Rugs, Carpets and Qashqai Men

Qashqai tribe in the province of Fars has a long history of around 600 years. Qashqai tribe is consisted of six clans or sub-tribes such as Shesh Boluki, Large Kashkuli, Darreh Shuri, Amaleh, Farsi Madan, and Small Kashkuli. The tribe migrates around 300 miles twice a year. In the hot summer they go north to the foot of Zagros mountain. In the cold winter, they go south to get closer to the Persian Gulf in search of pastures for their herds. Qashqai's live in black tents made of goat hair which is oily and greasy which make the hair/tent waterproof in the rain and cold winters of the region. Many of the Qashqai's are settled and do not migrate anymore.

Qashgai weavers make beautiful Kashkuli and Gabbeh rugs. All these rugs/carpets are woven by talented Qashqai women who learn how to make rugs from their mothers. Men always seen in their felt hats in the tribe help with shearing and dyeing the wool. The weavers use ground or horizontal looms as this type of loom can be disassembled easily when they want to migrate. Dyeing is a secret not shared with the public and only few know how to create beautiful hues out of local herbs and plants. Walnut husk, pomegranate, and indigo are among the stuff they use for dyeing.

Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
www.RugIdea.com
Tel. 310-770-9085

A History of Gabbeh: Where Does Gabbeh Come From?

WHERE DOES GABBEH COME FROM?

The oldest document that refers to Gabbehs dates back to the sixteen Century. It is a decree of Shah Tahmasp , The Safavid ruller (1524-1576 ), ordering a reception to be held for Humayun, The Mugal emperor of India, who had sought refuge in Iran in 1540, one year after the famous Ardabil carpets were made.

In setting out detailed instructions for Humayun’s reception, the decree reads :

And we have ordered
a silk tent to be set up for the kitchen near
the royal pavilion and the private quarters,
covering the ground with silken carpets from
Khorasan , with Gabbehs, with felts from Jam,
and with suzanis ( embroideries).

Shah Tahmasp’s decree in which he orders the floor of Humayun’s pavilion to be covered with silk carpets from Khorasan, and with fine felts from jam, and embroideries and Gabbeh , proves that in the distant past the Gabbeh was a valued and aristocratic floor covering comparable with embroideries and silk.
The short reference to Gabbehs which is found in the above decree suffices to discredit in some of the theories that have been advanced about the Gabbeh , such as being a floor covering of poor people , or its being new product and phenomenon of the last couple of centuries.

Khosrow Sobhe
Certified Rug Specialist
www.RugIdea.com
310-770-9085

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

Rug Blogs Reveal My Business Secrets

This morning I thought to myself that I write everything about my business as regards with what I sell, how many pieces I sell, how many rugs and what I receive for cleaning and repair and many other details about my business. This can be read by my colleagues and competitors. Then I told myself, rug dealers are busy selling rugs and counting their money. They do not have time or they are not in a mood to read a rug blog. And if they read, what can they get out of my Oriental rug blog? So I should not wary myself and keep my mind busy about what they might think or do.

So let me write about my day. A customer, a lady bought two 5 x 8 area rugs, one runner, 2' 2" x 8 and one 4 x 6 area rug and paid with her credit card and left. She was student at Santa Monica College here in Los Angeles. Another man bought a 4 x 6 area rug, and while I was gone to my bank, one piece of 5 x 8 area rug was sold to another customer. I visited a rug dealer in Beverly Hills. He is a collector and dealer of fine Persian old, antique and fine rugs. In the morning, a dealer from a neighboring town brought an old Kashan rug for cleaning and repair. Several other customers also walked in separately but did not buy any rugs. Few of them said they would return in the near future. Before closing the store, I sold two pieces Persian hand knotted rugs, one a fine Gabbeh, and another one, a 2 x 3 Persian Varamin rug, both made with hand spun wool and natural dye to a couple who were looking for simple design rugs.

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

Rug Blog

My rug blog for me is like a good friend with whom I can speak whenever I have something to say. I can express myself. I do not know who reads my posts in my web log and from where in the world. But I know that roughly 40-50 visitors read my posts on my web log everyday. That is great.

Yesterday was Monday. Usually, Mondays are slow in terms of rug sale, because people had just the weekend and on the first day of the week and its beginning, have many more important things to do than buying area rugs, Persian or Oriental carpets. We were extremely busy yesterday. In the morning, three ladies and a gentleman came in and spent about 45 minutes looking at several area rug runners made of silk made in Belgium. They bought 4 runners and three small pieces of the same quality. They also bought an 8 x 10 fine rug pad. I went to Bank to deposit a couple of checks and for the 20 minutes that I was gone, three pieces of area rugs were sold to a Limousine driver who had stopped by and looked for high quality area rugs. We also received few Persian and Indian Gabbeh rugs from two different customers for cleaning and repair. A 10 x 14 Persian Tabriz rug was also picked up by a customer who had left the rug for cleaning and repair/replacement of the selvages. We were busy the whole day.

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