Persian Rugs

Persian Rugs

Persian rugs are made in Iran but have kept their historical title from the time when Iran was called originally called Persia. Of the many beautiful arts of Iran, rug making is possibly the most widely known. Traditionally these rugs would be taken by merchants traversing the Silk Road in order to be sold around the world.

The traditions and regions

Almost every town or city in Iran is the birthplace of a different type of rug. To the trained eye each rug’s identity is easily recognised but this no so for those who are new to Oriental rugs. Becoming familiar with the different patterns or guys and knotting techniques aids the ability to determine the authenticity of each different type of rug, with each nomadic tribe or area of origin having its own identity in the types of pattern, placements, colours and knot count.

Owning a Persian Rug

Many of our grandparents and Great Grandparents would have known the origin of their rug, the meaning of each motif or gul, and how many knots were tied per square inch (now counted in metric). The prized Persian rug in their lounge was comparable to the neighbourly significance today of owning and parking a top of the range Jaguar, Range Rover or Mercedes car on the drive.

Whether you are aware of the origin and meanings in the patterns is not of the greatest importance to our generation, what is most significant now is seeing how Persian rugs ooze a sense of taste and elegance and history.

Persian rugs are made from handspun fibres using wools and silks. Colours generally rich with highly detailed patterns often in rich dark colours with the exception of some Nains, Kashans, Esfahans and Qum silk rugs, which can feature whites, creams, pastel yellows, blues and pinks.