Persian Rugs for Modern Day Décor:

"Cyrus the Great, who founded the Persian monarchy over 2,500 years ago, was bedecked by magnificent carpets. Classical tales recount how Alexander the Great found carpet of a very fine fabric in Cyrus tomb."

To admire a Persian carpet is to gaze into a world of artistic magnificence nurtured for more than 2,500 years. The Iranians were among the first carpet weavers of the ancient civilizations and, through centuries of creativity and ingenuity building upon the talents of the past, achieved a unique degree of excellence.

The carpet is the finest and most exquisite form of expression. The best available today rank amongst the highest level of art ever attained by mankind. Even today, with all of the other countries producing beautiful high end reproductions, the Persian association with the carpet is as strong as ever. An Iranian's home is bare and soulless without it, a reflection on the deep rooted bond between the people and their national art.

To trace the history of the Persian carpet is to follow a path of cultural growth of one of the greatest civilizations the world has ever known. From being simply articles of need, as pure and simple floor entrance covering to protect the nomadic tribesmen from the cold and damp, the increasing beauty of the carpets found them new owners - kings and nobleman, those who looked for signs of wealth or adornment for fine buildings.

Many people in Iran have invested their whole wealth in Persian carpets - often referred to as an Iranian's stocks and shares - and there are underground storage areas in Tehran's bazaar that are full of fine specimens, kept as investments by shrewd businessmen. And for many centuries, of course, the Persian carpet has received international acclaim for its artistic splendor. In palaces, famous building, rich homes and museums throughout the world a Persian carpet is amongst the most treasured possessions. Thus, today Iran produces more carpets than all the other carpet making centers of the world put together.

Persian patterns are named from the city/village in which the designs originated in Iran. These are more classic fine traditional designs.

Isfahan-is located in Western central Iran. Isfahan rugs have been and still remain very popular worldwide. Isfahan rugs are commonly have large medallions with mosaic looking motifs as well as pictorals of animals, nature and people, using seldom less than 15 colors in the rugs.

Kashan-Kashan rugs are woven in workshops of the city of Kashan, in North Central Iran. Kashan rug style, like most Persian styles is copied by other areas of Iran as well as other countries. Their pattern is almost always curvilinear. One traditional design is an elongated diamond-shape and lobed medallion with floral pendants.

Kerman-Kerman rugs are woven in the city of Kerman in Southeastern Iran and several small towns and villages in the vicinity. The pattern of Kerman rugs is almost always curvilinear with the exception of the famous Kerman pictorials. Kerman rugs are woven in a variety of intricate designs form cartoons.

Lavar-The name Lavar is used to describe two types of rugs. The first type are rugs woven in the town of Lavar, located in the northeast of Kerman, which produces rugs mainly in the Kerman style. One special Lavar design is called the ‘Thousand Flower' which small flowers cover the entire field of the rug. Lavar is also used to describe the highest quality rugs made in and around Kerman.

Mashad-Mashad is the capital city of the province of Khorasan in northeastern Iran. This holy city is located in eastern Iran. They mostly produce larger rugs that are curvilinear with round medallions and elongated corner designs in reds with navy medallions, corners and borders.

Nain-The city of Nain is located in the central Iranian province of Esfahan. They are known worldwide for their fine weave and extremely detailed curvilinear designs, similar to Esfahan rugs both in design and construction. The main difference is the Nain more commonly uses animals, especially birds are used in the background of the rugs. The colors used in the Nain rugs tend to be soft in the whites, ivories, beiges, light blues, navies, camels and burgundy accents.

Quom-Qum rugs are woven in workshops of Qum, a city of northwest central Iran. Qum rugs are most commonly woven with silk, either 100% silk pile and foundation, part wool and part silk, and can be found in all wool. They are known for curvilinear designs as well as a panel design with pictorals inside each compartment.

Sarouk-Sarouk is a village located in the province of Markazi in central Iran. In general these rugs are of very high quality. They can be geometric as well as curvilinear. They come in 2 types of traditional and American Sarouk rugs. The traditional designs consist of herati motifs in either an all-over or medallion layout in colors of red, blue, burnt orange, orcher and champagne. The American Sarouk design is of disconnected floral sprays, which branch out from a floral medallion. Sometimes these rugs have an open field similar to Kermans. The main colors used are rich reds and blues.

Tabriz-Tabriz rugs are woven in Tabriz and the vicinity. Tabriz is the capital of Eastern-Azerbaijan province in northwest Iran and one of the most important rug weaving centers in Iran. Tabriz is one of the most important rug weaving centers in all of Iran. Tabriz rugs are the most diverse of Iran using different Persian and universal designs and motifs in their weaving. A distinguishing characteristic of Tabriz rugs is the multitude of colors used in one rug.

These are popular Tribal designs which are named after a city and/or tribal name.

