If you are thinking to change your interior décor, the first thing that comes to your mind is Handmade Persian Rugs. Amongst all other rug styles, Persian Rugs are the most preferable handmade rugs. Centuries ago, Emperors used to décor their forts and castles with Persian rugs. These rugs are insignia of grace, luxury and comfort, which shows the hedonistic regimes of the Persian kings of that era.
Let's scroll the Pages of Antiquity
Chapter 1 - The first known Persian rug was encountered in the 13th Century, which was recognized by a well known archaeologist and traveler Marco Polo, in the Southeast region (modern Persia).
Chapter 2 - Shah Abbas I, the great monarch of Iran (Persia) during the 16th Century, reveals exquisitely handmade gold and silver threaded Persian Rugs as a tribute to the Ottoman Empire. With the introduction, these graceful and luxurious carpets rapidly became renowned in the west.
Chapter 3 - Between 16th century and 18th century, these rugs rapidly raised their dominance in Iran (Persia) and produced a huge amount of different patterns - Kirman, Herat, Heriz, Nain, Mashhad, Qum, Isfahan, Hamadan, Bakhtiari, Kasan, Tabriz, Farahan, Tribal, etc. Persians were struck with their detailings, one or a number of motifs and adorable layouts, which make them feel grace, luxury and comfort.
Chapter 4 - At the Pazyryk Valley in 1949, in an archaeological excavation, archaeologists revealed the oldest known Persian rug named as the Pazyryk carpet from the grave of a Scythian prince. Radiocarbon testing identified it as a 5th Centurian rug and is indicated as a proof of evolution and experience in Iranian weaving.
Motifs and Material
Motifs are considered for the patterns and design layouts that generally used in weaving of a rug, which may be all-over, central medallion, compartment and one-sided. It may differentiate according to the weaving area. Sometimes, we see multiple motifs used in a single carpet, which shows the culture and evolution of weaving techniques by the influence of other tribes.
The Persian motif generally contains a fixed layout with a little alteration that separate one from others. The traditional design contains - Principal broader border, secondary borders (external and internal), central medallion and écoinçons outside.
For the sheer luxury and grace, Persian weavers were used wool as the main weaving material. Since then, wool is the main fabric for carpets, but Cotton is also used for the groundwork. Although, weavers incorporate some other fabrics in weaving adorable handmade rugs such as Silk, fiber, etc, but the preferable choice is always wool variety due to their comfort, durability and economic value.
Other than their motifs and materials, their rich color and fine quality mesmerize everyone. They complement all kinds of interiors, whatever design, color or pattern will be used there.
Techniques and structures
Looms, piles and knots are the fundamental thing to identify the quality. Knot counts per square inch denotes durability and quality of weaving technique. It may vary between 16 to 800 knots per square inch depending on the motif.
Weaving of a handmade rug is a difficult and tedious process, which contains knot counts, welt wraps, fringes, fabrics, etc. It may take a few months to several years to complete, depending on the quality and the size. For an example: the largest handmade rug, measuring 4,343 square meters, 'Carpet of Wonder' in the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Muscat in the Sultanate of Oman crafted in four years by 600 workers!
