Unfortunately, the methodology of Persian Rug making was lost through the ages. The Iranians were among the first carpet weaver of the ancient civilizations and, through centuries of creativity and ingenuity building upon the talents of the past, achieved a unique degree of excellence.  Little examples remain before the sixteenth century. Then during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the quality of the raw materials used to create the carpets and the design of weaving were brought to an astonishing new level. A weaver was an honored profession. They were given great privileges. Historians tell that sheep were specially bred to grow the finest possible wool for weaving. Vegetable plantations were tended with scientific precision to provide permanent dyes of just the right shade. A new era marked the perfection of the Persian Rug and to this day, the best-known cultural export in Iran are Persian Rugs. It is estimated that today Iran produces approximately three-quarters of all the handmade rugs in the world.

Because the wool and cotton and silk used in marking the carpets are perishable, very few of the earliest carpet are now in existence. The earliest known Persian Rug was discovered by Russian Professor Rudenko in 1949 during excavations of burial mounds in the Altai Mountains in Siberia. The rug had been preserved purely by chance.  Soon after it had been placed in the burial mound, grave robbers raided the mound. They ignored the carpet.  Through the opening they left, water poured into the mound and froze, thus protecting the carpet from decay. Called the Pazyryk rug, the carpet has a woolen pile knotted with Chiordes knot. Its central field is a deep red color and it has two wide borders, one depicting deer and the other Persian horseman. It dates from the fifth century B.C. and is now kept in the Hermitage Museum of Leningrad.

When shopping for a Persian Rug the different areas and provinces they are made in influence how they are made and their designs. To give you an idea:  rugs from Kerman province are thought of as some of the most colorful and soft. Tabriz is known for variety while Na'in for the number of knots. Ghom has the more traditional designs and Kashan is known for strength and durability. Some other areas find more bold designs and others use goat's wool rather than sheep’s wool. Kerman Province is renowned for its soft and, often, very large rugs. They are very colorful, often containing shades of green, and are usually made from locally-grown cotton. Khorasan Rugs are influenced by the nomatic Turks, as well as Arabs.  Kordestan has the most simple rugs in design and colors.

When you shop for a Persian Rug you enter history past, present, and future. Not only is your rug purchase a fine investment, but also a form of currency, and a keepsake to hand down from generation to generation.  The element of luxury with which the Persian carpet is associated today provides a marked contrast with its humble beginning among the nomadic tribes that at one time wandered the great expanse of Persia in search of their livelihood.