History Persian Heriz rug

The city of Heriz is located in the northwest of Iran, 60 km from the city of Tabriz. Although these two cities are close to each other, their styles are very different. Heriz hand-made carpets are easily recognizable due to their special design. Unlike the carpets of other regions of Iran, these carpets are usually in a geometric style and in large sizes are woven, a central medallion dominates the entire carpet, and at first glance you can see this eight corners medallion with large lachaks that are similar to medallion. Heriz carpet is well known in the countries of America, Canada and and many important centers including European and American palaces have been decorated with this magnificent carpet.

Heriz rug in White-house

It is written in the Persian carpet book written by Cecil Edwards: “A few years ago, while visiting one of Heriz villages, an unusual carpet board with a beautiful design on one of the carpet weaving looms caught my attention. I asked the weaver to show me its map. She took out a square handkerchief from a box in the corner of the workshop, similar to the handkerchiefs that are prepared in Manchester for export to the countries of the East. Its border was made of flowers and bushes with a toranj and lachacks in the corner. In these motifs, two colors, white and red, were used. The carpet-weaving woman wove an admirable and perfect carpet in several different colors with this pattern. The design of Lachak- Toranj was completely correct and with appropriate intervals appeared in this carpet, but again all the lines of the design were used in a broken form. “

What are the characteristics of Heriz carpet?

It is possible that one of the reasons for the tendency of the people of Heriz region to weave carpets was the presence of long and harsh winters. These carpets, which were often woven thickly, were also used as a warm underlay.

Heriz carpets are often woven with long piles and with the two wefted technique. Turkish knot (symmetrical) is used in the weaving of these carpets. The most common design is Lachak-Toranj, which is divided into different names based on the type of medallion. In addition to Heriz city, designs similar to this design are woven in the surrounding areas, such as Mehraban, Sharbian, Goravan, Qarāje and Bakhshaish.

One of the reasons for the durability of Heriz carpet is the type of wool in this region. There are many copper mines around Heriz and the sheep of this area feed on water and plants rich in copper, so they have flexible and durable wool. Also, during the weaving of Heriz carpets, a heavy comb (about three kilos)is used for pounding, which causes More connection of the wefts and as a result more strength of the carpet.

One of the other features of Heriz carpet is that it is useful for the recovery of rheumatic patients due to its warming properties, and walking and lying on this carpet helps a lot in reducing joint pain.

Heriz carpet ,6’9″*9’7″,California

Heriz carpet designs

In the past, Heriz carpet weavers used handkerchiefs as maps for carpet weaving. These handkerchiefs, which were called” Cheshni “in the local language, were a piece of white cotton cloth with dimensions of 20×30 cm or a little larger, on which the desired map was drawn with a brush or a pencil. These designs were used by weavers for at least a century. The important thing about these handkerchiefs was that the maps were always designed in the form of curved lines, but the weavers of Heriz carpets were more based on their imaginations and tastes, as a result, after weaving these designs appeared in a semi-geometric form.

After visiting the Heriz area and seeing these handkerchiefs, Cecil Edwards wrote in his book: “The tendency of the carpet weavers of this area to change the curved lines to straight ones or to change the revolving design to broken ones can be clearly seen. It is enough to ask the weavers to show their design. This design consists of a piece of cotton measuring 6 x 9 inches on which the design of a quarter of the carpet is drawn. This design is revolving while it is always broken when it is brought on the carpet.

Map of Heriz rug in past

They were able to weave the carpet to any extent by looking occasionally at the pattern design. This was an amazing skill, an instinctive and sensual skill in planning that has not been seen anywhere else except among Heriz carpet weavers and Oshak carpet weaving region in Turkey.”

Today, these handkerchiefs have been forgotten and checkered maps are used like in other regions, which has led to the abuse of other countries and the weaving of similar carpets..

The important characteristic of Heriz carpet is the absence of curved lines in the map. The common designs of Heriz area are: Tajeri, Sabouri, Hayat Gol, Bash Basha (All-Over), Ismail Bey, Haft hoz and Azim Bey.

Heriz carpet ,6’9″*9’7″,California

What colors are used in Heriz carpet texture?

