Kerman Rugs

Kerman is an ancient city, with an incredible history going back over thousands of years. Marco Polo was one of the first westerners to view Kerman rugs. The city, a major center for trading and weaving, is located in the central south-eastern section of Iran, in the province that bears its name. Since the early 1500s, the Kerman area has been a center of workshop weaving. The arts thrived in the area because the province was relatively isolated with little interference from invasions. The dry climate with little rain also attributed to the predominance of the arts over agriculture. The area was well-known for paisley (Botteh Motif) hand-woven shawls in the 18th. and the 19th. century until the decline of the shawl industry brought about the reintroduction of commercial rug production around 1880’s. The Kerman weavers, who had perfected the paisley or boteh motif in their shawls, found they could easily adapt to the curvilinear floral designs dictated by the commercial rug industry’s demands. In the 16th century during the Safavid Dynasty, Kerman rugs first surfaced and were welcomed open arms by the wealthiest citizens of Persia. Around the 19th century, the village of Kerman was destroyed amidst civil strife. Most of Kerman’s weavers escaped to the village of Laver in the north of the region where they resumed the creation of their rugs. Because of this mass migration, the Persian Kerman rugs are sometimes referred to as the Laver Kerman or Laver rugs and carpets. The Kerman Oriental rug (Kirman), like the Sarouk Oriental Rug, is an example of a Persian city rug. Kerman rugs and carpets are perhaps one of the most recognizable within the antique Persian rug category. The rugs were most keenly distributed and sold throughout Europe soon after they surfaced.

Kerman rugs are renowned for their distinctive design patterns and elaborate pictorials derived from Persian as well as European themes. Traditional Kerman designs range from Shah Abbasi medallion-and-corner, garden, vase, tree of life, hunting and animals to all-over boteh, all-over floral and stripes. The most recognized Kerman rug design is the vase or boteh rug pattern, which consists of an all-over pattern of vases or boteh strewn all over the rug against a background of floral motifs and palmettes. This busy, attractive pattern is hugely popular with homeowners as well as rug collectors. Two other Kerman rug styles that showcase the superior craftsmanship of these master weavers are the assortment of exquisite curvilinear all-over design patterns and the complex central Kerman Medallion and corner with elaborate edges. Other patterns include the finer Kerman Lavar style with garden, tree-of-life, vase, and all-over mille flower designs, or the many pictorials which tell the story of a significant figure or event in history. The vase design carpets originated during the Safavid dynasty, and are among the greatest masterpieces of Persian weaving. They are referred to as “vase carpets” because of the elaborate floral patterns and large palmettos that cover the carpet’s entire the body-frame. They are normally found in the traditional colors of red and blue. The carpet’s dyes are used to create a soft and subtle tone of color in its pattern design; more-so, Kerman rugs are usually lightly dyed to bring out its elegance. The Kerman rugs were weaved by a group of master craftsmen highly reputed for their excellent weaving skills. The Kerman rug would take upwards of a year to be finished. Through their incredible abilities, the Kerman rug gained a thoroughly sturdy and constructive finishing. The Kerman rug’s craftsmen had a special weaving technique. For each knot, there were three turns– the first and last had far more tension than the one in the middle. In the process, that sturdy and well-constructed finish was given life. The knots can be considered asymmetrical tight Persian knots. The knots produced in these rugs were on average 120 – 800 knots per square inch which made these rugs denser than any other Persian rugs. The foundation of the Kerman rug is cotton and silky Carmania wool, giving it a soft and stable texture. The antique Kerman can be found in room size and area size set-ups. The rug’s sizes are commonly 9 x 12 area rugs to 10 x 14 feet, and the area sizes commonly found range up from 4 x 6 Oriental Rugs. These Kerman rugs can also be found in palace size forms and runners, but they are extremely hard to find. Those can range up from 10 feet to 15 feet long and wide. The Kerman carpets have been a terrific art investment as well as delightful in home decor. They have the sophistication of adding a particular theme to whatever room they decorate. Come and stop by our gallery to find Fine Antique Sultanabad carpets at 410 Olive.