. Single-weft rugs, standard in the greater Hamadan area, show zigzag rows of white warp dots on the back and have a thinner pile, whereas double-weft construction, standard in fine, tightly woven rugs and in Bijar and Heriz, hides the warp and gives a thicker, denser pile. The warp ends form the fringe, and extra weft passes at each end form the flat-woven kilim end that secures the pile. threads are silk rather than the usual cotton or woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs.. Silk is finer and thinner, so many more knots fit into each square inch; silk-based rugs typically run about 500 to 1,000 knots per square inchThe 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. (roughly 78 to 155 per square centimeter). It is found mainly in fine traditional city rugs, most commonly QumPersian 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. and Isfahan, and also in select Tabriz workshops and a special group of YomutTurkmen rugs of the Yomut, counted among the finest Turkmen pieces. Most Turkmen rugs are wool on wool, but the Yomut are known for pieces with a silk foundation under a wool pile, and the silk allows a higher knot count and more detailed drawing than is usual for the type. Grounds run to reds, browns and beige, and the rugs are typically unsigned.TurkomanTribal rugs woven by Turkoman (Turkmen) nomads, whose forebears came from the Afghan and Uzbek region and who later settled in the Turkmen region of Iran. Rows of octagonal guls (“flowers”) cover a deep red, reddish-brown or occasionally cream field, accented in black, blue, green or beige; prayer designs also occur. Foundation and pile are usually wool, said to come from the soft undercoat of Karakul sheep, though a cotton foundation is occasionally used. In older pieces each tribe kept its own gul design, whereas newer rugs freely mix them. Turkoman designs inspired Bokhara and Khal Mohammadi rugs and are the Persian design closest to Baluchi work, which they predate; the low-to-medium pile suits places where doors swing over the rug. rugs. The pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms. above may be wool, silk and wool, or pure silk.
Silk yarn knotted into selected parts of an otherwise woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs.pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms., 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 densityThe 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.. 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 SaroukPopular, durable Persian city rugs from Sarouk, a town in central Iran about 50 km (31 miles) north of Arak, prominent from the 19th century and exported to Europe and America. A cotton foundation carries a medium-to-thick wool pile, at times with silk highlights, usually tied with the Persian knot (some older pieces use the Turkish knot) at medium-to-high density of up to about 320 knots per square inch (roughly 50 per cm²). Floral, medallion and allover designs, with some Herati, boteh and pictorial patterns, appear on beige, ivory, cream, navy or red fields, the red leaning toward orange or rust, usually with a thin secondary border. American Sarouks, woven mainly in the 1920s and 1930s, adapted designs and colors to U.S. taste, and many were re-dyed to a preferred rose red. 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 degree to which a hand-knottedA rug construction in which the weaver ties each knot of wool or silk pile yarn by hand around adjacent warp threads on a loom, then runs a weft through the row and beats it down. The cut knot ends form the pile, the warps and wefts form the foundation, and the warp ends become the fringe. A rug can take months or even years, and the work leaves subtle irregularities: patterns not perfectly symmetrical, opposite edges a few inches different in length, an uneven fringe. Authentic Persian, Oriental and Turkish rugs are hand-knotted, unlike hand-tufted rugs (sometimes sold as “handmade”) and machine-made ones, whose backs feel stiff and evenly aligned. rug holds true, parallel edges and a width that stays nearly the same at the top, middle and bottom. A machine-made rug almost always measures identical at every point, but a handmade one never does exactly, because wooden looms expand and contract over time, and woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. foundations, which also react to humidity, do so more than cotton ones; village and tribal weavings are especially prone to being crooked. A difference of an inch or two (2.5 to 5 cm) is acceptable, while major differences count as a flaw that lowers quality and value. It is checked by eye from a distance, against the lines of a hard floor, or by measuring the top, middle and bottom with a tape.
The lightening of a rug's colors after long exposure to direct sunlight, most noticeable when one part of the rug sat in a sunny window patch while the rest stayed in shade, leaving that area visibly paler. Natural dyes soften with age in any case, but patchy fading counts as a condition flaw and is not the same as abrashSubtle shifts in color within a handmade rug, often visible as horizontal bands across the field. They arise because successive dye batches never match exactly, because differences in the wool's fat and oil content make colors change unevenly with age, and, in cream areas woven from undyed wool, because the fiber changes tone as it ages. Abrash often grows more distinct with age, so in an older rug it counts as a sign of natural dyes and hand production rather than a fault, while a newer rug is still checked for even color. Machine-made and some new hand-knotted rugs imitate it on purpose., the gentle color variation that comes from dye batchesA single batch of dye, together with the yarn colored with it, all of which takes the same shade. Natural dyes are made in small artisanal batches, and when one runs out the replacement cannot be matched exactly, so yarn from different lots differs slightly in tone. In a finished rug the difference shows as the color shifts known as abrash, which is read as a sign of hand dyeing, whereas a perfectly flat, uniform color suggests synthetic dyes and machine making. and woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs.. Curtains or blinds at peak hours, UV-filtering film, a piece of fabric laid over an exposed patch and occasional rotation of the rug limit it; a rug sunned outdoors to dry should not have its face left long in strong sun.
