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Pictured is detail from the 16th-century "Mantes carpet," depicting animal and hunting scenes. Woven in northwestern Iran, the carpet once covered the floor of the collegiate church of Mantes-la-Jolie in Yvelines, France, hence its name.
The earliest known pile-woven carpet is the Pazyryk carpet. It was excavated in 1949 from the grave of a Scythian nobleman in the Pazyryk Valley of the Altai Mountains in Siberia. Woven sometime in the 5th century BCE, the artifact is believed by some experts to be the product of the contemporary Achaemenids of the First Persian Empire based in Western Asia and founded by Cyrus the Great.
Carpet weaving is an essential part of Persian culture and Iranian art. Carpets woven in towns and regional centers like Tabriz, Isfahan, and Qom are characterized by their specific weaving techniques and use of high-quality materials, colors, and patterns.
The Persian carpet stands out by the variety and elaborateness of its multifarious designs and superlative degree of perfection achieved through centuries of creativity and ingenuity. Pictured is the feline detail of a 16th-century carpet.
Carpets and rugs of various types have been woven in parallel since antiquity by nomadic tribes, in village and town workshops, and by royal court artisans. Therefore, Persian carpets represent miscellaneous, simultaneous lines of tradition, and reflect the history of Iran and its various peoples. Pictured is a woolen carpet from the 16th century enriched with gold and silver thread.
Symbolically, hunting represented skill, bravery, and masculinity and was often directly associated specifically with nobility and Persian royalty. As such, the majority of antique rugs depicting hunting scenes were created for royalty and were often made with more expensive materials like silk, exemplified in this detail of a 1550 carpet.
The Persian carpet reached its zenith during the reign of the Safavid dynasty in the 16th century. In fact, the carpets woven in the Safavid court manufactories of Isfahan during this period are famous for their elaborate colors and complex design.
Fine cashmere wool pile and silk on silk foundation were typical of the materials used to create hunting scenes. Tabriz, the capital of Persian Azerbaijan, was a major weaving center and justly famous for making carpets and rugs for nobility.
The skill of carpet weaving has been handed down by fathers to their sons, though women are equally adept at creating the most elaborate of designs.
Carpet weaving still plays a major part in the economy of modern Iran, and is by far the most widespread handicraft in the country.
One of the most famous Persian carpets in the world and considered a masterpiece of Safavid weaving is the Ardabil Carpet, in fact the name of two separate but identical examples. Woven in Tabriz around the years 1539–40, one is housed in London's Victoria and Albert Museum (pictured), the other in the Los Angles County Museum of Art.
Another magnificent 16th-century Safavid-era rug is the "Schwarzenberg Carpet," which is currently on display in The Mia (Museum of Islamic Art) in Qatar.
The huge decorative hand-woven wonder decorates the main prayer hall and measures an incredible 7,119 sq m (76,628 sq ft).
The Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates, contains the world's largest Persian carpet. (Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 3.0)
Pictured: a contemporary Iranian hand-woven carpet depicting portraits of famous world leaders and characters, including Abraham Lincoln, Mother Theresa, and Mahatma Gandhi.
Hand-woven Persian carpets and rugs have been regarded as objects of high artistic and utilitarian value and prestige since the first time they were mentioned by ancient Greek writers.
This is the bazaar in the center of the Iranian city of Tabriz, in the northwest of Iran. It is one of the largest and most impressive bazaars in the country and famous for its large covered construction, and its variety and quality of crafts, especially the range and workmanship of its carpets. In fact, town manufactories like those of Tabriz have played an important historical role in reviving the tradition of carpet weaving after periods of decline.
A Persian dinner party photographed in 1900 with food laid out on a carpet on the ground.
Depending on the quality and size of the rug, it may take anywhere from a few months to several years to complete a carpet. Persian carpets are mainly woven with two different knots: the asymmetrical Persian, or "Senneh" knot (pictured), and the symmetrical Turkish or "Giordes" knot. (Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 2.5)
The Toranj (medallion) is a special circular design of Iranian carpets. (Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 4.0)
Iranian master weavers also produce pictorial carpets—ornamental rugs specially prepared for hanging on room and hall walls for decoration. Generally made of silk but also crafted from wool, pictorial carpets are favorite gifts, with Qur'an verses hand-woven into the material a popular choice. (Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 3.0)
The Iranian city of Isfahan has long been one of the centers for production of the Persian carpet. Rugs made here are knotted on either silk or cotton foundations, with designs originally inspired by traditional architectural motifs and the great poets of Persia, such as Rumi, Hafez, and Attar. Pictured is the city's beautiful Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque.
While carpets woven in towns and regional centers are celebrated for their specific weaving techniques and use of high-quality materials, colors and patterns, carpets produced in small villages are known for their bolder and sometimes more coarse designs, which are considered as the most authentic and traditional rugs of Persia. These are known as Gabbeh rugs.
In 2010, the "traditional skills of carpet weaving" in Fars Province and Kashan were inscribed to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists.
The timeless appeal of a Persian carpet coupled with its rich aesthetic qualities makes this heavy textile an ideal decorative addition to any home or interior. Besides its artistic merit, a quality rug is also recognized for its investment value.
Sources: (Iran Chamber Society) (BBC) (Britannica)
Featuring basic patterns with only a limited number of decorative, mostly rectangular objects resembling mainly animals, Gabbeh rugs are made of natural, hand spun wool yarn and all the colors are created with natural plant dye. Pictured are two women at the loom in Ravar, Kerman Province. (Photo: Flickr/CC BY 2.0)
Persian carpets didn't specifically appear in Europe until the end of the 16th century. By the mid-17th century, they became increasingly popular among the very wealthy. In Vermeer’s 'Young Woman with a Water Pitcher' (c. 1662), the pitcher in question rests on a textured Persian carpet.
Traditional dyes used in Persian rugs are obtained from plants and insects. These days, however, the use of synthetic dyes is widespread. It takes a skilled eye to ascertain whether a carpet has been produced using natural or artificial dyes.
The history of the Persian carpet dates back 2,500 years. The Iranians, historically known as Persians, were among the pioneers of carpet weaving among ancient civilizations.
The sumptuous color and intricate design of a Persian carpet is the result of centuries of creativity and ingenuity achieved by some of the most skilled and imaginative artisans in the world. Carpet weaving has been an essential part of Persian culture and Iranian art for over 2,500 years. Today, Persian rugs and textiles can be admired in households and interiors across the globe. But what is the history behind this woven wonder, and what are its utilitarian and symbolic purposes?
Click through the following gallery for an appreciation of the Persian carpet.
The intricate beauty of the Persian carpet
Discover the rug's utilitarian and symbolic purposes
LIFESTYLE Textile
The sumptuous color and intricate design of a Persian carpet is the result of centuries of creativity and ingenuity achieved by some of the most skilled and imaginative artisans in the world. Carpet weaving has been an essential part of Persian culture and Iranian art for over 2,500 years. Today, Persian rugs and textiles can be admired in households and interiors across the globe. But what is the history behind this woven wonder, and what are its utilitarian and symbolic purposes?
Click through the following gallery for an appreciation of the Persian carpet.