Oriental and Persian Rugs/carpets

Rooms look empty and cold without carpets in them. Oriental carpets and area rugs add warmth and character to the rooms in which they are used. A room without a rug is like a body without sole. When you want to buy a rug for your room, size is the first matter you should pay attention to. Then comes color. If your room is small and dark, you may consider getting a light color rug to brighten the room. Design is another consideration. Rugs with lesser designs/motifs can be used better is busy rooms with too many furniture and wall hangings.

You have to know your budget as well. If you have a low budget, you may then plan on getting an area rug, which is machine made. Handmade rugs are more expensive and good investment if you can afford them. Tufted rugs are not handmade. They are made by using tufting guns and since they are not knotted, manufacturers use glue/latex in the back and cover the back of the rugs with fabrics. These disintegrate by the passage of time or washing and look ugly. They may also smell because of the latex.

If you do not know rugs, try to know your Oriental rug dealer. See if he is knowledgeable and knows rugs. Do not get trapped in discount games and retirement/going-out-of-business sales. Ask for a detailed invoice and a clear return policy. The dealer should write down whatever he claims the rug to be on his signed invoice.

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

The Ardabil Carpets

Ardabil Carpets: An Overview of Exceptional Works of Art

Possibly two of the largest, and oldest carpets in the world, Ardabil carpets are cherished pieces of art, history and elegance all wrapped up in one – better yet, two. With gorgeous design and intricate elements, Ardabil carpets have spawned numerous look-a-likes. According to various accounts, the Ardabil carpets came into existence in northwestern Iran in the 16th century. Former Iranian ruler, Shah Tahmasp wanted the carpets to be created for the shrine of his ancestor, Shaykh Safi in the town of Ardabil. Now, almost 500 years later, the fine details and awe-inspiring beauty of these carpets make them extraordinary treasures.

Impressive design
Measuring approximately 13' 5" x 23' 11" (Los Angeles) and 17' 6" x 34' 6" (London) and made up of silk foundation (warps and wefts) and wool pile, the Ardabil carpets are finely constructed with a variety of patterns and colors, such as red, blue and yellow. A gold medallion is at the center of the carpets, surrounded by smaller medallions located in the four corners of each rug. The medallion is very large, but not over powering. And although the sheer size of the carpets is mind boggling, it is the expertly weaved design running throughout each carpet that has everyone amazed. Since the carpets are so enormous, much care and attention to detail had to be involved when creating such masterpieces.

Distinctive details
Two lamps are expertly positioned above and below the center medallion. These lamp images give the appearance as if they were hanging from the medallion. And depending on where you stand, one of the lamps looks larger than the other. This rectangular-shaped carpet also contains an endless amount of additional scrollwork. This includes a variety of images of flowers or greenery, which also provide unmistakable appeal. These images dominate a large portion of the carpets and make up the deep blue background within the main area of each carpet.

Current location
Until the late 1800s, there were still two complete Ardabil carpets existing in the shrine of Shaykh Safi. Unfortunately, there was an earthquake and the carpets were damaged. As a result, one carpet was used to repair the other one, leaving one, full-scale Ardabil carpet and a smaller, border-less carpet. As of today, one carpet is currently housed at the V&A Museum in London. There, it lies flat in an enclosed glass case. The carpet is only lit periodically to prevent any color damage from lighting. The other carpet is located in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Ardabil carpets have been through a myriad of difficulties over the centuries. What began as simply a royal commission, these carpets have become some of the most renowned carpets of their kind. And regardless of a complex history, natural disasters and near destruction of these attention-grabbing masterpieces, Ardabil carpets are truly in a class by themselves.

Dr. Khosrow Sobhe
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
310-770-9085
www.rugidea.com

Ardabil Carpet at Los Angeles County Museum of Art LACMA

Later this year, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), will exhibit the famous Ardabil Carpet for a short period of time, in November 2009.

There are two magnificent Persian carpets called the Ardabil Carpets. Their exact origins remain unknown. They are said to have come from a complex of shrines and mosques at Ardabil in North West Iran, the burial place of Shaikh Safi al-Din Ardabily, ancestor of Shah Ismail, founder of the Safavid dynasty. This dynasty ruled Iran from 1501 to 1733. At one end of the Ardabil carpet, a cartouche contains an inscription which dates to 1539/40 AD.

