The Ahar rug, also known as Ahar carpet, is a type of Persian carpet made in the town of Ahar, located in the town of Ahar County which was the capital of Karadag Khanate in Iran. [1]
The name of the rug references the city and region of origin. [2]
Over the last 30 years, Ahar rugs have emerged as a recognizable group in the marketplace, and they are sold in many parts of Iran outside their town of origin.
Ahar carpets are woven by people who live in Ahar county as well as by nomads in the region. [3] They are made in Ahar city and villages including Qunigh, Arpaliq, Cheshme Vazan, GangalAbad, ZandAbad, Galandar, Bohol, Afil, Nagareh koob, Vardin, Qarajeh, Qurchi Kandi, Mazraeh-ye Hajj Abedin, Mazraeh-ye Mazare, Kaqalaq and Kalhur. [4]
The design incorporates a large medallion, [5] and it is geometric with curvilinear elements. [6] Thus, it is characterized as a rectilinear medallion-spandrel design. [4]
An Ahar rug may be recognized by its blue wefts, especially in the medallions. [7] [6] The background is generally some shade of red, brick, or rose, and the large corners, created by the spandrels, are typically ivory-colored. [5] [6]
A standard Ahar rug measures approximately 9 x 12 feet. [6] It is designed with a higher knot count, thought not exceeding that of many carpets with geometric design. The rug has a cotton or wool [5] base with a knot density of 65 symmetrical knots per square inch. [7] The rugs are known for their quality compared to other Persian handmade rugs. [6]
It is a distinctive carpet in the Heriz group of carpets. [8] [9] It is influenced by the Heriz and Tabriz styles. [6]
A carpet is a textile floor covering typically consisting of an upper layer of pile attached to a backing. The pile was traditionally made from wool, but since the 20th century synthetic fibers such as polypropylene, nylon, or polyester have often been used, as these fibers are less expensive than wool. The pile usually consists of twisted tufts that are typically heat-treated to maintain their structure. The term carpet is often used in a similar context to the term rug, but rugs are typically considered to be smaller than a room and not attached to the floor.
A Persian carpet, Persian rug, or Iranian carpet is a heavy textile made for a wide variety of utilitarian and symbolic purposes and produced in Iran, for home use, local sale, and export. Carpet weaving is an essential part of Persian culture and Iranian art. Within the group of Oriental rugs produced by the countries of the "rug belt", the Persian carpet stands out by the variety and elaborateness of its manifold designs.
Knot density is a traditional measure for quality of handmade or knotted pile carpets. It refers to the number of knots, or knot count, per unit of surface area - typically either per square inch (kpsi) or per square centimeter (kpsc), but also per decimeter or meter. Number of knots per unit area is directly proportional to the quality of carpet. Density may vary from 25 to 1,000 knots per square inch or higher, where ≤80 kpsi is poor quality, 120 to 330 kpsi is medium to good, and ≥330 kpsi is very good quality. The inverse, knot ratio, is also used to compare characteristics. Knot density = warp×weft while knot ratio = warp/weft. For comparison: 100,000/square meter = 1,000/square decimeter = 65/square inch = 179/gereh.
Uşak carpets, Ushak carpets or Oushak Carpets are Turkish carpets that use a particular family of designs, called by convention after the city of Uşak, Turkey – one of the larger towns in Western Anatolia, which was a major center of rug production from the early days of the Ottoman Empire, into the early 20th century.
A Tabriz rug or carpet is a type in the general category of Persian carpets from the city of Tabriz, the capital city of East Azerbaijan province in northwest of Iran. It is one of the oldest rug weaving centers and makes a huge diversity of types of carpets. The range starts at Bazaar quality of 24 raj and on up to the incredibly fine 110 raj. Raj is the unit of knot density. It shows the rigidity of the rug which based on the number of strings used for the foundation of the rug. Strings materials are usually made of cotton or silk which is used for very fine rugs.
An oriental rug is a heavy textile made for a wide variety of utilitarian and symbolic purposes and produced in "Oriental countries" for home use, local sale, and export.
Arak rugs, otherwise known as Arak carpets, are made in the province of Arak, Iran. Technically, all rugs from Arak can be considered Arak rugs but those termed Sarouk are marked as of the best quality, while the more general term Arak is used for rugs of lesser quality. Meshkabad used to be the term for the worst quality rugs, but such rugs are now called mahal or Arak. Araks are much more coarsely knotted than the rugs of than Sarouk rugs. Their designs are quite similar, although rather more crudely executed, and often display bold floral medallions set against open fields.
