Karadjeh, Qaradjeh, Gharadjeh, Gharajeh Rugs and Carpets

Karadjeh also spelled Karajeh, Qaradjeh, Gharadjeh, Gharajeh is a very small village north east of Tabriz in north west Iran very close to the border of the Republic of Azerbaijan and republic of Armenia. The weavers in this area produce beautiful hand knotted carpets mostly small sizes and runners. The design is geometrical multi-medallion in red. Occasionally we see dark blue and ivory backgrounds in Karadjeh rugs. The knots are symmetrical with flat double corded selvages on the sides. Using deep blue, sky blue and turquoise is also very common in the area. As you can see on the map, Karadjeh is to the north west of Heriz.

Here, I am posting few pictures of an antique old Karadjeh runner with the size of  2' 8" x 10' 10", early 20th century with beautiful 5-medallion design in red. It is in a very good condition and we have priced it for $2,950.

We also have few new Karadjeh runners in red and ivory background with birds and geometric designs. The newer versions of Karadjeh rugs have strong colors of turquoise, orange, and pink. These new pieces are priced $1,950. Sizes are 2' 6" x 10'.

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

Malayer Rugs Malayer Capets

An antique early 20th Malayer rug 4' 2 X 6' 6" $4.950

Malayer is a small town located in the province of Hamedan in north west Iran, 55 miles (90 km) south east of Hamedan city and 250 miles (400 km) south west of Tehran.

Malayer rugs are usually small, although in few cases I have seen big 12’ x 18’ antique Malayer carpets. Making runners is also common. Many of the designs are geometrical; using Herati (Fish, Mahi) or paisley (Boteh) designs. Malayer rugs are single-wefted symmetrically knotted. Generally speaking, Malayer rugs have cotton foundation. In some very older pieces made by Kurds in Malayer, foundations are ivory colored wool. The weave in Malayer rugs is finer than in Hamedan rugs.

A short but very informative video on Malayer rugs courtesy of Barry O'Connell

 Antique rare 12' x 18' inscribed Malayer carpet

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

Hadji Jalili Rugs Haji Jalili Carpets of Tabriz

Some groups of Persian carpets have mysteries associated with them. Although they do not go back to hundreds  of years, so little is known about them. Among these groups, I would like to mention Mohtasham carpets, and Hadji (Haji) Jalili carpets/rugs. Mohtasham rugs were made in the famous city of Kashan. Hadji Jalili rugs were made in the famous city of Marand, 40 miles north west of Tabriz, in east Azerbaijan in north west Iran. Both groups were woven in the fourth quarter of the 19th century.

It is not clear that Hadji Jalili was a weaver or producer who commissioned the rugs to other weavers. But what is clear is that this type of rugs were made for the elite and noblemen. Their foundation is cotton and the pile is made of high quality lamb's wool. Contrary to other Persian rugs, the selvages of Hadji Jalili rugs are made of cotton. Rarely, I have seen few pieces of silk Hadji Jalili all silk rugs. They come in all sizes including small 4' x 6' to room sizes of 10' x 14' or even bigger.

Here I am posting few pictures of a 4' x 5' 11" Hadji Jalili rug we have on sale for $4,900. Like many other rugs from the similar collection, this cute little piece also has a kind of Orange Salmon red background.

We also did a cleaning and color restoration of a big 10' x 14' Hadji Jalili rug with Herati Fish (Mahi) design. Like the other piece this one had cotton selvages on the sides. I am posting some pictures of this beautiful rug.

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

Rug Ideas Los Angeles

We were busy yesterday which was Saturday. It was cool and cloudy here in Los Angeles and our store was open from 12:00 to 4:00 pm. One happy returning customer brought in three Turkish Hereke silk rugs for cleaning. One of them was a very cute little piece with black background, silk on silk. We are going to sew a pocket on the back so they can use a rod to hang it on a wall in their house.

Another returning customer who picked up her cleaned 9' x 12' tapestry, brought in a big 10' x 15' hand knotted Indian carpet for cleaning. We also sold a hand knotted Hamedan runner to a couple.

