Kashan carpets, handmade

Kashan carpets, handmade

Kashan is located in Iran, between Tehran and Isfahan, close to the edge of the great desert Dasht-e-Kavir.  This city has been famous for a long time for its textiles and pottery. The famous Ardebil carpet, which can be seen at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London is considered made in Kashan in the 16th century.

The carpets in Kashan are manufactured with high knot density with Persian knot style. The warp and the weft of Kashan carpets are in cotton. The wool for the pile is of high quality originated from west or east of Iran (Azerbaijan, Kermanshah, and Khorasan). The characteristics of the Keshan carpet gives the feeling of softness like velvet. Very fine Kashan or Keshan carpets generally use the merino wool which is none other than the wool obtained from merino sheep “a breed of sheep initially bred in Spain” Since this quality of wool gives the carpet a soft and shiny texture.

Kashan carpets are similar to Isfahan carpets in the design. The patterns consist of beautifully designed medallions, trees, figural motifs, and all-over floral motifs. The variety of colors in Kashan carpets are limited than Isfahan carpets. Dominant colors are blue, red and beige, but usually the Kashan carpets are known with the blue field. The Kashan carpets are given pastel tones to evoke neutral and subtle effect. The patterns are fleshed out with predominant shades of red, blue, indigo and ivory. Some of the carpets also use the effect of color shading in its weaving technique to add another level of depth.

The dyeing process of Kashan carpets is manual with natural colors. The quality of these carpets vary a lot, some of them are not even manufactured in Kashan, but are still sold under this name. These carpets mostly have between 30 to 45 Raj (The number of knots in 7 centimeters) and they are considered as carpets with good quality.