| City Persian Rugs Tabriz |
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Tabriz is located in north-western Iran and is the capital of Azerbaijan province. The city has had a long and varied history - indeed some sources refer to Tabriz as the biblical site of the Garden of Eden. It was once the capital of Persia and has been invaded on numerous occasions, most recently by the Soviets during WW2. Tabriz has always been an extremely important centre within the Persian carpet trade. Indeed it was the enterprising Tabrizi merchants that brought about the renaissance of the Persian carpet manufacture throughout Iran. Today, some of the finest and most sought after rugs and carpets of Iran are woven in the workshops of Tabriz. Tabriz rugs are generally woven with a woollen pile (sometimes with silk inlaid) on a cotton warp and with a cotton double-weft construction. The wool is spun so finely that when the knots are cut the pile formed is short, so less wool is required during the weaving process in comparison with other origins. The weavers use the Giordes (or Turkish) knot; however they also use a hook to tie the knot which creates a characteristically square, uniform knot. Tabriz rugs vary a lot more in quality than most other origins with knot counts starting at around 100 kpsi and reaching up to around 700 kpsi or more. Tabriz rugs are also amongst the most innovative in that unlike elsewhere in Iran there is no traditional colour scheme – the colours employed being determined by the tastes of the time. The favoured designs are the Mahi (Farsi for fish) design, medallion and corner (Shah Abbas- Isfahan) style, and the mosque-dome design.
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