I was also busy finishing up 16 rug appraisals I should do for a customer who wants to sell her rugs. I had done part of it on Friday and finished the project yesterday before the end of the store hours. I saved all the rug pictures on a CD which accompanies the 16 signed and highlighted sealed individual certificates.

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

Rug Sale Los Angeles

What is going on:

We are going to have the biggest 2-day Rug Tent Sale starting on Black Friday, November 25th & Saturday November 26th, 2011 from 10am to 6pm. This is a one-time in a year event. There will be huge discounts on Persian Carpets, Oriental and Area Rugs, Rug Cleaning, Repair, Pet Urine Stain Removal, appraisal and much more! Visitors will receive free books on rug cleaning and gifts.

Who we are:

We are third generation experts in th rug business, since 1953. We do not buy rugs from dealers or importers. We either produce our rugs or import them directly from the source. Therefore there is no middle man involved. This means:

BIG SAVINGS FOR YOU!
HALF (50%) OFF Everything!

We will have free rug appraisal!

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

Rug Ideas and Gifts

We are getting close and closer to the holiday seasons and Christmas time. It is good to give/receive gifts and we like to celebrate with our customers. We give free of charge gifts to those who visit our store these days. They don't have to buy anything or give us business. We just want them to leave our rug gallery happy with smile. We give everybody two books called "The Mystique of Oriental Rugs" and "Carpet Cleaning Tips For Dummies". We would like to have educated customers. These two books are very informative and educational. Easy to read and follow too. Our visitors love the title of the yellow book!!

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

Western Carpet Companies and " Ziegler & Co." in Iran

In the fourth quarter of the 19th century, a huge market was created for Persian carpets in Europe and in the U.S. Many companies and merchants imported the old and antique Persian rugs from allover Iran. They used the city of Tabriz in northwest Iran to export these antiques to Europe via Arzerum in Turkey. Some merchants also used the southern ports on the Persian Gulf to export Persian rugs to the U.S. by ship which was way cheaper than the land and then sea transportation via Europe . By the later decades of the nineteenth century, the supply of these fine antique rugs from Persia was on the low side. Beside, the existing Persian carpets did not match the western sizes and the taste of color and design. Westerners want everything their ways! Therefore, many of the merchants from Tabriz close to the Turkish borders decided to establish workshops in Sultanabad to produce rugs based on the western demand. The Sultanabad region had a fine carpet weaving tradition and was a perfect place to set up looms and rug workshops. Sarouk, is a village located 30 miles north of the city of Sultanabad (today called Arak). Sarouk is famous for weaving very heavy body carpets. Workshops and looms were sat up in the region.

To meet and fulfil the rising demand in the west for Persian rugs, the British-Switzerland company of “Ziegler    & Co.” opened its office in Tabriz in 1878 and in Sultanabad in 1883. The first World Oriental Carpet Exhibition of 1891 in Vien and another one London in 1892, created  a rising demand for Persian rugs in the west and other foreign companies such as British-Italian “Nearco Castelli Brothers” in Tabriz, and “Eastern Rug Trading Company" of New York established their branches in 1909 in Tabriz and later in Kerman. Atiyeh Brothers of Portland, Oregon, also established their weaving facilities in Kerman after the turn of the century.

Of these cities, Sultanabad and surrounding towns and villages such as Sarouk, Farahan, Lilian and  few others were the most famous in the U.S. After establishing the offices and branches of  foreign companies, the designs were created based on the customers tastes and demand and a new types or Persian rugs were produced. The kind of rugs today called Ziegler, or Sultanabad were produced from the end of the 19th century to probably before the beginning of the WWII with the designs and color combination that Europeans Americans liked. Muted softer colors and floral latticed patters. What we see today in the market called "Ziegler" or "Sultanabad" is either new productions or old pieces with muted colors and big flowers and floral designs without central medallions. And no one can prove or dis-prove that they are made by or for "Ziegler & Co." in Iran during the 50 years that they were active. Ziegler or Sultanabad carpets are good quality Mahal rugs with easily pliable and soft handle.

