Crafted to Last – The Beauty and Attraction of Persian Rugs

Weaving a hand-knotted rug requires a great deal of skill and takes a lot of time. It can take years to make a single rug!

Hand-tufted rugs are very different. They’re made by punching tufts of wool into a pre-existing fabric that’s stretched onto a frame. The tufts are then held in place by glue or glued backings. This process isn’t very time-intensive and doesn’t require the same level of skill that hand-knotting does, hence these rugs don’t command as high a cost.

A hand-knotted rug outlasts a hand-tufted one. It can become a family heirloom and last for generations if it’s used with care. Hand-tufted rugs can still be beautiful to look at but if you want to buy a rug that has value beyond its use in your home décor, look for a  well-made rug, hand-knotted by expert artisans.

History of Knotted-Pile Rugs

It’s impossible to say exactly when the art of rug making began. There’s little archaeological evidence, so a lot of speculation and guess work goes on.

It’s a common theory that the nomadic wanderers of Asia were the first group to create rugs in quantity. Many of the nomadic tribes were sheep herders and it’s likely that the weaving of wool into rugs and other items developed as a replacement for the use of rough animal hide. The sophisticated knotted-pile technique then spread over the centuries.

The Oldest Rug Found

The oldest known surviving rug, the Pazyryk carpet, is less than 3000 years old. However, the incredible artistry with which it was made suggests that the technique of knotted pile had already developed for centuries before it’s creation.

The Pazyryk rug was found in 1949 in a burial site in Siberia. It was frozen in the ice of a Scynthian Nobleman’s grave and this preserved the carpet’s fibres, colour and design. Dating back to the 5th century BC, the rug is made by a hand-knotted technique that is still in use today, the Ghiordes (Turkish) knot. Most experts familiar with the rug believe that the nomads who wove it came from Mongolia.

From the nomadic tribes of Mongolia to the cities of Persia, the technique of hand crafted rugs developed into the highly regarded art form we know today.

Persian rugs are one of the oldest and most respected types of rug, with a beauty, quality and sophistication that pays homage to Iran’s 2,500 year old rug making history.

Famous throughout the world, the Persian rug is a testimony of rich tradition that goes back hundreds of years.

Design names like Tabriz , Kashan, Heriz and Meshad reflect the name of the town or region in Persia that the rug design originated from.

City Rugs

Some Persian rugs are city made, while others are tribal made. City rugs are generally considered the most refined with highly intricate, detailed designs. Unlike rugs produced in town, village and tribal settings, the making of city rugs was supervised by master rug weavers, in the famous workshops of the 19th century rug making cities.

Among the most famous cities were Tabriz, Isfahan, and Kirman. Whilst each city possessed its own distinct pattern, language and colors, symmetry is one aspect of their design that was common to them all. The knot-by-knot designs, drawn out on paper, were known as “cartoons,” and followed exactly by the weavers who were supervised by the master rug weaver.

Kirman Laver Rugs

The city of Kirman produced the highly valued Laver and Kirman rugs. Both have beautifully rendered, intricate patterns. The weavers of Kirman also had access to one of the rarest and prized dyes, cochineal dye, which yielded the rich crimson colour found in these rugs.

Most Expensive Rug Ever Sold

The most expensive rug ever sold, a beautiful 17th century Kerman, sold for nearly $34 million at a Sotheby’s auction in New York City on June 2013. This shattered pre-auction estimates and all previous sale records for the highest prices ever fetched for a rug.

The “Clarke Sickle-Leaf Carpet” is an intricately woven carpet of red, blue and green colours and has a wool pile, with foundations made from cotton and silk. It was bought by American billionaire industrialist William Clark in the early 1900s and was donated to a museum after his death in 1925. It was made during the Safavid dynasty in Persia in the 1650s by several weavers at a very sophisticated workshop in south east Persia.

Tribal weavers also had more freedom with design. Since tribal rugs weren’t meant for commercial trade, their designs and colour combinations were truly indigenous inspirations. Their rich colours and patterns tell stories that have been passed down through generations of weavers. Each weaver designs each rug individually, incorporating his or her own tastes. Some rugs feature motifs inspired by animals, plants and flowers and many appear wildly abstract.

The complex designs of city carpets were graphed onto paper so that the weavers could follow the intricate patterns. Tribal rugs were instead often made up of repeating motifs which the tribal weavers were able to memorise. Each different tribe had it’s own exclusive designs and colour combinations, often featuring symbols known solely by the people who wove them. For example, carpets were often created as part of a bride’s dowry and the weaver would incorporate motifs standing for fertility and a happy love life. And some of the motifs were talismans, woven to provide protective qualities.

There is real magic in these rugs and the passion with which they are made continues to inspire contemporary designers and helps raise awareness about modern tribes.

Heriz Carpets

The Heriz carpets are one of the most successful village weavings. They come from the area of Heris, East Azerbaijan in North West Iran. Although only 60 miles from the famous carpet producing city of Tabriz, Heriz carpets are completely different. Tabriz typically produced finely woven formal carpets whereas Heriz produced wonderfully informal village rugs in rich primary colours.

Heriz rug weavers often make them in geometric, bold patterns with a large medallion dominating the field. The patterns can be sophisticated but retain rustic qualities, giving a sense of the individuality of the weaver.

Whereas in the past, it was the finely woven and ornate city rugs that were most prized by the US market, today the simpler, bolder Heriz is more favoured.

Sarouk Carpets

Sarouk rugs come from Markazi Province in Iran. They’re woven in the village of Saruk and also the city of Arak and the surrounding countryside. This region became one of the most active regions of carpet weaving in the late 19th Century through the early 20th Century. The city’s most famous designer was named Farahan, hence they are also known as Farahan rugs.

From the 1910s to 1950s, painted Sarouks that were over-dyed in vibrant hues of garnet and salmon-pink brought these regional rugs to a new height of popularity. These were know as “American Sarouk” or “painted Sarouk”. American customers had an affinity for the Sarouk’s curvilinear and floral designs. What they didn’t appreciate, however, was the colour, so rugs exported from Iran were dyed to a desirable, deep, raspberry-red colour, once they arrive in the USA.

The Future of Hand-Knotted Rugs

From the formal, refined and highly intricate designs of city rugs, to the tribal rugs woven as part of tribal tradition and expression, it’s clear that there are as many different types of oriental rugs as there are people who make them!

Given the sheer amount of labour and skilled craftsmanship that goes into producing these rugs, they rightly hold a firm place in the art world.

But what about the future of hand-knotted rugs? With greater industrialization and urbanization, there are simply fewer and fewer weavers. It’s very possible that the hand-knotted rug will become increasingly rare. Now, might therefore be a good time to start collecting a piece of hand-knotted history.