TRADITIONAL PERSIAN RUGS & KILIMS

Rug weaving in Iran “Persia” began as early as the fifteenth and sixteenth century during the Safavid dynasty. The Safavid shahs were great patrons of the art and brought skilled craftsmen from all over the empire (to modern day cities including Tabriz, Esfahan and Kerman) to produce fine pieces with elegant curving designs that were woven with the finest materials on offer. These designs included leaves, flowers, palmettes, rosettes and other graceful and intricate patterns that are found on current day Persian handmade rugs. Most Persian rugs and carpets are floral in design woven in cities including Nain, Esfahan, Tabriz and others, however there are geometric designs also that originate from areas including Heriz, Gashgai, Baktiaris and others.

In general, the colours, designs and materials used for weaving Persian rugs are constant within each weaving city or village. For example with Nain rugs, you can find wool pile rugs with accents of silk usually outlining or highlighting the intricate design, whilst with Qum rugs you can find them being woven with silk warp and silk weft. Saffar’s collection of Persian rugs have been individually hand selected to provide you with a selection that is second to none.