Sarab rugs originate in north-western Iran, in the province of Azerbaijan, and are similar in many ways to Heriz rugs. The people speak a dialect of Turkish, and their Turkish origin is also reflected in The Design of their rugs, which are very geometrical. They generally have cotton warps and wefts and a wool pile. Small sizes are typical, generally about 1 m wide, though runners up to 4 or 5 meters in length are also found. The Designs are strongly geometric, and generally based on one or more large elongated medallions in the middle of the composition. The main colours are brown, red and cream.
Sarouk, one of the most famous names in Persian carpets, is a tiny and obscure village to the northwest of Arak in the Markazi or central province of Iran. In fact many villages in the Arak area weave carpets. The most famous are Ferahan, Seraband and Liliman. Other names associated with the area are Mahal and Cheshmeh. The people are of mixed origin: Persian, Turkish, Armenian and Georgian, resulting in a wide variety of designs, techniques and sizes in the carpets of the region.
Serapi is a broad term used to describe an antique Heriz that was loomed in the late nineteenth century. These rugs are usually much finer than the Heriz and have a medallion cantered on a field that is more open with a broader design pattern than the typical, traditional Heriz. The weaver generally used bold colours that would contrast sharply within the design.
The Savonnerie rug workshops were established in Paris by Pierre DuPont in 1628 with the support and protection of Henry IV. Initially orphans were apprenticed as weavers. Rugs were woven on large vertical looms. A symmetric knot was used on linen warps. Output of the workshops was for Royal Palaces, State Gifts and Special Commissions. Designs were created under the court artists. Designs consisted of naturalistic floral arrangements, military motifs, heraldic references and some architectural motifs. Some rugs were sculpted to accentuate designs. The period of greatest productivity was 1650 to 1789, when the French Revolution interrupted production. In 1825, the workshops of Savonnerie were moved to Gobelins. To this day, these majestic designs of this period are produced.
Seneh or Sanadaj is the capital of the province of Kurdestan in north-western Iran, and has around 300,000 inhabitants. Most of the population are Kurds, of the Gurani Tribe. There is one building of note, the Friday Mosque of the early nineteenth century, plus a castle on a hill overlooking the town.
Seneh rugs are easily identifiable by their weave, design colour and wool. They are mostly single-wafted, and the backs of the carpets are often rough and gritty, since the wool is tightly spun, by hand, prior to weaving. Occasionally a solid Bijar-like weave is seen. The colours used are a characteristic deep blue, green, dark red (used sparingly) and white. Seneh wool is amongst the best wools in Iran: solid and hardwearing, with a deep lustre, the result of the high altitude, sparse vegetation, and extremes of temperature. The tribal weavers of the area use the same sort of wool. In the nineteenth century Seneh rugs were famous for their fineness and the variety of designs, the modern production fewer fine and there is less diversity: the typical Seneh rug has a field of Herati design, with a series of geometric medallion, one inside the other, each with a different ground colour but repeating the Design. Occasionally the old all-over designs are still seen: the Boteh, Vekilli, Gol-Farang (bunches of flowers drawn naturalistically in the European style) or Gol-i-Bulbul (flower and bird).
The name Shahsavan means "protectors of the King" and refers to the fact that this nomadic tribe guards one of Iran's most remote and vulnerable frontiers, at Azerbaijan, where Iran meets Russia and Turkey. The tribe weaves pile carpets but is most famous for its Kilims which are made in a special technique called Sumac or 'weft wrapping' the effect is similar to embroidery, with stitches in various coloured wools going in diagonal direction. The reverse of the pieces is always shaggy. They are generally made in small sizes, up to 1½ sqm, though runners of up to 2 m x 1 m are commonly found.
Shiraz is the capital of the southern province of Fars, and a city of about one million people. It is famed as a city of roses and nightingales, and the burial place of the poets Hafez and Sa'adi. Most of the buildings, including several mosques, date from the nineteenth century, and the tile-work has little of the refinement seen in the earlier work at Isfahan. But the gardens, with elongated pools flanked by cypresses, are famous throughout Iran.
Shiraz gives its name to rugs, which are woven in the small villages and towns, which surround it, brought into the city to be sold. They are also made by some of the local tribes, such as the Qashquai, whose best work is moreover more finely and tightly knotted than those of Shiraz proper. Shiraz rugs are characterised by a deep wine-red colour, combined with dark blue and small areas of white and green. The wool is soft. Darker wool, sometimes with an admixture of goat-hair, is used for the warps and wefts. The Designs are coarse and geometric, often similar to Qashquai designs. Often little geometric birds and animals enliven them. Shiraz rugs are made in all sizes, though large carpets are rare. Other weaving centres which come within the general category of Shiraz are Arûsbaff, Asadbigy and Bownat.
Rugs from the prolific carpet-weaving district of Shirvan have characteristics of both 'Kazak' and 'Kuba' groups. The top ends are not cut to form a fringe, and the bottom fringe is either knotted or braided. Warp threads lie on one level, unlike the stepped warps of most Kuba rugs. To the east, tribal rugs from the foothills of Caucasus, such as those from Chajli, use a typical Kazak motifs and geometric designs in clear bold colours. There are many settled Armenian Christians in Shirvan so rugs often have cruciform motifs as well as stylized animals and Persian-influenced border patterns.
Shirvan also produces some fine kilims, in particular those with broad bands of hooked medallions and others consisting of a series of narrow bands of varying widths, often woven in a chevron or arrowhead pattern. Large Shirvan 'band' kilims were used as coverings for ox-drawn carts. Small flat weaving prayer rugs were also made, with designs similar to those pile rugs.
Sultanabads are fine antique rugs with the most pleasing decorative colours and designs. Many high quality rugs were woven in this city and province in northwest Iran, known as Arak. Most rug production took place in the late 19th century when European companies commissioned large decorative rugs for the European market.
Sumak is a comparatively rare type of Kilim, deriving its name from the old town of SHEMAKJA. Sumak is NOT a Kilim. However, both have flat-woven style. Sumak has embroidered and its embroidery threads are not cut off at the back. Sumak has a shaggy, erratic collection of loose ends or strands of wool. The wefts strands (serving a decorative role rather than the structural role of knotted carpets) are threaded through a number of warp strands and then looped back.
All Sumak have geometric pattern with many tribal motifs all around. Usually the motifs are small birds. Sumak are excellent with contemporary, traditional and modern decors.
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