The grade of modern hand-knottedA rug construction in which the weaver ties each knot of wool or silk pile yarn by hand around adjacent warp threads on a loom, then runs a weft through the row and beats it down. The cut knot ends form the pile, the warps and wefts form the foundation, and the warp ends become the fringe. A rug can take months or even years, and the work leaves subtle irregularities: patterns not perfectly symmetrical, opposite edges a few inches different in length, an uneven fringe. Authentic Persian, Oriental and Turkish rugs are hand-knotted, unlike hand-tufted rugs (sometimes sold as “handmade”) and machine-made ones, whose backs feel stiff and evenly aligned. Kazak rugs with the highest knot densityThe 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., woven in Pakistan by Afghan weavers. The tighter weave allows finer, more detailed geometric patterns, and the high-quality woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. 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 densityA 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. and large, bold patterns, costs less, and the Kazak AzariThe 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., with a wider range of designs and colors and thicker wool, costs more.
Rugs from Tabriz, the large northwestern Iranian city and former Safavid capital, and its surrounding villages, where weaving is traced back at least to the 1500s. Weavers use the Turkish knotOne of the two main knots of hand-knotted rugs, also called the symmetrical knot (the other being the asymmetrical Persian or Senneh knot). The yarn is looped around two adjacent warp threads with both ends emerging between them, so the back shows small, even, squarish knot heads; weavers often tie it with a hook. Named after the town of Ghiordes (modern Gördes) in Turkey, it is typical of Turkey, the Caucasus and northwestern Iran (Tabriz, Bijar, Heriz, village Hamadan), where Seljuk Turks are said to have introduced it, and gives a durable, precise pile. The Persian knot is often credited with finer detail, yet knot type is a tendency, not a limit: Tabriz rugs woven with the Turkish knot reach about 500 knots per square inch (roughly 78 per cm²). and small metal hooks, which give very regular, symmetrical patterns, usually on a cotton foundation (silk for the finest pieces), often double-weftedA construction in which two weft threads, rather than one, are run through the warp between successive rows of knots. The doubled weft covers the foundation, so on the back of a finely and tightly woven rug only knots and weft show, without the white flecks of warp that give away a single-weft rug, and the rug is thicker, denser and heavier. Bijar and Heriz are typical double-wefted types, as are finely woven Persian rugs in general., with a short-clipped to medium pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms.. Densities run from about 50 to 500 knots per square inchThe 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. (roughly 8 to 78 per cm²), silk-foundation pieces can exceed 600, and silk highlights lend vibrancy to floral designs. Some workshops weave only silk-and-woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. rugs, favoring pastels. Tabriz offers the widest range of designs and colors of any Persian source: medallionA large motif at the center of a rug's field, around which the rest of the design is organized; the large central medallion is said to have been introduced in the Safavid era (16th-17th centuries). Floral medallions, typical of city rugs such as Tabriz, Kashan and Sarouk, are often read as a lotus blossom, and the motif has also been read as mirroring the interior dome of a mosque; geometric ones, often hexagonal or diamond-shaped, mark village and tribal rugs such as Heriz and Zanjan. A medallion may stand alone, come with four corner pieces, be flanked by smaller medallions above and below, or repeat down a runner. Rugs with no central motif are called allover. In a well-made rug the medallion sits at the center and the corners mirror one another, as closely as handwork allows., floral, Herati, hunting and vase patterns, plus most pictorial portraits. A rug sold as “Tabriz-style” is not necessarily woven in Tabriz.
