Have you ever wondered how a Persian rug is made? First, it takes a lot of time and patience when it is all done by hand. Wool must first arrive at he weaver’s workshop and that wool may come from as far away as New Zealand. In fact many of the finest Iranian and Persian or Oriental area rugs today are made exclusively from fine New Zealand wool. Others use a blend of their own local wool. Then the weaving begins, first the weft and warp are often created as a base from cotton and then wool is tied by hand forming piled knots of wool. It is possible to have over 500 knots per inch in a heavy, thick pile wool area rug of excellent quality. If you wonder what the loom is used for, it’s primarily for tension, and there are horizontal and vertical looms.
Area Rug Patterns, Names and a little Gabbeh
The patterns and motifs for the rugs are often memorized by the weavers and are traditional of a region or a city from which the carpets, when finished will bear the name, such Abadeh, Ardabil, Herat, Nain, Shiraz, Tabriz, Veramin or Zabol, but many area rugs are created from the heart of the weaver, from their life stories told in geometric shapes that could be part of a modern art exhibit, such as the unique all natural Gabbeh rugs.
Gabbeh Rugs
Gabbeh rugs are made by the Iranian women of the Zagros region and these natural area rugs are all one of a kind and natural because of their wool and dyes, and natural in style that emerges from each woman, unique and unlike the previous or the one to follow. These particular rugs are sought after in modern homes because they are simple yet rich in avant-garde designs and geometrical or minimalist patterns that look as good in a loft in New York as they do in a studio in Paris.
Immitation Gabbeh Area Rugs
These contemporary area rugs, if they are genuine, are very expensive, each rug costing thousands of dollars, even for a small one. That is why many Indian and Chinese factories have taken to making imitations of these gabbeh rugs to satisfy the tastes and budgets of consumers worldwide. You may be happy to have a gabbeh rug reproduction, but if you want the real thing make sure the pile is thick and the wool is of quality and that the area rugs do not have a fringe. Remember that these rugs that are made in Zagros do not have white cotton fringes, and once they reach a showroom or an online shop and are for sale they will cost $2000, $3,000 and up…I’ve seen a few for as much as $13,000. There are 8 different kinds of gabbeh rugs – Amalehbaft (perhaps the most beautiful) the basic Gabbeh wool area rug styles, the Kashkoli, the Kelim, the Luribaft rugs, the Oushak, the Shekarlu and the Sumak rugs, but although they have names and categories, there are no two genuine ones that are exactly alike.
Wool Area Rug Sizes and Shapes
For hand tufted wool area rugs in contemporary styles there are Persian rugs to meet all your needs. You can fill a living room with a large square rug, or a round area rug beneath the dinning table, or have hallway runners and accent rugs in any part of the home. Wool, although they may not be washable rugs, can be used as kitchen rugs with lots of foot traffic if the item chosen is a durable wool and is vacuumed frequently. The shapes and sizes of contemporary area rugs, even those made in villages in Iran, Afghanistan or Turkey, have been adjusted to meet the needs of those who live in apartments and smaller homes and not just intended for the palaces and open tents as they once might have been. There are also rug dealers who can arrange to have custom made rugs to fit your needs.
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