If you’ve ever seen a Persian carpet, you know it’s a beautiful work of art. But what distinguishes a Persian carpet from others? Well, the name Persia refers to a part of the world that includes Iran and Turkey, both once part of the Persian Empire. It’s a region famous for rug weaving.

When we talk of carpets, involuntarily, the name of Iran comes to mind. The great art experts of the world believe this fact. The 2 words of carpet and Iran are synonymous in any language, therefore, carpets being the obvious symbol of the Iranian talent in art.

We can positively affirm that the finest and the most sumptuous carpets of the world are woven in Iran. The art of carpet weaving in Iran is deeply connected with the culture and the customs of the people of this land and it sources from their instinctive feelings. Iranian skillful carpet weavers mix wonderful patterns with admirable colors, an art which is only expected from outstanding painters. Art experts in the world compare the Iranian carpet to a multicolored pleasant garden, full of flowers, vegetables, birds and beasts and terrestrial and legendary creatures. Everyone can possess this little charming garden in his house.

Hand woven rugs have a certain built-in value that ranks them above machine-made products. Hand-made labor is more costly and carries with it a certain expectation of care and quality. Hand-made carpets involve an endless series of choices and decisions, minor twists and turns, that collectively give the piece its personality and presence, something that the finest machine made carpet lacks.

In Iran, Kerman has been the home of a thriving carpet weaving industry for centuries. Kerman’s hand-woven, knotted pile carpets are widely regarded by art historians and collectors as among the finest in the world for the quality of their materials and workmanship, their distinct range of attractive styles, and the use of vibrant colors supplied by Kerman’s famed master dyers. The carpet weaving craft as practiced in Kerman developed from a variety of influences, many of them external to Kerman. Kerman carpets are one of the traditional classifications of Persian carpets.

Kerman rugs are prized for a wide range of designs, a broad palette, use of natural dyes and fibers, great tensile strength and abrasion resistance, and expert color combinations. Typical manufacturing used an asymmetrical knot on cotton foundation, but rare examples include silk or part silk piles, or silk foundations with wool pile.

Because of the tremendous demand for rugs produced in Kerman and the complex demographics of this demand, a surprising variety of styles and designs are produced. Some Kerman rugs are woven explicitly for moneyed buyers from the West, some for local consumers with very different tastes.

Damask Rose is the most popular motif in Kerman rug designs, particularly in “Sabzikar Ravar” and “Gol Sorkhi” (Red Rose) rugs. Other well-known motifs are “Ghab Ghora’ani”, “Setooni”, “Ghabi”, “Kheshti”, “Saraam Atiyeh”, “Jangali”, “Shekargah” and “Lachak-Toranj”. Kerman antique carpets often use the Toranj motif border of margins and narrow lines. Floral patterns woven into Kerman carpets in the 19th century are derived from the patterns of Kerman shawls, also made in Kerman at this time.

But how is this old traditional artistic work produced?!

The materials that go into weaving rugs are as important as the design and workmanship. They contribute enormously to the overall impression of the rug – its color, texture, tactile feel, and above all its durability. Wool, Cotton, Silk, Dyes

By weaving, a process of creating a textile by interlacing threads, Persian carpet is made. Weaving is done on a loom, a frame-like piece of equipment that holds two basic types of threads.

1. Warp threads run vertically, attached to the loom frame and held in tension.
2. Weft threads run horizontally and are interlaced with warp threads.

Most Persian carpet are made by hand, and their width is determined by the width of the loom on which they are made. Persian carpets may be made of natural fibers like cotton, silk or wool.

Now let’s explore a few types of rugs and techniques for making them.

Knot Techniques

Persian carpets are famous for a luxurious thick pile or carpet surface (the stuff you run your fingers and toes through) that’s made by weaving with an important step added. During weaving, many hand-tied knots are added in rows to the warp threads. Then weft threads are interlaced above them and packed down with a comb to hold the knots in place.

The knots form the surface texture and image. Knot density, or the number of knots used within a square inch area, varies by region and rug type. It can sometimes signal a very high quality rug.

Another factor involving knots is knot type, or how the knot is tied to warp threads. It also tends to vary according to the geographic area in which the rug is made.

Knot Types

Knot types include the Persian or Senneh knot, also known as the ‘asymmetrical’ knot. In this knot, yarn wraps around one warp thread, passes under a neighboring warp, and then goes out to the surface.

Many Persian knots fit into a small area and are often used for detailed designs. The Turkish or Ghiorde knot, also known as the ‘symmetrical’ knot, has yarn wrapped around two warp threads. Each end of the yarn piece is then wrapped behind a warp and brought to the surface. This creates a more durable rug.

And then there’s the Jufti knot, used in a specific area of Iran, in which a yarn is wrapped around four warp threads.

A trained weaver can work quickly, but it’s still a time-consuming process and it may take up to two years to complete a rug. When weaving is completed, the pile surface of the rug has to be carefully shaved to ensure all the yarns are the same height — this way the design is clear and crisp.

Flat Weave Carpets

Another type of Persian carpet is a flat weave rug known as a kilim. These rugs don’t have knotted pile and they use many special types of weaving techniques that involve skipping a certain number of warp or weft threads to make designs.

One of these techniques is called slit weaving, in which gaps are left between the boundaries in the weft threads of color blocks that are woven to form the patterns on the carpet. Another method, called dove tailing, connects the borders between color blocks by interlocking weft threads. This creates blurrier edges to the design.