Rugs woven by mostly nomadic tribes, chiefly in Iran but also across the Middle East, Central Asia, and North Africa; a few names, such as BakhtiariColorful rugs of the Bakhtiari, a Zagros Mountains tribe that was nomadic until much of it settled southwest of Isfahan in the 19th century and whose weaving now spreads across more than 200 villages; smaller pieces tend to be tribal work and larger ones come from the region's villages. The foundation is usually cotton under a wool pile from the tribe's own sheep, though some small tribal pieces are wool throughout, and every row is beaten down so hard that the pile ends up dense and long-lasting. The signature layouts are the garden panel design (Khesti, also spelled Kheshti), a grid of framed squares that each show a garden scene meant as a view of paradise, and the medallion-and-corner design with a semi-geometric center medallion. Deep red and dark navy are the usual field colors. and GabbehA 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., span tribal and village weaving. The tribes move with their flocks from spring to fall and typically settle in winter to weave on compact, portable looms, so rugs are small, often 4 x 6 ft (1.2 x 1.8 m) or 5 x 7 ft (1.5 x 2.1 m), or runners, and oversized pieces are rarely found. WoolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. from the tribe's own flocks often serves for both foundation and pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms. (goat hairAn animal fiber that tribal weavers sometimes use for a rug's foundation in place of wool, as in Gabbeh and Quchan rugs, while the pile itself stays wool. Together with mohair, camel hair and cow hair it is among the less common rug materials, seen mostly in tribal work, and it also turns up in some flat-woven kilims. is also used), dyed with local plants. Designs, mostly geometric, are passed down and woven from memory rather than from a drawing, so unlike city rugs the pattern often fails to resolve neatly at the corners. QashqaiTribal rugs woven by the Qashqai, a nomadic tribe of southwestern Iran that unites Turkic, Arab, Kurdish and Lur groups and has lived in the region since at least the 16th century. Designs come from memory rather than written plans, pairing geometric and medallion layouts, occasionally in a simpler, sparsely detailed form, with animals, plants and household objects, in jewel-tone reds, saffron gold and indigo, often on deep red or dark navy grounds. The thick, hard-weaving wool of the tribe's own flocks is durable yet soft, forming a medium-height, dense pile on a cotton or wool foundation that suits busy areas; compact looms keep sizes small, typically 4 x 6 ft (1.2 x 1.8 m) or 5 x 7 ft (1.5 x 2.1 m) plus runners., Baluchi, and TurkomanTribal rugs woven by Turkoman (Turkmen) nomads, whose forebears came from the Afghan and Uzbek region and who later settled in the Turkmen region of Iran. Rows of octagonal guls (“flowers”) cover a deep red, reddish-brown or occasionally cream field, accented in black, blue, green or beige; prayer designs also occur. Foundation and pile are usually wool, said to come from the soft undercoat of Karakul sheep, though a cotton foundation is occasionally used. In older pieces each tribe kept its own gul design, whereas newer rugs freely mix them. Turkoman designs inspired Bokhara and Khal Mohammadi rugs and are the Persian design closest to Baluchi work, which they predate; the low-to-medium pile suits places where doors swing over the rug. rugs are named after their tribes.
Tribal rugs woven by Turkoman (Turkmen) nomads, whose forebears came from the Afghan and Uzbek region and who later settled in the Turkmen region of Iran. Rows of octagonal guls (“flowers”) cover a deep red, reddish-brown or occasionally cream field, accented in black, blue, green or beige; prayer designs also occur. Foundation and pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms. are usually woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs., said to come from the soft undercoat of Karakul sheep, though a cotton foundation is occasionally used. In older pieces each tribe kept its own gulAn octagonal or polygonal, stylized flower motif repeated in rows across the field of Turkmen rugs. The same repeat is typical of Baluchi rugs, where a flower sits inside each octagon, and of Bokhara rugs, woven chiefly in Pakistan after Turkmen models. In older Turkmen rugs each tribe (Tekke, Salor, Ersari and others) typically kept its own gul, so an expert can often tell the tribe from the motif, whereas modern pieces mix guls freely. The word means “flower” or “rose” in Persian, though the shapes are highly geometric rather than naturalistic. design, whereas newer rugs freely mix them. Turkoman designs inspired BokharaRugs 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. and Khal MohammadiRugs of Afghan origin and design, named, unusually, after a person rather than a place: according to trade legend, a master rug maker and dyer who stayed in northern Afghanistan during the Russian invasion and began producing them there. They are known for deep, naturally dyed reds and blues with orange, black and rust accents, and for geometric layouts with fine floral details inspired by Bokhara and Turkoman designs; slight shade variation is normal in natural dye. The pile is 100 percent wool from mountain sheep whose fatty wool has a soft sheen, on a cotton foundation, at a medium height. Some are classed as Pakistan-made. A finer, denser grade, often labeled Belgique, draws the same design more sharply. rugs and are the Persian design closest to Baluchi work, which they predate; the low-to-medium pile suits places where doors swing over the rug.
WoolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. left in its natural fleece colors, with no dye applied, so its shades run only through white, cream, brown, gray and black. Weavers combine white and black wool to reach these tones, which is how natural GabbehA 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. rugs, usually on a cream ground, get their palette. Many cream grounds in Persian and Oriental rugs also contain undyed wool; these areas can show slight variations of tone that shift as the rug ages, which is normal and not a defect.
A semi-synthetic fiber made from cellulose, used in carpets to create a silk-like appearance at a lower cost. Less durable than woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. or synthetic fibers.
The green outer covering of the walnut, a traditional plant dye for brown woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs.. Rug dyers boil it to obtain deep brown to umber shades, and it belongs to the same vegetable palette as madder rootThe root of the madder plant (Rubia tinctorum), a natural red dye and the source of the terracotta tones in Persian and Oriental rugs. Together with indigo and walnut husks it is among the plant dyes used to color the wool, bonding to its natural lanolin. Slight shade variations within one color area, known as abrash, are normal in rugs dyed this way. (terracotta reds), indigo (blues) and pomegranate rindThe outer skin of the pomegranate fruit, a plant dyestuff used for the yellows in naturally dyed rugs, alongside madder root for reds, indigo for blues and walnut husks for browns. (yellows). Plant dyes of this kind are what separate traditionally dyed rugs from those colored with synthetic dyes.
