Persian Rug: Everlasting Garden

It is 7:45 am in Los Angeles and I am at work in my rug gallery in Los Angeles.

I had a lecture and video presentation last night at the California State University Northridge here in Los Angeles on Persian carpets. I enjoyed the program. Around 40 students and one of the faculty members showed up. I showed a 15-minute video of which I am the producer showing how Gabbeh rugs are made in Iran by the Qashqai tribe. The program started at 7:15 pm and ended around 8:45 pm.

Persian Carpet: Everlasting Garden

A Lecture and Video Presentation by

Dr. Khosrow Sobhe

California State University Northridge

Sponsored by the Iranian Students Association

Sierra Hall Room 203

05/07/2008

7:00 pm

History of Rug Making:

Handmade rugs were probably made by nomads to cover the floor. The Pazyryk carpet is the oldest hand made rug which dates back to 2,500 years ago. It is kept in the Hermitage Museum in San Petersburg, Russia. The Ardabil carpets (a pair) were woven during the rein of Shah Tahmasp of Safavid dynasty in 1539. One piece is in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. The other one is in Los Angeles County Museum of Art, LACMA.

Rug Trade

Rug trade is around $2 billion per year. Iran holds nearly 30% of the market, India 21%, China 18%, and Pakistan 17%

In 2006, around $120 million Persian rug was imported to the US. Around $600,000,000 Persian carpet is exported annually from Iran. There are around 1,000,000 looms in Iran with about 2,000,000 weavers. Roughly 350,000 people work in the side jobs. Around 8,000,000 Square Meters, roughly 90,000,000 square feet of Persian carpet is produced annually in Iran.

Informative Rug Websites:

Spongobongo.com
PersianCarpetGuide.com
RugIdea.com
Oldcarpet.com
RugNews.com

Khosrow Sobhe is an award winning producer and importer of Persian rugs and the founder and CEO of SOBCO International Ltd. (www.RugIdea.com) Los Angeles. He is a Board member of the Iranian Carpet Exporters' Association, Tehran. Khosrow Sobhe is a Board Member of the Textile Museum Associates of Southern California in Los Angeles. Sobhe is a member of the Textile Group of Los Angeles, TGLA. He is an Industry Partner of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID). Khosrow Sobhe is the Editor in Chief of the "Iranian Hand Woven Rug" quarterly published in Tehran in Farsi and in English.

Khosrow Sobhe
www.RugIdea.com
310-770-9085