Dear Visitor,
I have added these pages to my website to show you some of the common designs in Persian rugs.
When people talk of Persian rugs, the carpets that come to mind are regular shaped pieces with a medallion and some interesting designs, but there are also other types of rugs and one of the rarities are pictorial Persian rugs. Rugs depicting events or places have been around for centuries and are among the most valuable Persian carpets often seen at fine exhibitions and museums.
One of the comments that I often receive is about the quality of these picture rugs and the fact that many of them have stayed in such good condition for decades and sometimes even over centuries. Fact is that the picture are typically made of a high end quality, but the main reason why pictorial carpets last so long is that they are rarely ever walked on. Most of these rugs are either hang on walls or placed in little traffic areas, so there is virtually no wear and tear and the carpets can age gracefully.
The three areas of Iran that produce the vast majority or pictorial carpets are around Tabriz, Isfahan, and Qom. Due to the fact that most picture rugs are very detailed and are often made with silk and wool or just pure silk, they are most common in city rugs which use the fine Kurkwool (lamb wool) and silk. Tribal carpets typically use a much more coarse wool and rarely ever feature silk highlights, so the combination of the lower quality wool along with a thicker pile and much bigger knots (lower kpsi) means that when you see a picture carpet, it most likely came from one of the rug weaving cities. Here are some examples of fine pictorial Persian rugs:
 

As you can see in the examples, pictorial rugs can come is a wide array of sizes, qualities, colors, and designs, but they are all typically high end Persian rugs. There are several types of picture carpets and the samples above show some of them. You will most often find the picture rugs depicting historical or religious places like ruins or mosques, social events like in the hunting scenes or the 4 season rugs, or simply people, plants, or animals. Some are also based on stories or poems and to see some writing along with a picture is not that uncommon.
Another group of pictorial rugs that are also very valuable and tend to be more of a personal matter for most collectors are the religious rugs depicting either events or people from certain religions. The most common pieces are the Tabriz Persian rugs and the pictures are based on Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Below are three examples of what typical religious oriental carpets could look like and they are almost always made with lots of silk perfect for hanging.

I hope that you have enjoyed this article about the Pictorial Persian carpets and feel free to look at my other featured rug designs and my website.  As always, I enjoy hearing my visitor's thoughts and experiences, so drop me a line or two if you like.

Take care,

Mike Panah
Owner, MP Persian Rug Imports