Dear Visitor,
I have added these pages to my website to show you some of the common designs in Persian rugs. The finest in Persian rugs are the pure silk rugs and the best known among them are made in the holy city of Qom.  Qom rugs are very much like other city rugs, in that the quality can range from very low to extremely high and the best known Qom carpets are the pure silk pieces, which are also some of the most expensive Persian rugs you can find.
My showcase here is going to highlight only a small and yet very popular segment of those pure silk Qom rugs that feature pictorial hunting scenes.  Even those the Qom rugs come in many different designs, shapes, and colors, it is a certain unique hunting scene design that have set them apart from other Persian carpets. To give you a few examples, I have included those below from my past collection.
 

As you can see in the pictures, these scenic pure silk Qom carpets come in various colors and can range from small 2'x3' to 7'x10' sizes.  The most common are the 3'x5' and 5'x7' sizes due to the fact that most people like to hang them on walls. Sometimes, like in the case of the red one, I also find 7'x10' pieces, but they are extremely rare and to find pictorial rugs larger than than is virtually unheard off.  Also, the quality of the pure silk can vary greatly depending on the workmanship and skill of the weaver.  Many of the ones that you see offered on the internet are around 500 kpsi and they are the cheapest and lowest quality pure silk Qom carpets you can find.  The reason why you will see so many of them is that the sellers know that the buyer can not physically see the rugs and since the pictures all look the same, it is easier to sell a 500 kpsi piece than a 700 kpsi, which is much more expensive.  I have listed a few buying tips for you below in case you are thinking about buying a pure silk Qom rug from an internet retailer. But for now, back to the rugs at hand.  Most of the Qom hunting rugs have the riders on the horses and the animals that are being hunted. The scenes are typically based on stories of the imperial court in the ancient Persian empire and some of the rugs will have poems written around the borders telling the stories like in the one to the right.  As with all hunting scenes, there are lots of plants and animals depicted throughout the rug, but there are often times two different setting depicted in the Qom rugs, which is a bit unusual. While the inside of the rug is showing off the hunt, the border is typically reserved for showing the different plants and animal in a peaceful time. A typical example would be the red one, where the border depicts animals drinking from a water hole, pictures of trees and plants, and animals playing.  For reasons unknown to me, this seems to be a reoccurring theme in most hunting rugs.  You might have also noticed the horizontal Qom rug in the middle, which is also very rare in Persian carpets. Some of the pictorial Qom rugs are deliberately woven with a horizontal pattern because they are often framed afterwards.  If you were to go to an Iranian home or restaurant (which I would highly recommend - food is great), you will often find framed rugs and the pure silk Qom rugs are often framed due to their very high quality.

Now, in case you are thinking about buying a pure silk Qom rug, especially over the internet, make sure you know what to look for since there are sellers who will be less than honorable.

1. Always, always call the seller or e-mail and check out his/her inventory of other rugs.  Many merchants offer low quality rugs and if they only have a couple of super high end pieces in between, then odds are that there is something strange going on.

2. Make sure that you receive a signed certificate stating that it is in fact a genuine Persian Qom rug made in Iran. There are copies being made mainly in China and India, which can look and feel just like the real ones from Qom. Again, getting to know the seller can be helpful.

3. If a seller makes a big deal about the signature and that it was made by a master weaver, forward him one of those spam e-mails for Viagra and tell him to go someplace. Virtually all Qom rugs are signed, and to produce one of these rugs, the weaver  has to be very good. Unless there is something absolutely amazing about that particular Qom rug, there is no reason why a signature would add to the value, so don't fall victim to these predators. Just about every Qom rug in my inventory is signed, but you can see that I don't dwell on it.

4. I have added a "Buyers Guide to Persian Rugs" and I would strongly recommend that you look at it.

I hope that you have enjoyed this article about the Nain rugs 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