Generated illustration: enlarged cord model of plain weave.
The two thread systems that make up a carpet's foundation: the warp, the vertical threads strung on the loomThe frame on which the warp (vertical) threads are strung first and held under tension so the weft (horizontal) threads can be interlaced through them and the knots tied onto them. Hand-knotted rugs are made on simple looms, from those set up in weavers' homes to the compact, transportable ones of nomadic weavers, where every knot is tied by hand. Loom size sets rug size: nomads' small looms typically yield rugs no larger than about 4 x 6 or 5 x 7 ft (1.2 x 1.8 m or 1.5 x 2.1 m), city workshops with very large looms weave palace sizes, and the number of looms a workshop runs gauges its scale. Wooden looms in tribal and village weaving expand and contract over time, one cause of crooked rugs. Power looms such as Wilton, Axminster, and Jacquard, the industrial descendants, make machine-woven carpet. first, and the weft, the horizontal threads passed through them between rows of knots. The foundation is usually cotton, though woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. is common in tribal and older rugs and silk in very fine ones. Single-weft rugs, standard in the greater Hamadan area, show zigzag rows of white warp dots on the back and have a thinner pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms., whereas double-weftA construction in which two weft threads, rather than one, are run through the warp between successive rows of knots. The doubled weft covers the foundation, so on the back of a finely and tightly woven rug only knots and weft show, without the white flecks of warp that give away a single-weft rug, and the rug is thicker, denser and heavier. Bijar and Heriz are typical double-wefted types, as are finely woven Persian rugs in general. construction, standard in fine, tightly woven rugs and in BijarRugs from the city of Bijar in Kurdistan province, northwestern Iran, and the villages around it; the name covers both fine and coarse double-wefted pieces, woven by Kurdish tribes and, in workshops, Afshar weavers. Nicknamed the “iron rugs” of Iran, they are among the heaviest rugs for their size: double wefts, symmetrical (Turkish) knots, and rows beaten down hard, often while the wool is kept wet, give a thick, dense pile. Designs run from floral, Herati, and medallion to geometric, drawing on Isfahan and Kashan as well as Russian, Caucasian, and European sources (a French-style rose bouquet among them), in jewel tones of rust, red, beige, and navy. Bijars are often small rugs or runners, large sizes are rare, and the flat-woven ends and fringes are typically braided. and HerizBold 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., hides the warp and gives a thicker, denser pile. The warp ends form the fringe, and extra weft passes at each end form the flat-woven kilim endThe band at each short end of a knotted rug, between the last row of pile and the fringe, woven with weft only. The weaver passes extra weft through the warp there several times, without knots, to secure the pile and give the ends a tighter, stronger finish. It is a finishing detail of a pile rug, not a kilim rug in its own right; a fringe that has to be hidden can be tied back against it on the reverse. In Bijar rugs the fringe at this end is often braided. that secures the pile.
A natural animal fiber used for the pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms., and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs.
A rug base in which the warp and weftThe two thread systems that make up a carpet's foundation: the warp, the vertical threads strung on the loom first, and the weft, the horizontal threads passed through them between rows of knots. The foundation is usually cotton, though wool is common in tribal and older rugs and silk in very fine ones. Single-weft rugs, standard in the greater Hamadan area, show zigzag rows of white warp dots on the back and have a thinner pile, whereas double-weft construction, standard in fine, tightly woven rugs and in Bijar and Heriz, hides the warp and gives a thicker, denser pile. The warp ends form the fringe, and extra weft passes at each end form the flat-woven kilim end that secures the pile. threads are woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. instead of cotton. It is typical of tribal rugs such as Baluchi, TurkomanTribal rugs woven by Turkoman (Turkmen) nomads, whose forebears came from the Afghan and Uzbek region and who later settled in the Turkmen region of Iran. Rows of octagonal guls (“flowers”) cover a deep red, reddish-brown or occasionally cream field, accented in black, blue, green or beige; prayer designs also occur. Foundation and pile are usually wool, said to come from the soft undercoat of Karakul sheep, though a cotton foundation is occasionally used. In older pieces each tribe kept its own gul design, whereas newer rugs freely mix them. Turkoman designs inspired Bokhara and Khal Mohammadi rugs and are the Persian design closest to Baluchi work, which they predate; the low-to-medium pile suits places where doors swing over the rug. and GabbehA 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. (Gabbeh and Quchan sometimes use goat hairAn animal fiber that tribal weavers sometimes use for a rug's foundation in place of wool, as in Gabbeh and Quchan rugs, while the pile itself stays wool. Together with mohair, camel hair and cow hair it is among the less common rug materials, seen mostly in tribal work, and it also turns up in some flat-woven kilims. instead), turns up in some QashqaiTribal rugs woven by the Qashqai, a nomadic tribe of southwestern Iran that unites Turkic, Arab, Kurdish and Lur groups and has lived in the region since at least the 16th century. Designs come from memory rather than written plans, pairing geometric and medallion layouts, occasionally in a simpler, sparsely detailed form, with animals, plants and household objects, in jewel-tone reds, saffron gold and indigo, often on deep red or dark navy grounds. The thick, hard-weaving wool of the tribe's own flocks is durable yet soft, forming a medium-height, dense pile on a cotton or wool foundation that suits