Khorasan Rugs

Khorasan state

Khorasan, the widest state of Iran, is located between Turkmenistan and Afghanistan and Balochistan and desert areas of Kavir and Loot desert. Mashhad that nowadays is the capital city of KhorazanRazavi state, is one the most important holy cities of Iran that lots of visitors for visiting Imam Reza shrine, eighth Shia’s Imam, go to Mashhad yearly.

This city was known as one the important centers in Teymourian era and Khorasan area included Herat too that today belongs to Afghanistan. Mashhad, during Safaviyeh domination, was fame as flowering rug weaving that weavers were inspired by art and decorating thesaurus in Teymourian court. These designs, converted to nowadays Herati designs by getting organized gradually and decreasing sizes that was considered in middle of Iran and to Khoeasan weavers that NaderShah took them away from Khorasan, as a common and significant design. In Khorasan there is an area named Qaenat that is one of the very active centers in rug weaving that the property of produced rugs is known as having massive and shiny pile and have been used by weavers because of high quality of local wool.

Mashhad

Since Arabs caliphs reign in ninth century, Mashhad was known as one of the most important holy cities of Iran and on the other hand also have a thesaurus of old exquisite rugs. Because of the important and central role of this city, always was engaged by whole historical accidents of Iran and has been sieged, tenured and looted. Mashhad history is linked by history of different nations that have formed it that these nations are Fars, Turk, Arab, Afghan and Turkmen. Also a big population of Jewish that is originally from Qazvin in year 1839 for running from carnage settled in Mashhad. Today Mashhad is a big and modern city that is so fame for high quality of its sweet and scented fruits. These cities ways ends with lots of mosques and different religious places that include Imam Reza shrine too. The thesaurus of Imam Reza shrine is provided by endowments of Astan Razavi and people vow donation.

Also in museum of AstanQodsRazavi an important collection of exquisite historical rugs with artistic textures are stored that can’t determine any prices for them.

Nowadays in Mashhad and it’s around villages, rug weaving is also doing greatly and rug weaving in small workshops is doing with traditional methods. From most famous old workshops, Amoghli, Makhmal and Khamenei can be mentioned.

Khorasan wool especially produced wool in Torbat Heydariye, TorbatJam, Neishabour, Sabzevar and Qouchan has very high quality. These wools are cut twice a year in May and also autumn. Cut wool in spring has long and thick fibers and cut wool in autumn has short, silky bright fibers that are so soft. All the wools spin by hand and an old spinning wheel that has an arch part and a rope that autumn wool with short fibers will spin easily by its help. By this reason, Mashhad rugs have special subtlety and they are not that resistant for use and also putting wool in limewater for a long time before dyeing causes weaker fibers. Mashhad rugs mostly have asymmetric knot and symmetric knots only are seen in some rugs belong to years of twenty following entrance of Azerbaijan masters to this city rug weaving with this kind of knot happened and also using double knots spread.

Usually warp kind is cotton yarn. Second weft “thin” strings by spinning wheel and become in blue or cobalt blue. Whereas first weft “thick” is a strong string that spin by hand and colored naturally or in grey. Mashhad rugs colors usually look like each other and a dark red color and a kind of shine blue have been used much. Rugs sizes are variable and mostly are so broad. The most common design is usually big circular bergamot and has appendixes like beam of sun light.

At the end of background, meandrous patterns and flowering pedicles or rarely Herati designs are woven. Illustrated designs are also seen among rugs related to years of thirty and forty. In years of fifty, rug production in Mashhad had huge increasing but its quality decreased gradually: double knot used everywhere and for accelerate to weaving, second weft or thin one crosses after several wate weave. In last years, the rug company for returning the quality to past status has taken actions. In many centers around Mashhad, rugs are woven like the center and Sabzevar, Kashmar and Neishabour can be named as high active centers. Also in Sabzevar similar rugs are weaving that shows tastes of weavers.

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