Just Life | Persian Carpets

When you get married in Iran, you usually receive a Persian carpet as a gift from your family.

Image from www.catalinarug.com

All the famous houses around the world including the White House are adorned by these hand made beauties.

Image from www.irantravelingcenter.com

Here are some basic facts about Persian carpets. Each and every Persian carpet is made by hand. Persian carpets are made of three types of materials; wool, silk, and cotton. They are all made by hand one knot at the time. Here is an example of a Persian knot.

image from www.oldcarpet.com

Which one of you has the patience to make a Persian carpet one knot at a time. 

Not me,

I rather join the Marines instead.

The Persian carpets are named after the regions where they come from. Tabriz, Kashan and Esfahan are the most famous ones.

Carpets coming from Tabriz are pretty sturdy. Carpets coming from Kashan are very delicate and their craftsmanship are legendary. Silk carpets are very delicate and very expensive. The more details a carpet has, the more expensive it is.

When you want to buy a carpet, you count the number of the knots per inch from the back of the carpet.

Persian carpets are also used as investment. Most Persian rugs increase in value as they age. Too much sun isn't good for a Persian carpet. And you better keep your Persian carpet away from moths. Specially if you hang your carpet on the wall, they are more vulnerable to moths.

I remember my grandmother during Tehran's hot summer days would cover her Persian rugs with white sheets to protect them from the sun.

If you have a Persian rug:

• Don't place it under a heavy furniture (I better take my own advice).
• Move the position of your carpet frequently and turn it around time to time.
• Carpet needs air. Don't store it a room that doesn't have any air circulations.
• If you decide to store your Persian rug, roll your Persian carpet instead of folding it.

A typical Persian rug sells for a few thousand dollars. It is not uncommon to sell a few Persian rugs when you want to buy a house. 

Persian rugs are passed down from one generation to the other. A typical new Persian rugs is a bit prickly to the touch and if you want to take a nap on it, you better put something between you and the carpet. Of course, if you are wealthy enough to have silk carpets at home, then you don't have to worry about it since they feel wonderfully soft.

The following Persian rug is one of the largest carpets in the world. This Persian carpet is housed in the Sultan Qaboos mosque in Oman.

Here are a couple of books on this topic:

Oriental rugs : an introduction

The Simon and Schuster book of oriental carpets  

Signing off until next Monday- Panteha