Nahavand Rug - Persian Carpet

Welcome to Carpet Ebay. My name is Kate and I would like to take you on a journey to Nahavand and show you the culture and how the carpets are produced there. 150 kilometres south of Hamadan lays the town of Nahavand with approximately 75,000 inhabitants. It is one of Iran's oldest cities, founded by King Darius I, 550-486 BC, during the Archaenomid Empire. The city is especially renowned for the Battle of Nahavand, 642 AD, which led to the fall of the Sassanian Empire and left Iran open to Islamic conquest. The Iranian national epic Shah Namer, meaning the Book of Kings, composed by the poet Ferdowsi, helped the country to retain its Persian culture and language. The city is located in a fertile, agricultural region where cereals, fruits and nuts are grown. The majority of carpet weaving in Nahavand is done privately at home, where the vertical loom is used. Placing the warp on the loom accurately is vitally important and key to the rug retaining its shape once finished. The most common size for these rugs is 200 by 140 centimetres. The weavers use three simple tools a knife with a hook on the end, a pair of scissors and a heavy comb. From the top of the loom they hang the different colours of yarn being used in the rug and a simple design to follow is either sketched out or committed to memory. The weaver takes a piece of the yarn, threads it around two warp threads, tightens it and cuts off the excess. This continues until the entire line of knots is completed. Then the weaver threads a piece of weft thread through the warp, after which the weaver uses the heavy comb to compact the weft and the knots down tightly to keep everything in place. This process is continued, knot after knot, row after row, for months at a time. Once the carpet is finished, it is cut down from the loom and the warp threads are tied together to form the fringe of the carpet. The edges are trimmed and the carpet is washed and laid out in the sun to dry before it is taken to the bazaar to be sold. Nahavand rugs go under the category of village carpets. The workmanship is solid, the wool is good and the patterns have a rustic charm. They are good, durable quality carpets. Like many towns in the Hamadan region, carpet weaving is the industry that employs the most people. Rugs in the area have two things in common. The use of the Turkish knot and the amount of weft used between the rows of knots. However, the patterns that they use vary greatly from town to town. Carpets from Nahavand are usually of high quality. The wool used is glossy and durable. The patterns they use come from both the nomadic culture, with animals and geometrical motifs, and from urban studios with graceful floral motifs. The most common pattern has a medallion in the centre of the carpet and at both short ends a vase that spreads its flowers all over the carpet. The most common colours used are red and blue. Carpet Ibai hopes you had a great journey to Nahavand. Welcome back!