Kashan Antique Oriental Rugs, Part 1

Kashan Antique Carpet

Kashan antique Oriental carpets are one of the most important of the refined urban antique carpets that are the direct legacy of the Golden Age of Persian Weaving of the reign of the famous patron of the arts, Shah Abbas, in the 16th and early 17th centuries.

Many of the archetypal antique Persian carpet motifs originated here. The source of one notable garden motif, the "Royal Garden" of Kashan, still has flowing spring water and has been well preserved since the 16th century. This royal garden was built by the above-mentioned Shah Abbas, the principal monarch of the Safavid Dynasty. The basic inspiration and model for most city antique carpets is the Garden of Paradise.

The vast majority of the prized Kashan vintage and antique rugs available today usually stem from the second half of the 19th to the beginning of the 20th century. During this time period, the best antique Persian rugs were commissioned for individual homes, while others were produced for either the domestic or foreign markets. The best Kashan antique carpets have always used a superior quality of wool. Older antique carpets feature the preferred vegetable dyes, while virtually all pieces from the 1930's on incorporate the modern chrome dyes.

The most rare group of Kashan antique Oriental rugs that utilizes non-traditional designs and color palettes is the "Motasham Kashan," which were woven up to the end of the 19th century. This elite class of Kashan antique Oriental carpets uses a very luminous quality of lamb's wool, which gives the surface a highly reflective quality. Quite hard-to-find, true Motasham Kashan antique rugs are extraordinarily finely knotted. They employ either a graceful teardrop medallion or intricately detailed allover blossom and leaf patterns.