Persian Rug Kashmar 298 x 196 cm Wool Hand-knotted (Sold)

Kashmar Persian Rug

Material and Craftsmanship

This Kashmar Persian rug has a pile of 100% virgin wool and a warp of 100% cotton. Each material serves a distinct purpose within the hand-knotted construction. Virgin wool forms the visible pile and gives the surface its soft, natural textile feel. Cotton forms the warp, the underlying structure into which the knots are secured. The combination provides the basis for a rug that unites a woolen surface with a finely spun and resilient foundation.

The rug is hand-knotted. In this method, individual knots are tied by hand around the warp, row by row, while the woven structure is compacted as the work progresses. The process requires training, concentration and patience. It also allows the pattern to be built from many small, carefully placed knots rather than from a mechanically repeated surface. The result is a flexible textile object in which the design is created directly through the knotting process.

The stated knot density is approximately 200,000-250,000 knots per square metre. Knot density describes how many knots are placed within a given area; it is not the same as pile height. A dense knot structure provides a close foundation for the detailed development of a medallion and its surrounding ornaments. Together with hand knotting, it supports the precise rendering of the named Kashmar design.

Virgin wool is pleasant to the touch and gives a rug a comfortable, tactile pile. In a room, a wool rug can also help dampen sound and regulate humidity in the surrounding air. Cotton is suitable for the warp because it is hard-wearing and can be spun both finely and tightly. These are general properties of the materials specified for this rug. Its condition is described as like new.

Origin and Tradition

This rug comes from the city of Kashmar in Persia. Kashmar is a Persian weaving centre associated with a broad range of design approaches. Its carpets have not been limited to one unchanging pattern. Instead, Kashmar production has developed through different phases, with older examples often using Herati designs and more recent work tending toward the Sirchaki style. This changing vocabulary is part of the region’s place within Persian carpet history.

Herati is one of the established pattern traditions of Persian weaving. It is commonly based on repeated botanical forms arranged into a dense and orderly field. Leaves, blossoms and scrolling elements can create a continuous rhythm across the surface. The historical presence of Herati designs in Kashmar illustrates how local workshops worked with established Persian ornament while maintaining a regional identity.

More recent Kashmar carpets are often associated with Sirchaki design. One notable feature of this approach is the depiction of antique archaeological finds. Vases, weapons and bowls may appear as ornamental objects positioned around a central medallion. The carpet therefore becomes not only a field of repeated decoration but also a stylized record of historical objects. The pattern named for this rug, Lachak-Toranj Kashmar medallion, belongs to this Kashmar context.

Persian rugs are produced in many weaving regions, each with its own preferences in composition, ornament and execution. Well-known origins include Nain, Sarough, Tabriz, Isfahan, Kashan, Bidjar and Qom. These names identify distinct regional traditions and should not be confused with one another. Kashmar occupies its own position in that landscape, particularly through designs that combine a central medallion with references to historical artefacts.

Persian carpet making is based on skilled manual work. The warp is prepared as the structural order of the rug, and the pile is built through successive rows of knots. A weaver must keep the proportions, colour placement and contour of the design consistent while working through the full composition. This makes hand knotting both a practical textile process and a method of preserving regional visual traditions.

Wool has long been an important pile fibre in Persian weaving, while cotton is frequently used for a firm warp. The specified materials reflect this functional division: the wool is visible and tactile, while the cotton supports the knot structure. Persian rugs are also widely known for complex floral and geometric compositions. Natural plant dyes are often used in Persian weaving, but that general practice does not establish the dye source of this particular rug.

Kashmar’s design history shows that tradition can include variation. The transition from frequently used Herati patterns toward Sirchaki imagery demonstrates how a regional workshop culture can retain its identity while adopting different subjects and arrangements. In this rug, the Kashmar origin and the named medallion pattern provide the specific link between the individual piece and that broader tradition.

Design and Pattern

The pattern is identified as a Lachak-Toranj Kashmar medallion. Toranj refers to a medallion used as the concentrated centre of a Persian carpet composition. Lachak elements complement the central form and help establish a relationship between the centre and the surrounding field. The composition is therefore organized around a clearly defined focal element rather than being understood solely as an all-over repeat.

