ABOUT IRAN AND PERSIAN RUGS
Iran is located in Southwestern Asia, and it is bordered by
Armenia, Azerbaijan, the Caspian Sea, and Turkmenistan
on the north; Afghanistan and Pakistan on the east; Iraq
and Turkey on the west; and the Gulf of Oman, the Strait of
Hormuz, and the Persian Gulf on the south. The area of
Iran is 1,648,000 sq km (636,296 sq mi) with a population of
approximately 69 million. Iran was called Persia prior to the
Muslim conquest in the 7th century AD; however, it
continued to be known as Persia abroad until the 1930s. Its
capital and largest city is Tehran. For 2500 years Iran was
a monarchy, but it became an Islamic Republic following the
1979 revolution.
Until today, Iran remains the greatest rug-weaving country
in the world. It is estimated that Iran produces approximately
three-quarters of all the handmade rugs in the world. Iran
has the highest and most diverse number of weaving
groups from master workshops to nomadic tribes, and as a
result, it produces the most diverse styles worldwide. Rugs
are produced almost in all parts of Iran from north to south
and east to west. In the northwest the cities of Tabriz and
Heriz (influenced by rugs of the Caucasus), in the northeast
Mashad (influenced by rugs of Turkoman), in the center
Esfahan, Qum, Kashan and Nain, and in the south Shiraz
and Kerman are just a few examples among many
rug-producing cities in Iran. Persian styles have been
copied in machine-made rugs by the West and by most
handmade rug-producing countries of the East such as
India, Pakistan and China.
Even though it is not certain when rug weaving started in
Iran, in early Persian manuscripts of sixth century during
the rule of Khosrau I (King of Persia from 531 to 579) there
is a mention of a rug called The Spring Carpet of Khosrau
made of wool, silk, gold, silver, and precious and
semi-precious stones. Also, centuries later, in 1295, Marco
Polo had mentioned that Tabriz rugs were superior to any
other rug he had seen.
Rug weaving as an art reached its peak during the reign of
Shah Abbas (1586-1628) of Safavid Dynasty, and during
the late 1960's and the early 1970's, rug production
increased in Iran to fulfill the demands of both the Western
and the domestic population. The rug industry has
continued to be extremely successful. Market sizing data
from the exporting countries is difficult to obtain as some of
the countries may not track the data or disclose it.
Nevertheless, from foreign embassies, industry specialists,
and magazine articles, the 1998 rug export estimate for Iran
is 800 million dollars. Iran also produces a large number of
rugs for its local market. Traditionally, Iranians have
purchased rugs as investments.
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