Tabriz Collection

In one of the country’s largest cities, you will find an equally extensive carpet production with qualities ranging from simple to luxurious. We are talking about Tabriz, a city 600km west of the capital Tehran, which is the provincial capital and home to the Asari, the largest minority in the country. For centuries Tabriz has been a place of trade with its central location to Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Turkey. Among the products traded are hand knotted Persian carpets. The blue mosque and the statue of the famous poet Khaqani are well known in Tabriz.

The ancient production center of Tabriz initiated the 19th-century revival of Persian carpet making. Tabriz carpets are distinguished by the use of the symmetrical knot (the asymmetrical was in use during the Safavid Period), the use of particularly coarse, strong wool, and by the habit of trimming the pile to a medium-low height.

Tabriz Carpets are characterized by outstanding refinement in the workmanship, particularly evident in examples made in silk. There carpets stand out stylistically for their particular attention to detail, although the descendants of antique classical layouts. The central medallion layout, with fractions of equal medallions in the corners, is the most used, but there are also vase designs, animal designs; a small minority is composed of various types of figural scenes. The borders are usually decorated with herati, cartouches with inscriptions, and cloudbands; typical of Tabriz are narrow outer guards with small floral motifs. The predominant colors used are; blue, ivory, and brick red, along with Western-style pastel tints.

Tabriz carpets are easily distinguished by an additional designation. The categorization refers to the knot density per square meter, and thus gives an indication of the quality. While the finest carpets have more than a million knots and are called 90Raj, simple rugs still have a density of 400,000-500,000 knots (40Raj). A density that far exceeds that of most other carpet provenances. Rare are already Tabriz 70Raj with up to 1,000,000 knots per m2.

PRM3745

Size: 2’8 X 6’11

Origin: India

Tabriz Collection

JS1

JN4

ROM95

PRM3550

JN1

PRM832

PRM3745

Yash28

PRM3276

JN5

PRM3746

PRM3784

PRM3776

ROM97

PRM3782

HAR126

JN3

PRM3129

HAR100

PRM3691