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KASHAN

Kashan is a city in North Central Iran. We know that
there was production of Persian Carpet at Royal
workshops in the 17th and early 18th century. Many
authors attribute Persian Rugs and Carpet to
Kashan in the 16th century particularly of the
so-called small silk Kashan Persian Carpet group.
That is a leap of faith not nessasarily supported by
any published evidence I can see. The Persian
Carpet workshops ceased production in about 1722
after the Afghan invasion. Persian Carpet production
was very minor until the 20th century. Historically
Kashan was a major center in the garment trade. In
the late 19th century the market shifted and the local
industry went from fine wool cloth to fine wool
carpets

From the mid-19th to the early 20th century the
finest quality rugs from Kashan were  called
Mohtashem and said to be from the workshop of
"Mohtashem". Today it is generally assumed that
Mohtashem is an indication of fine Kerman workshop
production rather than a firm attribution. However
with the existence of some signed Mohtashem rugs it
is certain that the workshop existed. The early
Kashans were made with Manchester wool and are
softer, The change occurred in the 1930s.

Some of the best Kashans are from Ardistan and
excellent ones are also produced in Yezd and
Kashmar in Khorasan

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