busy areas; compact looms keep sizes small, typically 4 x 6 ft (1.2 x 1.8 m) or 5 x 7 ft (1.5 x 2.1 m) plus runners., Shiraz, small BakhtiariColorful rugs of the Bakhtiari, a Zagros Mountains tribe that was nomadic until much of it settled southwest of Isfahan in the 19th century and whose weaving now spreads across more than 200 villages; smaller pieces tend to be tribal work and larger ones come from the region's villages. The foundation is usually cotton under a wool pile from the tribe's own sheep, though some small tribal pieces are wool throughout, and every row is beaten down so hard that the pile ends up dense and long-lasting. The signature layouts are the garden panel design (Khesti, also spelled Kheshti), a grid of framed squares that each show a garden scene meant as a view of paradise, and the medallion-and-corner design with a semi-geometric center medallion. Deep red and dark navy are the usual field colors. and Iranian Azerbaijan pieces, and is common in older village and tribal rugs, including some Hamadan and very antique KarajaVillage 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.. Experts use it as a clue to age, since rugs made after about the 1930s usually have a cotton foundation, once machine-spun cotton became widely available. Wool's soft, less rigid structure gives the design a fluid, warm character, and the fringes are sometimes braided or in different colors. The drawback is that wool shrinks and stretches with humidity, so these rugs tend to be less straight than cotton-based ones.
The stage of rug making in which cleaned, carded woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. is made into yarn, either by hand or on a manual spinning wheel, and the individual threads are then twisted together into thicker strands. Twisting gives the yarn extra strength and durability, after which the wool is ready for dyeing. Hand-spun yarnWool yarn spun from cleaned, carded fleece by hand or on a manual wheel rather than by machine, after which the spun threads are twisted together into thicker, stronger strands before dyeing. It gives finer, softer threads than machine spinning, so the wool feels softer and looks shinier, and hand spinning is said to preserve the wool's natural lanolin. It is usual in Kazak and Peshawar rugs woven in Pakistan and in Afghan Khal Mohammadi rugs, all of which are also colored with natural dyes. is regarded as superior to machine-spun: its threads are finer and softer, and the wool looks shinier.
A rug woven in an organized workshop, a setup typical of city weaving, where a master weaver usually oversees the weavers and design and weaving follow stricter standards. Because a workshop can buy woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. in bulk and dye it all at once, its material and colors tend to be better, so workshop rugs are generally of higher quality than non-workshop ones, though not in every case. Not every workshop rug is signed. Village rugs, made in a looser, semi-structured setting, usually have lower knot densities than city rugs.
Loss of pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms. height from use, where the woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. has been walked short or away entirely, typically in a hallway, entryway or other high-traffic path, and in a badly worn rug the foundation begins to show. Even wear across the whole surface is the normal pattern on an older rug and is what buyers look for, whereas patchy wear, with short or bare zones beside fuller pile, weakens those spots and makes further damage likely, which matters most for a rug meant for heavy traffic. Rotating the rug periodically spreads the wear. Wear alone does not date a rug, since some new rugs are finished low to look old and some antiques keep a full pile.
Generated illustration: space-dyed yarn, one example of yarn dyeing.
Various techniques for coloring carpet yarns, including beck dyeing (immersion in dye baths), continuous dyeing (application after tufting), space dyeing (multiple colors on a single yarn), and solution dyeing (color added to liquid polymer before extrusion). Each method offers different benefits for colorfastness, pattern capabilities, and environmental impact. In hand-knottedA rug construction in which the weaver ties each knot of wool or silk pile yarn by hand around adjacent warp threads on a loom, then runs a weft through the row and beats it down. The cut knot ends form the pile, the warps and wefts form the foundation, and the warp ends become the fringe. A rug can take months or even years, and the work leaves subtle irregularities: patterns not perfectly symmetrical, opposite edges a few inches different in length, an uneven fringe. Authentic Persian, Oriental and Turkish rugs are hand-knotted, unlike hand-tufted rugs (sometimes sold as “handmade”) and machine-made ones, whose backs feel stiff and evenly aligned. rugs the woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. is dyed as spun yarn before knotting, with natural dyes from plants, roots, and flowers, which tend to mellow with age, or with synthetic dyes; differences between dye batchesA single batch of dye, together with the yarn colored with it, all of which takes the same shade. Natural dyes are made in small artisanal batches, and when one runs out the replacement cannot be matched exactly, so yarn from different lots differs slightly in tone. In a finished rug the difference shows as the color shifts known as abrash, which is read as a sign of hand dyeing, whereas a perfectly flat, uniform color suggests synthetic dyes and machine making. are a main source of abrashSubtle shifts in color within a handmade rug, often visible as horizontal bands across the field. They arise because successive dye batches never match exactly, because differences in the wool's fat and oil content make colors change unevenly with age, and, in cream areas woven from undyed wool, because the fiber changes tone as it ages. Abrash often grows more distinct with age, so in an older rug it counts as a sign of natural dyes and hand production rather than a fault, while a newer rug is still checked for even color. Machine-made and some new hand-knotted rugs imitate it on purpose..
