Hamedan
The city and district of Hamedan are an important center of the rug trade. Hamedan is a large
town of several hundred thousand inhabitants. Ekbatan (as it was formerly known) was a capital
of the Achaemenian kings. It has an ancient Jewish population and several monuments, the most
essential of which are the tomb of Esther and Mordecai (a center of Jewish pilgrimage) and the
tomb of Avicenna. Hamedan is a provincial capital. Two specific types of rugs are woven here.
The first is the so-called 'town weave', otherwise known as Shahrbaff. These are solidly woven
carpets, similar in weave to those of Sarde, with classical designs, and often large in size.
The production nowadays has been largely modernised and under state supervision. Much more
important is the village production: Hamedan is a market of Begardeh, Enjilass, Hosseinabad
and Zanjan. There are a wide variety of designs, but the quality is very constant: a weave of
medium density, and single wafted, allowing the warps to be seen on the reverse. (Warps and
wefts are cotton and he pile is wool.) The colours are strong, often derived from vegetable dyes.
The Designs are often bold, though occasionally, particularly in Hosseinbad and Enjilas, all-over
patterning is seen. These last two villages often make carpet sizes; otherwise, most production is
Dozars and Zaronim. Other weaving centres which come within the general category of Hamedan are Alamdar,
Borchalu, Borujerd, Chenar, Darjazin, Enjilas, Hosseinabad, Khamseh, Kolyai, Lilehan, Mehraban, Nanaj,
Rudbar, Saveh, Tajabad, Tafresh, Taleghan, Tuiserkan, Zagh and Zanjan.
Hereke
The village of Hereke is recognized for producing the finest
hand knotted carpets in the world. These special carpets
represent the pinnacle of the Turkish carpet weaving tradition.
Sultan Abdulmecid, Ottoman Emperor, established the Hereke
Imperial Factory in 1843 to produce carpets, fabric, upholstery
and curtains exclusively for the Ottoman Court. Sultan
Abdulmecid asserted that the greatest palaces in the world
should also display the finest carpets in the world.
During the late 19th century and early 20th century, Hereke weavers produced their unique craft exclusively for the aristocracy of the Ottoman Empire, visiting dignitaries and heads of state. Fine Hereke hand knotted carpets have been presented as gifts to the royal families of Japan, Russia, Germany and England and the President of the United States.
The superlative quality of Hereke carpets was realized by combining the best
carpet making techniques available, thus creating a new archetype. Hereke
weavers used wool on cotton warps to create the highest quality carpets. Silk
from Bursa permitted even finer hand knotted carpets. German Emperor Kaiser
Wilhelm II visited Hereke in 1894, bringing colourfast, permanent chemical dyes,
which outperformed their natural counterparts. This technological advance
allowed Hereke artisans to begin producing the finest carpets ever made. The
Hereke weaving tradition continues today, as exquisite 100% handmade wool and
silk rugs are produced for discerning collectors worldwide.
Heriz
A Heris Rug is a type of Persian rug from the area of Heris
in northwest Iran northeast of Tabriz. The Heris Rug is produced
in the villages of the slopes of Mount Sabalan. It is an
extremely durable hard-wearing rug and the Heris rug has now
passed Bijar Rugs as the Iron Rug of Iran. Heris are thick,
tough, and often inexpensive rugs that appeal strongly to the US
market. Part of the reason for the toughness of Heris carpets is
that Mount Sabalan is sitting on a major deposit of Copper.
Trace copper in the drinking water of the sheep produces high
quality wool. The copper makes the wool stronger and far more
resilient than wool from other areas.
Heris rugs include rugs from the towns of Ahar, Heris, Mehraban, Sarab, Serapi, Bakhshaish, and Gorevan.
Heris rugs are of coarse construction. The rugs range from 30
KPSI on the low end to 100 - 110 KPSI on the high end. It is
rare to see a rug over 100 kpsi that would look like an
authentic Heris.
