Sarouk

Sarough is a large village which is located near Arak in west-central Iran. It is an important and historic center in the region, with a respected, romantic name in carpet weaving. The models usually incorporate floral vines, with red and navy as predominant colors, generally carried out in wool of very high quality.
History & Construction
A rug-producing district is very important in Iran, Arak (formerly known as Sultanabad) and located in northwest central Iran, south of the province of Zanjan Province Markad. Some of these areas include Mahallat, and Ferahan Lylyan and some of the towns and villages most prominent are: Malayer, Meshkabad, Mirabad, Seraband, Sarough, Jozani, with many small Kurdish villages and factories. All these villages produce carpets that are introduced in Arak. There were strong influences on Kurdish weaving their way of Turkey and some traces of the ascendant can also be seen. Arak was in the Manchester firm of Ziegler first opened an office in 1883. Originally an importer, the company soon realized the financial benefits of starting a carpet factory in this region to produce the items to be introduced in Europe and USA. It is estimated that by the turn of the century, Ziegler controlled over 2,500 frames in this district. The Mahallat produces very high quality Sarough Mahal and also produces exquisite pieces. Lylyans tends to see more tribal rugs made in as many smaller villages. Ferahans Serabands and are very recognizable by their high quality fabrics and rich history. Mirabad also produces a very high quality carpets known as the MIR. The material used for the pile and usually wool, dyes that are mainly vegetables. The rugs are woven using the Persian asymmetrical knot. Although not rare in older or antique pieces, silk is rarely used. In rare cases the cover has a lot of wool and silk. Cotton, or more rarely of goat hair, and used for the foundation and the pile is hand-spun from the weaver’s own sheep.

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Visibility: SAROUK (SARUGH) rugs and carpets are characterized by both curvilinear and geometric patterns and come in both traditional and American styles. The traditional designs consist of Herati, boteh, or gul hannai motifs in either an all-over or medallion layout. The medallion layout could have a hexagonal, oval, diamond, round, or angular floral shape. The most interesting traditional design is a medallion-and-corner layout which consists of geometric yet very naturalistic floral motifs. SAROUK (SARUQ) rugs and carpets are very famous, however, it is not easy to determine true SAROUKs (SARUQs) from those of neighboring villages and cities.

Quality: SAROUK (SARUQ) rugs and carpets are of excellent quality. Antique (1900) SAROUK (SARUQ) rugs and carpets are of extremely high quality and are being collected by museums and private collectors. After WWII, the quality SAROUK (SARUQ) rugs and carpets dropped for a brief period. Now carpets some of which are of the very highest quality are being exported all over the world, and especially to Europe and America.

Size & Shapes: SAROUK (SARUQ) rugs and carpets come in different sizes, but the majority of them are mid-size (4 x 6 to 8 x 10 feet).

Color: The main colors used in the traditional designs are red, blue, burnt orange, ocher, and champagne. The main colors used in American SAROUK (SARUQ) rugs and carpets are rich reds and blues. Sometimes the motifs are outlined with a lighter red, light yellow, or turquoise to create contrast between the background and the motifs, especially in the case of open field designs. An intense salmon pink called dughi pink is typical of American Saruks; this color is obtained by adding yogurt or curdled milk to the dye mixture. Other colors such as soft green, blue, and brown are found in newer carpets.

Texture: New SAROUK (SARUQ) rugs and carpets are made from excellent wool, cut medium high to high. Older pieces are often hard, woven in lustrous top quality wool, KORK (baby lamb's wool), and cut very short to short.

Foundation: Warps is mostly cotton; wefts is also cotton.

Knots: Inspection of the back of the carpet is important because the weavers in SAROUK (SARUQ) use Persian knots. In antique SAROUK (SARUQ) rugs and carpets, you can also find Turkish knots. The quality of the carpet depends upon the number of knots, which varies, but usually averages from around 120 KPSI (30 RAJ) up to 475 KPSI (60 RAJ).