The number of single yarns twisted together to form a carpet yarn. Two-ply or three-ply yarns are stronger and more durable than single-ply yarns. In hand-knottedA rug construction in which the weaver ties each knot of wool or silk pile yarn by hand around adjacent warp threads on a loom, then runs a weft through the row and beats it down. The cut knot ends form the pile, the warps and wefts form the foundation, and the warp ends become the fringe. A rug can take months or even years, and the work leaves subtle irregularities: patterns not perfectly symmetrical, opposite edges a few inches different in length, an uneven fringe. Authentic Persian, Oriental and Turkish rugs are hand-knotted, unlike hand-tufted rugs (sometimes sold as “handmade”) and machine-made ones, whose backs feel stiff and evenly aligned. rugs, woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. is first spun into threads, by hand or on a wheel, and those threads are then twisted together into thicker, sturdier strands before the yarn is dyed.
A traditional method of dyeing carpet yarn in which loose skeins (loops) of already spun, plied yarn are immersed in dye baths before the yarn is knotted or woven into the rug. This technique, common in handmade carpets, works in separate batches, and small differences between batches, together with differences in the natural fat of the woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs., produce the subtle color variations known as abrashSubtle shifts in color within a handmade rug, often visible as horizontal bands across the field. They arise because successive dye batches never match exactly, because differences in the wool's fat and oil content make colors change unevenly with age, and, in cream areas woven from undyed wool, because the fiber changes tone as it ages. Abrash often grows more distinct with age, so in an older rug it counts as a sign of natural dyes and hand production rather than a fault, while a newer rug is still checked for even color. Machine-made and some new hand-knotted rugs imitate it on purpose. that give traditional rugs their characteristic depth and visual interest. The process is still used by artisans who create custom-dyed yarns for specialty carpets.
Fine Persian carpets from the city of Yazd in central Iran, known for their intricate medallionA large motif at the center of a rug's field, around which the rest of the design is organized; the large central medallion is said to have been introduced in the Safavid era (16th-17th centuries). Floral medallions, typical of city rugs such as Tabriz, Kashan and Sarouk, are often read as a lotus blossom, and the motif has also been read as mirroring the interior dome of a mosque; geometric ones, often hexagonal or diamond-shaped, mark village and tribal rugs such as Heriz and Zanjan. A medallion may stand alone, come with four corner pieces, be flanked by smaller medallions above and below, or repeat down a runner. Rugs with no central motif are called allover. In a well-made rug the medallion sits at the center and the corners mirror one another, as closely as handwork allows. designs and high-quality craftsmanship. Traditional Yazd carpets feature a central medallion with elaborate floral motifs, often incorporating silk highlights on a wool foundationA rug base in which the warp and weft threads are wool instead of cotton. It is typical of tribal rugs such as Baluchi, Turkoman and Gabbeh (Gabbeh and Quchan sometimes use goat hair instead), turns up in some Qashqai, Shiraz, small Bakhtiari and Iranian Azerbaijan pieces, and is common in older village and tribal rugs, including some Hamadan and very antique Karaja. Experts use it as a clue to age, since rugs made after about the 1930s usually have a cotton foundation, once machine-spun cotton became widely available. Wool's soft, less rigid structure gives the design a fluid, warm character, and the fringes are sometimes braided or in different colors. The drawback is that wool shrinks and stretches with humidity, so these rugs tend to be less straight than cotton-based ones.. The color palette typically includes rich blues, reds, and ivories with distinctive curvilinear patterns influenced by the historic textile traditions of this ancient city.