Afshar-Afshar rugs are woven by nomads and villagers residing between the cities of Shiraz, Kerman and Yadz in southern Iran. They are generally small rugs and are made up to a 5x7 size. Afshar rugs are similar to caucasion rugs in geometric style and color. The most common design is multiple connected medallions in diamond, hexagon or octagonal shape, or a huge hexagon medallion almost covering the entire field.

Ardibil- Ardabil is a town located in the province of Azerbaijan in northwestern Iran. The motifs used in Ardabil rugs, similar to Caucasion rugs are predominantly geometric in pattern like the Afshar rugs, however, the borders have more motifs and objects woven in them. The rugs come in background colors of turquoise, buff, cream, navy and light green.

Baluch-These are tribal rugs, hand woven, made in the southern part of Iran by nomadic Baluch tribes. The colors of Baluch rugs are usually predominantly a rich burgundy with some navy and ivory. They either have an overall pattern or a prayer rug design. All Baluch Persian rugs are one-of-a-kind.

Bakhtiari-Bakhtiari rugs are woven in the province of Chahar, Mahal and Bakhtiari located in west central Iran. The Bakhtiari pattern tends to be mostly geometric, sometimes semi-geometric and seldom curvilinear. What distinguishes the rugs from others are their bright colors and designs tend to be crowded. The commonly used colors are deep reds, bright blues, navy, green, brown and ivory. The most common Bakhtiari design is a paneled garden design which consists of square, rectangular, diamond or hexagon compartments filled with a floral motif.

Bidjar-Bidjar rugs are mainly woven in the town of Bidjar and its surrounding villages. Bidjar is located in the province of Kurdistan in the northwest of Iran. The pattern of Bidjar rugs is a combination of curvilinear and geometric. The most commonly used colors consist of navy, red, brown, light blue, pink, yellow, orange and ivory. One of the most common motifs used in Bidjar rugs is the herati motif. This motif can be seen in both the all-over design and medallion layouts. The signature design of the Bidjar rugs is the herati medallion and corner, which is a very large hexagon shape medallion usually with pendants.

Ferahan-is a village located in the province of Markazi in Central Iran. Most Ferahan rugs have a geometric pattern although some curvilinear rugs are woven in Ferahan as well. These high quality rugs are mainly woven by the asymmetrical knot on cotton foundation.

Gabbeh-The gabbeh is a very unique hand-woven tribal Persian rug, made by nomadic people in southern Iran. This rugs distinct style of weaving is especially suitable for modern or contemporary settings. It combines a heavy coarse pile with bold colors and shapes in unusual and exciting combinations. Gabbeh designs are extremely simple and uncluttered with large fields, bold stripes and geometric human or animal shapes.

Hamadan-Hamedan rugs are made in the city and in the surrounding area of Hamedan in northwestern Iran. Hamadans are quite durably constructed due to the rugged wool spun from hardy sheep in the higher and cooler altitudes. They are often recognized for the fringe being on only one side because the weft threads are looped over the top bar, rather than tied off one by one.

Heriz-Heriz rugs are produced by Azerbaijan Turkish inhabitants of the city of Heriz in northwestern Iran. They are famous among designers because of their soft earth tone colors and geometric pattern. While no two Heriz rugs are identical, they tend to have recognizable similarity. Most have a large medallion embedded within a lighter field and the main color of the rug is some shade of red/rust.

Malayer-Mayaler belongs within the Hamadan district, lying 30 miles south of Hamadan and 75 miles north of Arak. They produce predominantly single wafted rugs but which are often much finer than the Hamadan.

Senneh-Senneh rugs are made in Sanandaj, formerly known as Senneh, the capital city of the province of Kurdistan in northwest of Iran. Although rugs of Senneh are similar to the Bidjar rugs and rugs of other Kurdish tribes, in some ways, they still have their own distinguishing characteristics. The pattern of Senneh rugs is almost always geometric. The most common motif seen in Senneh rugs is the herati motif. Often this motif is woven in an all-over pattern.

Shiraz-Shiraz is an ancient city in central Iran, which produces a very warm and comfortable series of handmade Persian rugs. The designs are very simple and favored by many people who appreciate the warmth of a tribal carpet. They are often somewhat crudely done with the pile cut long with the predominance of red as the main field color. Along with geometric motifs, small animals or plants are often seen in parts of these rugs. The selvages are almost always done with a barber-pole effect using two colors.

Decorating with Persian rugs can be intimidating. If possible, always start with the carpet first, there is a multitude of options in furniture and fabrics to go with the carpet you love rather than selecting the rug to go with the furniture and fabrics that already exist. The Persian rug is a piece of art that will be with you for generations to come. With Persian designs and styles from Classic to Tribal to Transitional, Today a Persian rug will adapt to any style home as they are unique and mostly one-of-a-kind true Artisan rugs!