Kerman rugs

Kerman is counted as one of the oldest cities and its name is derived from the Germanioi that was among the tribes (génea) of the Persians who were cultivators race listed by Herodotus, however, the city Kerman has been recorded as early as the 6th century BC. 

The town of Kerman is in the Central South of Iran and has always been one of the carpet weaving centres. Kerman carpets are highly prized because of the quality of their designs and colours. They are made of fine, lustrous wool, coloured soft red, green, blue, yellow, and ivory. The village of Ravar situated 25 miles from Kerman, also produces very beautiful carpets of high quality and design. These carpets are known as “Ravar Kerman”. Kerman city with a height of 1755m, is located on a high margin of Kavir-e Lut (Lut Desert) in the center south of Iran and is the capital of Kerman Province.

The success of Kerman carpets is mainly due to the skill of the pattern designers, called “Ustad”. The result is that while all Kerman carpets have something in common, which distinguishes them from those of other areas, they are also made in a wide variety of designs.  Marco Polo praised the carpets of Kerman as a marvel to see in 1270. His description is still apt today. Kerman is the capital city of a province with the same name (Kerman) in Southeastern Iran. It is a city of about 2 million people approximately 1000 kilometres southeast of Tehran. For about the last 100 years, it is a major source of high-grade Persian carpets. Today Kerman produces highly distinctive carpets and rugs primarily in highly floral medallion or all-over designs. In the older carpets, all cotton foundations have a depressed foundation with the first and third wefts rigid and the second sinuous. Kerman Shah or Laver Kerman became known for the best Kerman rugs. Laver was a town 120 miles from Kerman and is a centre for weaving the finest of rugs and carpets.

Kerman Carpets are mostly in floral designs. Many have rich and powerful central medallions, the motifs of which are also used in the borders and in the corners. On the larger Kerman carpets, there are animal designs or all-over patterns, the smaller ones are often decorated with vase patterns or pictorial subjects.