Persian Carpet

The Persian carpet is an essential part of Persian art and culture.The art of carpet weaving existed in Iran in ancient times. The oldest carpet called Pazyryk carpet which is rare beauty and woven with great technical skill. It was found preserved in the frozen tombs of Scythian chiefs, which were 2400 to 2500 years old during the Achaemenid period. The Iranians were among the pioneer carpet weavers of the ancient civilizations, having achieved a superlative degree of perfection through centuries of creativity and ingenuity. To trace the history of Persian carpet is to follow a path of cultural growth of one of the greatest civilizations the world has ever known.

When Cyrus conquered Babylon in 539 BC, he was struck by its splendour, and it was probably he who introduced the art of carpet making into Persia. It is said that the tomb of Cyrus, who was buried at Pasargadae (Persepolis), was covered with precious carpets. Even before his time, it is very likely that Persian nomads knew about the use of Knotted carpets. Their herds of sheep and goats provided them with high quality and durable wool for this purpose.

Perhaps the most important time in the history of Persian carpets came with the accession to power of the Safavid rulers (1499 - 1722). Indeed the first concrete proofs of this craft date back to this period. Approximately 1500 examples are preserved in various museums and in private collections world-wide. During the reign of Shah Abbas (1571 - 1629), He also created a court workshop for carpets where skilled designers and craftsmen set to work to create splendid specimens. Most of these carpets were made of silk, with gold and silver threads adding even more embellishment.

Wool is the most common material for carpets but cotton is frequently used for the foundation of city and workshop carpets. There is a wide variety in types of wool used for weaving. Those of which include Kork wool, Manchester wool, and in some cases even camel hair wool. Silk carpets date back to at least the sixteenth century in Sabzevar and the seventeenth century in Kashan and Yazd. Silk carpets are less common than wool carpets since silk is more expensive and less durable; they tend to increase in value with age. Due to their rarity, value and lack of durability, silk carpets are often displayed on the wall like tapestries rather than being used as floor coverings. Today, Carpet weaving is by far the most widespread handicraft in Iran; it is also the best-known one abroad. Persian carpets are renowned for their richness of colour, variety of patterns and quality of design.

By: Pegah Peyman