Anyone who has seen the Heriz carpet has clearly seen the contrast between its colors. Dark colors are used in these carpets. The vegetation of this area is used for dyeing Heriz carpets, which are madder root, copper, onion shell, black wood, walnut shell and other local plants. Iron oxide and white alum are also used as catalysts. Among the colors obtained from dyeing are dark colors such as  dark red, crimson, dark brown, ivory, navy, etc.

Dyeing Persian rug

Heriz carpet texture

As mentioned above, Heriz carpet is one of the most durable hand-woven carpets. This carpet is woven with high-quality sheep’s wool and has high flexibility and softness. In the past, weavers used to get the wool they needed from tribe Shahsevan sheep, but now they use the wool available in Tabriz for weaving. The pile of these carpets is long (about 3 cm), which makes it more comfortable when walking on it. The warps and wefts of these carpets are made of cotton.

The knot used in Heriz carpet is the Turkish knot or symmetrical. This carpet is one of the low-density carpets in terms of density, and its value is about 40-25 knots per 7 centimeters or 120 KPSI. The longer the life of Heriz carpets, the more valuable and magnificent they become. For this reason, collectors are always looking to buy old Heriz carpets.

Interior design with Heriz rug

Buy Heriz carpets online

Heriz carpet is woven in different sizes. Beautify your homes with Persian Heriz carpet. Due to their special design and high adaptability, these carpets are among the favorite carpets of designers for arranging interior design. The colors used in Heriz carpet add warmth to your home. You can get this genuine carpet from Vernacarpets and use it for years. Don’t forget that buying a handmade rug is always a great investment.

Points about the Heriz carpet that you don’t know!

Heriz carpet is one of the symbols of Iranian art and people in the world. Its geometric and special patterns show the main reason for the popularity of this carpet in the world. Heriz city, which is located in East Azarbaijan province, shows well that the art of carpet weaving and handwoven carpets in this province is not only focused on Tabriz city, and Heriz carpets have been able to use various designs.

Heriz carpet is known and famous not only because of its beautiful pattern and design but also because of its quality and durability. Due to the extreme cold of this area, these rugs are stiff and thick to keep the floor warm and comfortable. High-quality raw materials have increased the quality of wool. The secret of the survival of these carpets is in the wool of the sheep of this region. The soils of this area are rich in copper. This metal is present in water and sheep feed on plants grown with this water and their wool becomes flexible.

• Design

One of the features of the designs and maps of this carpet is not using curved lines in its texture And of course, what you will see in abundance is the use of slim geometric shapes and broken lines. If we want to name the plans and maps that are used in the Heriz region, we should say: Tajeri, Sabouri, Rozgol, Hayat Gol, Tavakoli, Samadkhan, Chalangari, Afshan, etc.

Also read: What are natural carpets?

Another point related to the design of Heriz carpets is the use of square and rectangular large medallions. The design of the Heriz rug, while original, also give the carpet a modern atmosphere, and as a result, the Heriz rug can have a special place in modern decoration.

                               Part of Heriz Rug

• Color

The carpets of this area are a symbol of the contrast of dark and light colors. But in general, most of these carpets have a dark color. And the reason for this is the great interest in using colors such as dark red, crimson, brown and beige. The use of colors derived from nature with the creative mind of the weaver gives a special design and color to the Heriz carpet. The older carpets were red and indigo. But today, red, cream, black, and copper are used.

You can read : Types of natural dyes in carpets and their characteristics

• Durability

                    Decoration With Heriz Rug

Heriz carpet has high quality and durability. It is interesting to know that the researchers of the hand-woven carpet believe that it is due to the presence of copper mines in the water of the rivers that the sheep feed on. If we want to express the quality and durability of Heriz carpet in one sentence, we must say: You can easily use the carpets of this area for more than ten years.

• Texture

Weavers knit Heriz carpets with wool and cotton. There are 25 to 45 knots in each 7 centimeter. In terms of density, Heriz carpet is almost low density. But this carpet is a carpet with long piles. Because of the these piles, you feel very comfortable walking on it.