TurkmenTribal rugs woven by Turkoman (Turkmen) nomads, whose forebears came from the Afghan and Uzbek region and who later settled in the Turkmen region of Iran. Rows of octagonal guls (“flowers”) cover a deep red, reddish-brown or occasionally cream field, accented in black, blue, green or beige; prayer designs also occur. Foundation and pile are usually wool, said to come from the soft undercoat of Karakul sheep, though a cotton foundation is occasionally used. In older pieces each tribe kept its own gul design, whereas newer rugs freely mix them. Turkoman designs inspired Bokhara and Khal Mohammadi rugs and are the Persian design closest to Baluchi work, which they predate; the low-to-medium pile suits places where doors swing over the rug. rugs of the Yomut, counted among the finest Turkmen pieces. Most Turkmen rugs are woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. on wool, but the Yomut are known for pieces with a silk foundationA rug base in which the warp and weft threads are silk rather than the usual cotton or wool. Silk is finer and thinner, so many more knots fit into each square inch; silk-based rugs typically run about 500 to 1,000 knots per square inch (roughly 78 to 155 per square centimeter). It is found mainly in fine traditional city rugs, most commonly Qum and Isfahan, and also in select Tabriz workshops and a special group of Yomut Turkoman rugs. The pile above may be wool, silk and wool, or pure silk. under a wool pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms., and the silk allows a higher knot countThe 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. and more detailed drawing than is usual for the type. Grounds run to reds, browns and beige, and the rugs are typically unsigned.
Traditional floor coverings used in Central Asian nomadic dwellings (yurts). These rugs are typically made from woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. with geometric patterns and serve both decorative and practical purposes, providing insulation and defining living spaces within the circular structure.
Tribal rugs from the Zagros mountains of western and southwestern Iran, woven by nomadic, semi-nomadic and settled village weavers such as the BakhtiariColorful rugs of the Bakhtiari, a Zagros Mountains tribe that was nomadic until much of it settled southwest of Isfahan in the 19th century and whose weaving now spreads across more than 200 villages; smaller pieces tend to be tribal work and larger ones come from the region's villages. The foundation is usually cotton under a wool pile from the tribe's own sheep, though some small tribal pieces are wool throughout, and every row is beaten down so hard that the pile ends up dense and long-lasting. The signature layouts are the garden panel design (Khesti, also spelled Kheshti), a grid of framed squares that each show a garden scene meant as a view of paradise, and the medallion-and-corner design with a semi-geometric center medallion. Deep red and dark navy are the usual field colors., QashqaiTribal rugs woven by the Qashqai, a nomadic tribe of southwestern Iran that unites Turkic, Arab, Kurdish and Lur groups and has lived in the region since at least the 16th century. Designs come from memory rather than written plans, pairing geometric and medallion layouts, occasionally in a simpler, sparsely detailed form, with animals, plants and household objects, in jewel-tone reds, saffron gold and indigo, often on deep red or dark navy grounds. The thick, hard-weaving wool of the tribe's own flocks is durable yet soft, forming a medium-height, dense pile on a cotton or wool foundation that suits busy areas; compact looms keep sizes small, typically 4 x 6 ft (1.2 x 1.8 m) or 5 x 7 ft (1.5 x 2.1 m) plus runners. and Luri. The weavers usually use woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. from their own flocks, giving a sturdy, often dense pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms. on a cotton or wool foundationA rug base in which the warp and weft threads are wool instead of cotton. It is typical of tribal rugs such as Baluchi, Turkoman and Gabbeh (Gabbeh and Quchan sometimes use goat hair instead), turns up in some Qashqai, Shiraz, small Bakhtiari and Iranian Azerbaijan pieces, and is common in older village and tribal rugs, including some Hamadan and very antique Karaja. Experts use it as a clue to age, since rugs made after about the 1930s usually have a cotton foundation, once machine-spun cotton became widely available. Wool's soft, less rigid structure gives the design a fluid, warm character, and the fringes are sometimes braided or in different colors. The drawback is that wool shrinks and stretches with humidity, so these rugs tend to be less straight than cotton-based ones., colored with natural dyes in bold, rich tones. Their designs, from geometric medallions to the Bakhtiari garden-panel layout, are woven from memory and passed down through generations. Bakhtiari weaving spread across more than 200 villages after the once-nomadic tribe settled, while Qashqai nomads work on small portable looms, so their rugs seldom come in large sizes.