Heriz rugs are Persian rugs from the area of Heris in northwest Iran, northeast of Tabriz. Such rugs are produced in the village of the same name in the slopes of Mount Sabalan. Heriz carpets are durable and hard-wearing and they can last for generations. 19th century examples of such carpets are often found on sale by major auction houses in United States and Europe. Part of the reason for the toughness of Heriz carpets is that Mount Sabalan sits on a major deposit of copper. Traces of copper in the drinking water of sheep produces high quality wool that is far more resilient than wool from other areas. The Heris Carpet is the only carpet in the world where stories of the Old times are woven.
Anatolian rug or Turkish carpet is a term of convenience, commonly used today to denote rugs and carpets woven in Anatolia and its adjacent regions. Geographically, its area of production can be compared to the territories which were historically dominated by the Ottoman Empire. It denotes a knotted, pile-woven floor or wall covering which is produced for home use, local sale, and export, and religious purpose. Together with the flat-woven kilim, Anatolian rugs represent an essential part of the regional culture, which is officially understood as the Culture of Turkey today, and derives from the ethnic, religious and cultural pluralism of one of the most ancient centres of human civilisation.
Ardabil rugs originate from Ardabil located in the province of Ardabil Province in northwestern Iran, 639 kilometers from Tehran. Ardabil has a long and illustrious history of Persian carpet weaving.
Sarab is a city in the Central District of Sarab County, East Azerbaijan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Sarab is famous for its rugs.
A Pakistani rug, also known as Pakistani carpet, is a type of handmade floor-covering heavy textile traditionally made in Pakistan and is used for a wide variety of utilitarian and symbolic purposes. Rug/carpet weaving is an essential part of Pakistani culture and Pakistani art.
Bakshaish rugs and carpets are a tapestry from the village of Bakshaish in north-west Iran. Bakshaish is situated in the mountainous region 30 miles east of the large city of Tabriz. Its rugs are notable for their abstract adaptations of old tribal and classical Persian motifs.
In 1292, Marco Polo was the first to make mention of the Konya carpets in writing when he called them the most beautiful in the world. Konya carpets are named for the region in which they were made. Renamed from the Greek “Iconium” when the Seljuk Sultans of Rum made it their capital, Konya is one of the largest, oldest and continuously occupied cities in Asia Minor.
Sultanabad rugs and carpets are floor coverings of distinctive design made in Arak, Iran since the 19th century.
A Sarouk rug is a type of Persian rug from Markazi province in Iran. Sarouk rugs are those woven in the village of Saruk and also the city of Arak and the surrounding countryside.
The Dilmaghani family, the oldest existing manufacturers of hand knotted carpets and oriental rugs, can be traced back to the 1850s Qajar dynasty, Persia. In an industry which largely produces untitled items often identifiable only by experts, the history and lineage of any name relating to specific types of rugs for so many decades is unusual. Through the 1960s, the Dilmaghani family was still designing, manufacturing and importing Persian carpets from Iran to the United States. Dilmaghani is seen as an important connection of 19th and 20th century Persian rug and carpet production in and around the cities of Tabriz and Kermān. Dilmaghani remained as of 1980 among the best known names of branded hand knotted carpets.
Varamin carpets and rugs or Veramin carpets and rugs are carpets and rugs woven in city of Varamin and its surrounding area, southeast of Tehran. Many rug and carpet experts see Varamins as being among those Persian carpets most authentic in terms of traditional style and motif.
Afshar is a handwoven rug style produced by the Turkic Afshar tribe, a semi-nomadic group principally located in the mountainous areas surrounding the modern region of Iranian Azerbaijan. An additional population of Afshar tribes-people is located in the Kuchan area in Razavi Khorasan Province of Iran and city of Kerman. Carpets in the Afshar style are known for their stylized floral geometric designs, tribal artistry, and a characteristic palette of rust and blue color tones.
Anatolian animal carpets represent a special type of pile-woven carpet, woven in the geographical region of Anatolia during the Seljuq and early Ottoman period, corresponding to the 14th–16th century. Very few animal-style carpets still exist today, and most of them are in a fragmentary state. Animal carpets were frequently depicted by Western European painters of the 14th–16th century. By comparison of the few surviving carpets with their painted counterparts, these paintings helped to establish a timeline of their production, and support our knowledge about the early Turkish carpet.
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