Nahavand
Nahavand is probably most known as the site of a battle in 643 when the Arab finally
overthrew the Old Persian regime. It is now a town of some 200,000 people in the
southern area of the Province of Hamedan, west of Malaya.
Rug production is centred in the town itself and neighbouring villages such as Ushvand.
The rugs share many of the characteristics of Hamedan. These are single wafted, with a
woollen pile and warps and wefts of cotton. The most common size is by far the 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
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 centre 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 skill of their weavers and using 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: the finest of these have a pile of 100% silk.
Nashrabad
Nashrabad is a village in the southern Iranian province of Shiraz. The name means
"Nasser's village" The villagers who produce the distinctive carpets from this area had until
recently been largely nomadic. As the tribesmen have become settled, and have constructed more sophisticated
looms, other sizes are being produced. The most common design consists of small lozenge-shaped medallions,
with an anchor-like projection at each end, repeated in a row down the centre 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
Needlepoint is a parallel art. We are unsure of when needlepoint first started,
but it is condidered to be a very early form of aspirational artistic pastime. Needlepoint,
or tapisserie, l 'aiguilles, 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: 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 years pass, 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
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
Ningxia are antique carpets 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. Wefts are of 4 batches
passing through twice, while warps of plain twisting and 2 strands, with "8" shaped buckles.