Tribal rugs woven by nomadic weavers in the Zanjan region in the west of Iran, near the BijarRugs from the city of Bijar in Kurdistan province, northwestern Iran, and the villages around it; the name covers both fine and coarse double-wefted pieces, woven by Kurdish tribes and, in workshops, Afshar weavers. Nicknamed the “iron rugs” of Iran, they are among the heaviest rugs for their size: double wefts, symmetrical (Turkish) knots, and rows beaten down hard, often while the wool is kept wet, give a thick, dense pile. Designs run from floral, Herati, and medallion to geometric, drawing on Isfahan and Kashan as well as Russian, Caucasian, and European sources (a French-style rose bouquet among them), in jewel tones of rust, red, beige, and navy. Bijars are often small rugs or runners, large sizes are rare, and the flat-woven ends and fringes are typically braided. and Hamadan weaving areas. Compact, portable looms, set up on the winter plains, keep most pieces to about 4 x 6 ft (1.2 x 1.8 m) or smaller. The foundation is usually cotton and the pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms. is woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. from the weavers' own sheep, in geometric or Herati designs with beige, deep red and blue as main colors; older pieces often show a central medallionA large motif at the center of a rug's field, around which the rest of the design is organized; the large central medallion is said to have been introduced in the Safavid era (16th-17th centuries). Floral medallions, typical of city rugs such as Tabriz, Kashan and Sarouk, are often read as a lotus blossom, and the motif has also been read as mirroring the interior dome of a mosque; geometric ones, often hexagonal or diamond-shaped, mark village and tribal rugs such as Heriz and Zanjan. A medallion may stand alone, come with four corner pieces, be flanked by smaller medallions above and below, or repeat down a runner. Rugs with no central motif are called allover. In a well-made rug the medallion sits at the center and the corners mirror one another, as closely as handwork allows. framed by a hexagonal one. Bijar-influenced pieces have a heavy-duty pile almost as thick as a true Bijar's, which is why they serve as a Bijar alternative; Hamadan-influenced pieces follow Hamadan designs and colors with a slightly thinner pile than Hamadan rugs.
A former Mashhad (Mashad) workshop whose rugs, no longer woven, are hard to find and are regarded as collectors' pieces. Typical examples have a cream ground with delicate floral designs on very thin branches, an allover layout with only a vaguely defined central medallionA large motif at the center of a rug's field, around which the rest of the design is organized; the large central medallion is said to have been introduced in the Safavid era (16th-17th centuries). Floral medallions, typical of city rugs such as Tabriz, Kashan and Sarouk, are often read as a lotus blossom, and the motif has also been read as mirroring the interior dome of a mosque; geometric ones, often hexagonal or diamond-shaped, mark village and tribal rugs such as Heriz and Zanjan. A medallion may stand alone, come with four corner pieces, be flanked by smaller medallions above and below, or repeat down a runner. Rugs with no central motif are called allover. In a well-made rug the medallion sits at the center and the corners mirror one another, as closely as handwork allows., and soft, subdued colors such as peach, blue and cream. The woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. is described as soft, lanolinThe natural wax that coats wool fibers and serves as the fleece’s own protection, waterproofing it. Wool from sheep raised at higher elevations is thicker and oilier ("fatty"), and a warm, slightly oily hand is a quick sign of real wool. In a carpet, the lanolin that remains repels liquids, so spills bead on the surface for a few moments instead of soaking in, one reason wool resists spills and soil. Hand spinning preserves it, while repeated harsh chemical cleaning strips it away, so gentle washing is recommended.-rich wool from young sheep, which makes the colors look shinier. Weaving reportedly ended by the mid-1980s, because the next generation did not want to continue.
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 OushakA 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., Peshawar, ChobiHand-knotted rugs from Pakistan, made in the city of Peshawar in the north of the country and also called Chobi. They copy old Persian and Turkish designs, mostly floral all-over or repeating patterns (medallions are rare, because all-over layouts suit more rooms), using hand-spun wool and vegetable dyes. The rugs are woven in darker tones, then stone-washed and left in strong sunlight, and the pile is cut short so the pattern shows, which gives a new rug an antique finish. Colors are soft and subdued, often beige-based, with deliberate light-and-dark variation that imitates aged rugs; the rugs feel thin yet wear well. The same look is also sold as Oushak, Ziegler or Ferahan. and Farahan, used for workshop rugs made in Pakistan since roughly the 1970s in traditional Persian and Turkish designs, with a woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs.pileThe surface of a rug or carpet, made of upright fibers in cut tufts or loops. In a hand-knotted rug it is formed by the cut ends of thousands of wool or silk knots tied onto the warp row by row, trimmed lightly during weaving and given its final height by shearing at finishing. Pile thickness, measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile, typically runs from low, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm), to high, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (13 to 16 mm). Fine, dense designs are cut short to keep the pattern sharp; higher pile suits traffic and heavy furniture, lower pile suits door clearance and humid rooms. on a cotton foundation; which name applies varies with design and knot densityThe 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..
A traditional flat-woven textile from Iran, particularly the Yazd and Meybod regions. These cotton or woolA natural animal fiber used for the pile, and in some rugs also the foundation, of high-quality rugs. It is durable, resilient, stain resistant and flame resistant, feels soft and cushioned underfoot, insulates against cold, and takes up dye readily and holds it for many years. It also traps dust particles, which helps reduce allergic reactions. Quality depends above all on where the sheep graze: high-elevation pastures and good feed give thicker, oilier wool, with Manchester, New Zealand and Ghazni wools the best-known prized examples. Early-spring shearing and hand spinning (finer, softer thread than machine spinning) improve it further, while thin, dry wool from dead sheep goes into cheaper rugs. floor coverings feature geometric patterns created using a special weaving technique that produces a reversible fabric with different patterns on each side. Historically used in mosques and homes, zilus typically display blue and white patterns with cultural and religious significance.