One Ardabil Carpet is in Victoria & Albert Museum in London. The other piece is in Los Angeles County Museum of Art, LACMA.

Here is some preliminary information on the piece which is in Victoria & Albert Museum in London :

Size: 17' 6" x 34' 6" or 5.34 x 10.51 meter

Weft: Un-dyed silk (beige) 3 paired shoots after each row of knots

Warp: Un-dyed silk (beige) 35 threads per square inch
Knot: asymmetrical (Senneh or Farsi); 340 per square. inch
Pile: wool, 10 colors: white, black, green, yellow, three shades of blue, and three shades of red

Purchased in sum of £2000 in March 1893

Unknown to the Victoria & Albert Museum at the time, there was a more finely knotted second Ardabil carpet, which is now in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. This carpet has lost its borders and part of its central field; a portion of the missing areas are used to repair the carpet owned by the V&A.

The size of the Ardabil Carpet kept at LACMA is 13' 2" x 23' 7" or 4.00 x 7.18 meter.

I will write more on this exciting and one of a kind event later.

Khosrow Sobhe
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.rugidea.com
310-770-9085

Carpet Concert and Persian Rugs in Los Angeles: A Sold Out Event

A second sold out Carpet Concert was held at Craft & Folk Art Museum here in Los Angeles last night. Rowan Storm performed vocal and played dayereh and Daff (framed drum). Morteza Yadollahi played Persian tar and tanbur and Faraz Minooei played santur. It was a lovely evening. It was read on the flyer:

Leave your shoes and cares at the door ... Lounge on beautiful handmade carpets ... Be transported into the mystical realm of Persian music!

At the beginning, Maryna Hrushetska the Director of the Museum welcomed every body and then Rowan briefly talked about the program. The event began at 7:00 pm after the reception of Persian sweet, tea and appetizers which were provided downstairs in the front yard of the museum.

Rowan sang few songs and several poems of Khayam, a very famous Iranian poet. This lady is full of energy and love.

Holly Jerger worked tirelessly on the past and this program. Several other staff and volunteers also worked hard to make this event a success. We thank them all. By providing the carpets, I played a very small and tiny part in this wonderful event. I had many guests probably around 20, all of whom enjoyed the concert.

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

A Busy Sunday With Rug Cleaning and Repair and One Rug Sale

It was Sunday yesterday and we were at work from 9:00 am till 9:00 pm! We were supposed to pick up two rugs for cleaning from a neighboring town, some 25 miles away from our rug gallery. My helper did not show up on time and while it was getting really late, one of his friends Noah went to the restaurant next door to drop off something. I asked Noah to see if he was free and could help me and he said yes. I called the customer and let her know that we would be a little bit late and she said it would be fine. We picked up two very old area rugs for cleaning.

During the day, at least five different customers walked in separately but none bought any rug. Only one repeat customer who is in love with Persian rugs came in and bought a hand knotted Persian rug to give it to his friend as a gift. It was a rare 5 x 8 rug in black background made in Toyserkan in Iran. It is very rare to have Persian carpets in black except for two towns which make them, Nahavand, and Toyserkan, two small towns in the vicinity of the famous city of Hamedan which make small rugs of up to 5 x 8 in black. There are a couple of other towns such as Malayer and Nanadj which also made a limited number of rugs with black background.

Since we will have a rug tent sale at the end of this week with up to 50% off, we were busy setting up the store and organizing the racks up to 9:00 pm last night. I do not know why I was not tired at all when I got home!! It maybe because of the excitement of the tent sale and its adventure!!

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

Persian Carpets Consortium

Persian carpets, with their intricate weaving techniques, beautiful assortment of colours, and explicit designs, hold the top rank in the list of carpet exporters across the globe.

Recently, Masoud Mirkazemi, Commerce Minister of Iran, called for the formation of a national consortium of hand-woven carpets for the exports. This will help the age old handicraft to survive the fierce competitions from the cheap imitations.

In a seminar, Mirkazemi said that forming a national consortium would help the Government secure the market for Persian carpets, so that local producers can get financial support when they opt to participate at carpet exhibitions in foreign countries.

