Isfahan

Among the finest handmade rugs ever made, Isfahan rugs are the pinnacle of Persian carpets. In an enchanted city, renowned for its taste and finesse, these carpets are of great delicacy and utmost complexity. The city of Isfahan holds pride of place in the Persian rug industry because of its reputation and rich history dating from the sixteenth century. Most Isfahan carpets are accurately detailed in wool and silk, often on a base of pure silk. Until the middle of the twentieth century colors were mostly stronger, like bold reds and blues on the ubiquitous beige. But after that comes the visible influence of the international project, with more subdued ranges of subtler colors. Still, the sight of curvilinear vines snaking over a field that carry around a stylish exquisite medallion, especially if the long fringes glisten silkily edged magnificent, the word ‘Isfahan’ tends to spring to his lips. Designs include the drawing and diagrams of tree-of-life, as well as the field of Shah Abbas, with its floral vines.
History & Construction
In addition to the legendary city central Iran, including Tehran, Isfahan, Kashan, Yazd and Kerman, there are many smaller towns scattered throughout this area that also weave carpets of very high quality. Some of these small towns near Tehran are Veramin, Tafresh, Boroujerdi, Khomaine and Taleghani and, near Isfahan, and Najafabad, and the village of Josheghan Maymeh. There is also no near Kashan that produce carpets purposes, such as Yazd and Ardekan. Isfahan and Kashan, being one of the pioneers of the sixteenth century, had enormous influence on their surroundings. Najafabad draw the designs of Isfahan and Yazd and Ardekan famous designs of Kashan, almost undistinguishable. An expert weaver in one of these cities will work directly on a carpet for many years. The famous asymmetrical Persian knot is generally to use. The materials can be all wool, all silk or a mixture of both. The basis and usually cotton, except in parts very fine, which can be pure silk. Although rugs produced in the main cities of this region are technically superior to those produced on the outskirts, these pieces from the smaller central cities of Iran are still among the best. Many carpets from this area have been known to last hundreds of years.

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Visibility: ISFAHAN rugs and carpets are very symmetrical and balanced and usually have a single medallion surrounded with whorls (vines) and palmettos.

Quality: ISFAHAN rugs and carpets are usually of excellent quality. The most famous master weaver in ISFAHAN is Seirafian. There are many FAKE SEIRAFIAN signed rugs and carpets. Be careful!

Size & Shapes: ISFAHAN carpets have different sizes, but the majority of them are mid-size (4 x 6 to 8 x 10 feet). You can also find large rugs up to 10 x 18 feet.

Color: ISFAHAN rugs and carpets usually have ivory backgrounds with blue, rose, and indigo motifs.

Texture: Soft wool; very tight pile.

Foundation: Warp is mostly silk; weft is either cotton, wool, or silk. The majority of master workshop Isfahan rugs have silk warp. You can find cotton warp in older ISFAHAN rugs.

Knots: Weavers in ISFAHAN use Persian knots. You should check the back of the carpet because the quality of the carpet depends upon the number of knots, which varies, but averages from around 120 KPSI (30 RAJ) up to 842 KPSI (80 RAJ).