Philip Walton Rugs

Kashan Rugs

Among the most famous carpet designs, Kashan rugs (sometimes spelled Keshan) usually contain a diamond-shaped medallion on a Shah Abbas field - a series of curvilinear floral forms, creating a garden-like background. During the reigns of Shah Tahmasp and Shah Abbas in the 16th and 17th centuries, several royal factories were established for the manufacture of rugs in the Persian empire's major centers - Isfahan (Shah Abbas' capital), Kashan, Kerman, Tabriz, and Joshaqan, as well as major centers in what is now the Indian subcontinent. Carpet weavers at these royal factories implemented various technical innovations in response to court demand for more intricate rugs with curvilinear, floral patterns (as opposed to geometric repeating patterns). These royal factories were often under direct court supervision as well. It is at this stage that carpet weaving ceased to be purely a nomadic or village way of life and instead became a sophisticated art form. Designs for highly intricate rugs were based on complex paintings as opposed to a reliance on memory. The senneh knot became the primary knot used, as it was more suited to the types of rugs the courts' artists and painters designed. The highest quality materials began to be used in order to enable the highly intricate patterns and to ensure high durability with high intricacy.