During the Gilded Age in America, the West showed an interest in investing in Persian rug production directly.  Ziegler, a British Swiss company, pioneered this new industry and gave its name to this sort of goods. This led to the creation of one of the most influencing brands: Ziegler rug.

American Interest in Persian Rugs

The company started its activity in 1883 with a parallel interest in the cultivation of Persian opium. During that time, they started expanding their workshops around Sultan-Abad. Thus, Ziegler established workshops there, followed by American companies, initiating a new type of design in Sultan-Abad (nowadays called Arak). Arak is a city in west-central Iran.

They learned the ropes from Tabrizi merchants surrounded by mountains, which lay several valleys and plateaus. Farahan, Mahallat (Mahal), and Saruq were among those rural areas. Each of them is a well-known title for rugs and other hand-woven goods.

Western investments made the second turning point in Sultan-Abad’s rug history. The first one occurred under the rule of Nader Shah (from 1736 to 1747). Both points in a time marked when Herati designers and weavers moved to this region.

They brought their famous Herati style to Sultan-Abad and the surroundings. They also kept the style as the main tradition of the area till the arrival of European companies.

These new merchants went after their Western tastes. They formed under the influence of artistic movements such as Art Nouveau. The latest products enjoyed Persian patterns and motives but in different total designs. The shapes mostly followed curvilinear designs but in a somewhat rectilinear way. The result was something like loom-drawings on graph papers which was not tried during that time.

Technical Aspects of The Ziegler Rug

All-over designs replaced central medallions. They also had a rich palette of traditional Persian rugs that was minimized to match every possible place and decoration.

What was preserved was the professional weave of Persian artisans and high-grade wool dyed with durable natural dyestuffs. Both single and double-weft knots were common, primarily asymmetrical (Persian).

In the early 20th century, American companies overtook their European forerunners in financials. Furthermore, the U.S became the main rug customer.

Americans had their own preferences and didn’t care much for accurate and flawless designs. They liked big-sized rugs as well as long-piled fleshy ones. Their workshops were mainly in a village called Saruq, which gave its name to the high-grade American rugs. Even the Ziegler company started to produce its own American Saruqs (aka Ziegler rug).

Designs and Patterns of The Ziegler Rug

Ziegler rug has large repeating patterns on the ground. Their designs consist of squares, lozenges, belts, and flowers, with prominent floral motifs on the joints and small ones in the middle.

Margins have five parts: the central part has a wide margin and two narrow margins, with similar patterns, on each. Two rather large flowers and a jointing stem serve as the main motif inside the wide margin.

There are also some tiny flowers and leaves between the main flowers and on the stem. Warm hues such as orange and red have moderated the dark blue background and modest green and gleaming cream companionship.