Khorasan rug history

Khorasan Province is the largest province in Iran, centered in the city of Mashhad. This province covers one-fifth of the country. About 600 years ago, during the Timurid era, Khorasan rugs reached their peak and glory. At that time, Herat was the capital of Iran. This city was active and famous in all fields of art, especially Persian hand-woven rugs. After this dynasty and the Safavid era, the art of rug weaving in Khorasan Province faded. In the early Qajar era, carpet weaving was revived by a Tabrizi merchant named “Amoghli“.

      Antique Khorasan rug, Mashhad Amoghli rug in Saad-Abad palace 

What is a Khorasan rug?

The Khorasan Persian rug (also called the Khorasani carpet or Khorassan rug) is a type of handmade Persian rug woven in the Khorasan province in northeastern Iran. Many Khorasan rugs are named after the place where they were woven, such as the Mashhad rug or Birjand rug. Khorasan rugs are usually of high quality and have soft and shiny piles.

Famous Khorasan rugs designs

Khorasan hand-knotted rugs are mostly woven with the Lachak-Toranj design, which means medallion with flowers and corners resembling medallion. Other common designs in Khorasan rugs include Shah-Abbasi flowers, miniature designs, Afshan, vase, boteh-jegheh, and Herati designs. Of course, carpet designs in North Khorasan and South Khorasan are different. Weavers have recently added fish designs to their designs and, like Hamadan rugs, they cover the fish design all over the carpet. In the Birjand region, two types of designs are common: the horse head design(Kale-Asbi) and the Rob-Saadi ​​design. The most beautiful Rob-Saadi design carpets are woven in the village of Mod, which is the birthplace of the designer of this design.

                     A part of Birjand rug map

      Persian Khorasan Mashhad area rug in Clifornia 

Weaving of Khorasan rugs

The way of knitting Khorasan handwoven rugs is similar to other carpets in Iran. The vertical loom is raised and warp threads are pulled on it. These threads form the basis of a rug. First, several rows are woven into a kilim, and at the same time, selvage is passed through the warps. This will keep the rug firm. Then rug weaving begins and the piles are tied to the warps with Persian or Turkish knots, then thick and thin wefts are passed through the warps and beaten with a comb to make it strong. They do this till the end until the weaving of the rug is finished and at the end, they weave several rows like a kilim and the rug is ready for service operation.

                   Iranian women artists

Among the famous producers of Khorasan rugs, we can mention Amoghli, Makhmalbaf, Khamanei and Khadivi. The excellent performance of these masters made Mashhad rugs to be in a high position.

          Mashhad rug Amoghli ,1930s(circa)

What makes the “ Khorassan Persian area rugs” so popular?

• Excellent material:

Khorasan rugs are usually woven from high-quality wool. The wool in these carpets is sourced from local sheep(Quchan, Neyshabur and Mashhad area) which is soft and shiny. Sometimes even silk is used in these carpets, which gives a luxurious look to Persian Khorasan carpets.

• Longevity:

Persian Khorasan rugs are very durable and can be used for years if well-maintained.

• Knot technique:

Both symmetrical and asymmetrical knots are used in Khorasan handmade rugs, but asymmetrical knots are more common. In these rugs, the knot density varies from 800 to 2000 knots per square decimeter(30-40 Raj). The density of some Amoghli rugs reaches 130 knots per 7 centimeters.

• Designs:

Khorasan rugs have a variety of designs. Khorasan area carpet designs include Lachak-Toranj, Afshan and All-over designs, following the designs of other cities in Iran. Floral, insect, and bird motifs are also seen in these designs. In general, according to the book “Farsh-nameh Iran”, high-quality Mashhad carpets use the Lachak-Toranj pattern.

• Dimensions:

Khorasan area rugs are woven in different sizes. The dimensions of Mashhad carpets are usually 6 meters, 12 meters, and 15 meters. Of course, Amoghli rugs have dimensions of more than 100 square meters.

• Colors:

These rugs have a relatively high color variety. They usually use red, pink, turquoise blue, navy blue, beige, brown, green and mustard colors. In the past, most of the colors of Khorasan area carpets were made from natural dyes, but today chemical dyes are also used.

• Weaving method:

The looms used are vertical and fixed. Khorasan area rugs are woven in a double-weft technique. The weft yarns are mainly cotton. The selvage is also added after the rug is woven.

         Mashhad rug Amoghli ,1930s(circa)

Carpet weaving centers of Khorasan province

Rug weaving is common in most villages and cities of Khorasan. Razavi Khorasan province, which includes the cities of Mashhad, Neyshabur, Kashmar… Also, the cities of Quchan, Shirvan, and Bojnord in North Khorasan province, and the cities of Birjand, Tabas, and the villages of Mood, and Dorokhsh in South Khorasan province are among the rug weaving centers of this land.

    Mashhad Amoghli rug ,1930s(circa) ,Lachak of rug

Khorasan area rug price

The price of Khorasan rug depends on factors such as quality of materials and its density. The larger the size of the carpet, the higher its price will be. Also, the elegance and originality of the design also affect the price of Khorasan handmade rug. 

Khorasan rug for sale

Khorasan hand-woven rug is one of the oldest carpets in Iran. This carpet creates a unique decoration in combination with other elements. If you have chosen Khorasan rug for your home interior decoration, be sure that you have made the right decision. This rug has had many fans all over the world since the past. In the Vernacapets online collection, we accompany you for a safe and affordable purchase by providing various types of Khorasan rugs. If you are interested in buying your Khorasan rug, you can contact our experts.

           Mashhad rug Amoghli ,1930s(circa)