Kashan in the center of Iran is home to the Incredible Kashan rug that dates back to the Safavid era. Like most of the Persian rugs, fine silk, silver, and gold brocaded rugs make up the material of this rug, bringing outstanding reputation fo Kashan’s textile products, Zarbaf (gold-woven), and Kilims. This article gives you a brief history of the city and then the golden features of the one-and-only Kashan rug.
Where is Kashan?
Kashan is an emerald in the heart of the central Iranian desert. It is in the middle of the route from Isfahan to Tehran. You won’t find the best example of Persian gardens in nowhere other than in Kashan. The city reminds Iranians of handicrafts such as the world-renowned Kashan rug and the aromatic rosewater.
The 5th millennia BCE ruins of Sialk are a testimony to the deep-rooted and ancient history of Kashan. The city found new life in the Islamic period, reached its peak under the Safavids, then experienced a decline in the late 19th century.
The reign of Safavid Kings was the most illustrious period in Kashan’s history. His extended stays made the city an unofficial secondary capital and a center for the silk and textile industry. The fall of the Safavid dynasty in 1722 put an end to Kashan’s golden age, but the city flourished again in the 20th century. Rug weaving boomed during the last century and made Kashan a big name in the Persian rug industry nationally and internationally.
Technical Aspects and The Structure of Kashan Rug
During the first decades of the 20th century, rug weaving restarted in Kashan using merino wool from Australia, spun in Manchester, England.
People started calling these rugs the Manchester Kashan rug. Kashan rug weaver kept taking advantage of soft, glossy wool until the worldwide economic depression in the 1930s. After that, they started using local wool instead.
Knots are asymmetrical (Persian) in Kashan, the pile is woolen, and warp and weft consist of cotton. The knot count is about 200 per square inch.
Dyeing and Painting of The Kashan Rug
In the past, many Kashan rugs had red fields and dark blue margins. Kashan red is a vivid madder that serves as a specific clue to Kashan antique rugs.
The current rug industry also uses cream, ivory, beige, and khaki for dominant colors, in rugs in the domestic market.
Madder pinks, deep yellow, light turquoise, light green, light, dark blue, and greyish blues are typical for secondary palettes of Kashan rug.
Designs and Patterns of Kashan Rugs
Kashan medallions consist of intricate floral motifs. On the other hand, the fields are not too complex. There are also medallions in Saruq style in which wavering sprays of flowers surround the central medallion. Floral all-over designs are trendy in Kashan as well.
Kashan designers use pictorial elements in traditional designs, such as medallions or prayer designs. The latter is very common in Kashan, with arches and cedars and wavering spirals of branches. Antique Kashan prayer rugs have a world reputation.
Khazai Rugs in Louisville, KY is where you should be looking for these elegant royal rugs. We have a collection of top-grade Kashan rugs at unbeatable prices, waiting to be discovered by you! So visit our rug store khazai rug, today to get inspired by our massive collection of high-quality area rugs.