Persian Rugs

(Posted on 19/06/14)

Weaving region: Iran

Categories produced: master-workshop, workshop, village and nomadic. 

 For most people, the terms ‘Persian rug’ and ‘oriental rug’ are the same.  Persian is seen as the spiritual, if not actual, home of rug-making and its name has become synonymous with the finest and most outstanding achievements in oriental textile art.  Much of this is due to the magnificent Court carpets of the 16th and 17th centuries which grace Western museums, and the 18th- and 19th- century masterpieces to be found in royal palaces and stately homes throughout the world.  Yes these intricate and highly sophisticated masterworks are only part of a rug-making tradition that encompasses the entire spectrum of the weaver’s art.

Persia is exceptional in the number and variety of its weaving groups.  No other country can boast the same range of master-workshops, workshop, village and nomadic rugs, and none even comes close to the diversity of Persian design.  It is therefore hardly surprising that Persian compositions have not only been reproduced in countless machine-made carpets in the West, but also emulated by most other rug-producing countries in the East.  Today most oriental rugs – weather from Pakistan, India or the Balkans – are based on Persian designs, and even China, with its own ancient and unique heritage, is now producing rugs with Persian schemes.

                                                                                      (Persian Tabriz Rug)