The Commerce Minister invites private sectors to increase their investment in the Iranian carpet industry, so that country`s share in the world consumption may surge.

Available statistics show that till date, exports of Iranian carpets increased by 7 percent, since the beginning of the current financial year. It is estimated that more than 1.2 million weavers in the country are engaged in catering to the demand of the domestic as well as international market.

Source: Carpetour.net

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

Abbas Sayahi A Master Dyer of Natural Colors and Dyes

Abbas Sayahi is a great master dyer who lives in Shiraz, Iran. He has a big dyeing plant and workshop in the suburb of Shiraz (Sultanabad) where he uses different local herbs and plants to dye the yarns for different customers who deal with hand spun wool to make Persian hand knotted carpets. The good thing about Abbas is that he likes to share his secrets with those who are ready to learn. This comes from his teaching background. He was a teacher in tribal and rural areas of of Fars province for many years. He never tries to make a big deal out of vegetable dye process. In one of his recordings, he registered 400 different shades of natural dyes including black. We have been working with Abbas Sayahi for the past 30 years and he has done great dye jobs for us.

To read more about Abbas Sayahi and his son Parham, visit this link:

http://www.persiancarpetguide.com/sw-asia/Rugs/Dyes/Dye997.htm

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

President of the Iranian Carpet Exporters' Association in Los Angeles

Mr. Akbar Herischian, president of the Iranian Carpet Exporters' Association is in Los Angeles. He came to visit me around 12:pm today in my rug gallery. We chatted and talked about the matters of mutual interests, mostly Persian carpets. Although I live in Los Angeles, but I am still a member of the Board. We have more than 500 members in the association which is based in Tehran. The association publishes a quarterly called the "Iranian Hand Woven Carpet". I am the editor in chief of this magazine.

in the photo, I am in dark brown suit with yellow tie.

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

Persian Rug Dealers' Film

Few days ago, an Iranian film maker called me and spoke over the phone. He wanted to see me to talk about a rug film to be made by him. We fixed the time and met. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California, USC here in Los Angeles. I graduated from this fine school myself in 1982 after I got my second master's degree and my Ph.D. I love this school.

This young Persian film maker wants to make a film about the lives of the Persian rug dealers here in the U.S. He does not want to focus on Persian carpets. He had some original ideas and I provided him with some materials. He seemed pretty enthusiastic about the subject. We are supposed to meet again and talk about the matter in more detail.

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

Persian Rugs and Coalition of Iranian Entrepreneurs AHAM Los Angeles

We have a weekly meeting on Monday evenings at the Flame Restaurant, the Camden House in Beverly Hills. The organizer of the meeting is the Coalition of Iranian Entrepreneurs, in Farsi called AHAM. The meeting starts at 6:00 pm with one hour of networking and mingling. During this time, some Persian appetizers are served with tea. We have Persian food from 7:00 pm to 7:45 pm followed by 2-3 short speeches each one 5 minutes, and then, we have a keynote speaker who talks about 30 minutes and then there is a short question and answer part. Without prior notice, I was asked tonight to deliver a 5-minute speech on Persian carpets for the audience of nearly 50 businessmen and women who had gathered for networking, business and speeches.

First I presented some information on the current state of the Persian carpet industry in Iran. We have around 1,000,000 carpet looms on which around 2,000,000 weavers work. The rough annual export of Persian rugs from Iran is approximately $600,000,000. I then talked about the Kish Island Carpet Exhibition which was held from April 29 to May 2nd, 2008. Non-Iranians do not need visa to go Kish Island, a free zone which is 20 minutes away from Dubai, United Arab Emirate.

I talked about the biggest hand made carpet in the world, a 6,000 square meters (roughly 70,000 square feet) carpet which was recently made for a mosque in Abu Dahbi. It took 18 months to weave this magnificent rug by 600 women who worked in two shifts. I briefly talked about two video presentations I had on Persian carpets at the Bowers Museum in Orange County on April 26, 2008 and another lecture on May 7th in the California State University Northridge.

My speech tonight lasted for only 5 minutes. Several people came to me after the program was over and told me they liked the brief but statistical and informative report I presented. It was good opportunity for me to present myself to the Iranian business community who were there.

I got home around 9:30 pm and posted this report to share the story with the kind readers of my rug blog.

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