One later group of these rugs is called "American Sarouk" with deep burgundy background color with no medallions in the center.

Antique Sultanabad Carpet from the estate of Sigmund Freud Courtesy of Nazmyal, New York

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

No Matter What, Our Core Values Remain the Same: Good Customer Service

We cleaned and restored a 300-year old 18th century French tapestry for a customer. We installed a new backing to it by hand sewing for more and extra support. We installed the tapestry on the wall. They were happy but after a couple of weeks they called in and said there were some wrinkles and bubbles on the tapestry. Usually when you have a new backing on the tapestry and you hang it, this happens. I went to their house with one of our repair crew and did some alterations and the tapestry looked good and we left. We received another e-mail saying that the tapestry still had some wrinkles and bubbles on one side. I took one of our master repairmen yesterday and went to the client's house. We had to remove one entire part of the backing while the tapestry was hanging on the wall and re-sew it by hand. It took us two hours to do this. We do whatever it takes to deliver first class jobs and services to make our customers happy. That is the core value of our company. Did I mention that our company was established by our father in 1953? We will celebrate our company's 60th birthday on November 18, 2013.

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

Nain Rugs Carpets: How Authentic Is The Signature?

The city of Nain (splled Naeen, Naein) has an area of 35,000 square kilometer and is located in Isfahan province with almost 200 miles distance from Tehran to south east. It is located in the central plateau of Iran with hot and dry climate. Nain has many famous villages and wells.

Nain has old antiquity and is a relic of pre-Islamic era. The indigenous architecture and the life in this desert community is very unique and astonishing. Nain is famous in the world for its magnificent carpets. The history of fine woolen men's cloak and cloth making dates back to centuries, but carpet making is relatively new and little more than a century old.

Nain rugs have asymmetrical (Persian) knots, woven on vertical looms with fine wool pile and cotton warps. They are closely clipped for better and finer look. In some instances silk warps are used. In higher and finer knotted rugs, kork (baby lamb wool) is used for pile. Using touch of silk around the flowers and arabesques is also very common. It is not a surprise to see Nain rugs with more than 900 knots per square inch. Making very big Nain rugs especially for Arab customers is a common practice in Nain. Todeshk is the name of a very small town close to Nain that made very high quality densely knotted 4-La (4-ply) Nain rugs. There is no more weaver in Todeshk to weave rugs anymore.

Fatollah Hibibian in his home in Nain, Isfahan province, Iran

Master artist Fatollah Habibian a personal friend of mine who died few years ago at the age of 92 was one of the pioneers of Nain carpets. His Nain rugs had his signature (Iran, Nain, Habibian) and many producers and weavers now a days copy and forge his signature which is now a brand on their carpets and this has become a controversy over Nain carpets in the past several years. Of course, when you want to buy a Persian Nain rug, you should not be obsessed with the signature as the quality of the rug, the balance in the design, the consistency of the knots are few more important factors than the signature itself. The quality should match the signature if the rug is signed Iran, Nain Habibian.

Fake Habibian signature

Fake Habibian signature

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

Heriz Rug Cleaning: Crime Against Art!

Yesterday, we picked up a 9' x 12' hand knotted antique Persian Heriz carpet for cleaning from a very good and repeat customer (a client who gives us business repeatedly or frequently). This beautiful Heriz rug has been in their family for almost 40 years. One RED flag. The selvages and bindings on the sides which act like walls to keep the roof intact, were done by machine and not by hand! I asked our client about who had done this poor repair job and he replied it was like this when we got this carpet some forty years ago. That is a shame. This is what happens if a want-to-be a repairmen does the repair on Oriental or Persian carpets because he looks at rugs as floor coverings and wall to wall carpeting. He does not know the origins, the construction, the age, and of course today's market value of the carpets he receives for cleaning and repair. That is what I call Crime Against Art!

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