Beautiful Designs in Persian Rugs
Persian rugs have countless numbers of patterns and different designs. Each one is beautiful in special meaningful ways and is absolutely unique. The layout of the pattern is mainly responsible for determining which category a certain rug would be placed in. The three most general and board categories that we can place all Persian designs are
- Geometric designs,
- Curvilinear and Floral designs
- Pictorial designs
Each broad group has many different styles and sometimes one rug can incorporate more than one design.
Geometric design
All the rugs in this group are decorated with repeated linear elements of vertical, horizontal, and diagonal lines, usually woven by nomadic tribes using particular traditional and cultural symbols. Most of the elements are symbols of something special or sacred, cherished by that tribe for hundreds of generations.
Because they are made by hand in the most primal conditions, tribal pieces usually do not have full symmetry or colour consistency, thus giving them a 'primal' quality.
Some cities and villages that weave beautiful geometric rugs include Heriz, Hamadan, and Shiraz.
Examples of Geometric Design:
Curvilinear and Floral designs
Nature can be seen in almost all carpets in some form or another, whether it be small plants and flowers or delicate animals. Some cities in Iran that produce very exquisite pieces include Tabriz, Isfahan, Qum, Nain, Kerman, and Kashan. Although we have also floral designs in tribal rugs like Bakhtyari and Afshar. But the most delicate floral rugs come from cities.
In most Persian rugs, the most common motif is the central medallion, and even though two may look similar, no two medallions are completely identical. Some experts believe that the medallion design stems from the spiritual nature of the weavers and that their inspiration probably came from the domes of the Mosques.
The most famous pattern is Shah Abbasi design which is composed of large flowers with curvilinear branches.
Examples of Curvilinear and Floral Design:
Pictorial designs
Pictorial pattern rugs do not follow a standard outline. They are all individually unique, the weaving of a fine pictorial rug demands much more skill by the weaver.
Weavers are great artist, because it is very hard to weave details such as eyelashes or other small elements that require great accuracy and detail.