Nahavand main claim to fame is that it was the site of a battle in 643 when the Arabs finally overthrew the Old Persian regime. It is now a town of some 200,000 people in the south of the Province of Hamedan, west of Malaya. There are no monuments of importance.
Rug production is cantered on the town itself and on neighbouring villages such as Ushvand. The rugs share many of the characteristics of Hamedan: they are single wafted, with a woollen pile and warps and wefts of cotton. The commonest size by far is a large Dozar; about 2.50 m x 1.50 m, but a few runners and 2 m x 3 m carpets are produced. The Designs are best described as rustic interpretations of classical designs, with a central medallion and corners. They have warm colours: a variety of red tones, brown, blues and greens. The effect is one of great charm.
Nain is a town of about 50'000 inhabitants, in the province of Isfahan. It has historical importance as being the last town on the caravan routes before the Kavir-e-Lut, one of the deserts running down the center of Iran. The mosque of Nain is one of the oldest in Iran, much more solidly built than the later and more famous mosques of Isfahan: a heavy vault is supported on massive round columns. The traditional industry of Nain was the manufacture of woollen cloth: when demand for this declined, the weavers, like those of Kerman, switched to the manufacture of carpets. And their products soon became famous, for the weavers were skilful and used excellent materials.
The warps and wefts are cotton, with a pile of wool with outlines of silk; occasionally silk is used more extensively in the ground. The colouring is refined: tones of ivory and cream, with small areas of red, green and blue. Like the carpets of Isfahan, The Designs of Nain carpets use classical motifs, but in the hands of a master weaver like Habibian they are often skilfully reinterpreted. Nain carpets are made in all sizes, including some extremely large pieces of up to 60 sqm: some of these have a pile of 100% silk.
Nashrabad is a village in the southern Iranian province of Shiraz. The name means "Nasser's village" and it is of no interest except as a market town for local tribesmen and villagers who produce the distinctive carpets for which the village has become famous. Until recently, the inhabitants of the area were nomadic and all the rugs were long and narrow, with warps, wefts and pile of wool. As the tribesmen have become settled, and have constructed more sophisticated looms, other sizes are being produced. The most common design consists of a small lozenge-shaped medallion with an anchor-like projection at each end, repeated in a row down the center of the rug. Small geometrical shapes, flowers and birds fill the rest of the field. The background colours are generally red or brown. The weave is fairly coarse but the general quality of construction is firm and solid, the warps generally cotton. Natural dyes are still widely used - browns and reds are the most typical colours.
Needlepoint is a parallel art. We don 't know when needlepoint got its start, but it was probably very early. The difference between the two is that needlepoint, or tapisserie, l 'aiguilles, as we say in French, is stitched on a supporting fabric - at first a loosely woven cloth made from hemp (chanvre, from which we get the word canvas). The same materials were used as for weaving, that is : wool, silk, gold and silver thread.
Designs for needlepoint were created by well-known artists. As trade with the east was opened in the 15th and 16th centuries, exotic plants were introduced into western Europe. Fruit and flowers became popular subjects, as they are still today. Indeed, plants which had previously been unknown to Europeans, gave rise to the planting of the first botanical garden in Paris. This garden was created primarily for providing subjects for needlepoint for the queen, Catherine de Mdicis. Needlepoint became a great pastime of the French court, for both men and women.
As the year goes on, other countries take these traditional designs and manufacture it themselves, China is a big contributor to this industry and their designs are vastly increasing. The Chinese weaving can be compared with the original as an authentic piece.
Neyriz is one of several villages in the Shiraz district of southern Iran, which has developed a style of carpet weaving slightly different from that of the rest of the Shiraz area. Many of the characteristics of the Shiraz district are present: the all wool construction, the predominance of dark red and dark blue, and the coarse weave, but a carpet expert would generally be able to identify the precise origin of carpets such as this.
Ningxia antique carpets: It is now very expensive on international market and its output little. Ningxia carpet is commonly used in temples, e.g. carpet for the dragon embracing post, cushion for chanting scriptures, mat for arm-chair and cushion used in drawing room, carpet for gallery and saddle mat. Their colours are yellow, brown, three blue, and red (all being plant colour). Technology is of hair inserting. Wefts are of 4 batches passing through twice, while warps of plain twisting and 2 strands, with "8" shaped buckles.
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