Kashmar medallion designs can include images of antique archaeological objects. Vases, weapons and bowls are placed around the central medallion as decorative motifs. Their presence gives the pattern a pictorial dimension while remaining part of an ordered carpet ornament. The objects are not presented as isolated illustrations; they are integrated into the surrounding design so that the entire field remains visually connected.

A medallion provides a strong framework for the eye. It gathers the principal structure at the centre, while secondary forms guide the transition toward the rest of the field. Objects arranged around it can create balance through repetition and spacing. In Persian design, such an arrangement allows geometric organization and historical imagery to work together. The named pattern consequently combines formal order with motifs drawn from material culture.

The connection with Herati and Sirchaki also helps explain the range of Kashmar design. Herati patterns are associated with recurring botanical ornament and a densely articulated rhythm. Sirchaki designs are more closely connected with depictions of archaeological finds. These are not identical pattern systems, but both belong to the changing vocabulary of Kashmar weaving. The region’s character lies partly in this ability to work with different kinds of ornament.

Persian carpet designs often bring floral and geometric forms into the same composition. Curving leaves, vessels and other organic shapes may be balanced by axes, borders and measured spacing. A central medallion gives these elements an architectural order. At close range, the pattern can be read through numerous individual motifs; from farther away, those motifs combine into a coherent whole.

Hand knotting is especially suited to this kind of design because contours and small colour areas can be developed knot by knot. The stated density of approximately 200,000-250,000 knots per square metre describes the close knot structure used for the rug, while the pattern itself supplies the visual organization. It would be incorrect to reduce the design to the medallion alone: the surrounding Lachak elements and the Kashmar-associated objects are part of the complete composition.

The rug’s named design brings together its regional and formal information. Kashmar identifies the weaving origin, Lachak-Toranj identifies the medallion arrangement, and the reference to Kashmar places the pattern within a local tradition rather than assigning it to another province. The result is a Persian design language in which a central ornamental structure and images of historical objects are treated as parts of one hand-knotted surface.

Special Features

The rug combines a pile of 100% virgin wool with a warp of 100% cotton. The wool pile is soft to the touch and can help dampen sound and regulate humidity in an interior. The cotton warp is durable and can be spun finely and tightly, giving the knotting a stable foundation. These material properties are complemented by the hand-knotted technique.

Its pattern is specified as a Lachak-Toranj Kashmar medallion, with a central medallion and Kashmar-associated imagery such as vases, weapons and bowls. The knot density is approximately 200,000-250,000 knots per square metre, and the condition is described as like new.

FAQ

Where does this Persian rug come from?

This rug comes from the city of Kashmar in Persia. Kashmar is known for a varied design tradition that has included Herati patterns in earlier periods and has more recently tended toward Sirchaki designs. The origin identifies the rug as a Kashmar Persian rug; it does not make it a Kashan, Nain or Tabriz rug. Its regional connection is expressed in the specified Lachak-Toranj Kashmar medallion and in the use of motifs associated with Kashmar’s historical design vocabulary.

What does the Kashmar medallion pattern mean?

Lachak-Toranj Kashmar medallion describes a composition centred on a Toranj, or medallion, with accompanying Lachak elements. Kashmar designs of this type may show antique archaeological objects arranged around the centre. The named objects include vases, weapons and bowls. They give the ornament a pictorial reference while the medallion maintains a clear formal structure. The pattern also reflects the evolution of Kashmar design from frequently used Herati ornament toward more object-based Sirchaki imagery.

Which materials were used?

The pile is made from 100% virgin wool and the warp from 100% cotton. Virgin wool gives the visible pile a soft, pleasant feel and can contribute to sound absorption and humidity regulation in a room. Cotton is used for the warp because it is durable and can be spun finely and tightly. The rug is hand-knotted, with an indicated density of approximately 200,000-250,000 knots per square metre. Its condition is described as like new.