Philip Walton Rugs

Tabriz Rugs

Tabriz rugs are made in and around the city of Tabriz in north-west Persia. Tabriz rugs are usually woven on cotton bases and have wool piles, often with highlights of silk. Generally very durable rugs, they are made in a wide variety of designs and the piles are usually clipped short to medium in length. As with most hand knotted rugs today, the quality of rugs made in Tabriz vary greatly as various standards of quality are implemented by different weaving houses. Tabriz rugs as curvilinear, workshop rugs can be traced back to the reigns of Shah Tahmasp and Shah Abbas in the 16th and 17th centuries, when 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.