Traditional Persian rugs made in Iran are still desirable; these handmade rugs and carpets come in many sizes, colours and designs. We could look to the great city of Qum for some of the finest wool or silk pieces, following on to Tabriz, where you would expect to find fabulous rugs often using wool with silk highlights, moving onwards to other ancient renowned cities like Isfahan, Kashan, Mashad and Heriz. Each city creates unique styles synonymous with this ancient trade.

Then we could look towards village pieces, which often reflect a lifestyle, and generations of family traditions, crafted into unique handmade rugs and carpets. These carpets create deep ties between their art and culture. Villages like Ghaisabad, Nasrabad, Husseinabad, Senneh, Nahavend, and Bidgar all produce rugs, runners and carpets of note.

And finally, we could look at the most rustic of the Persian rugs: Gabbeh carpets were originally made by women from the Qashqai tribes of southwestern Persia. Early designs were basic, with only a few decorative patterns, mostly a geometric mix of objects resembling animals, humans (children) or trees (abstracts), coarsely knotted with brightly coloured wool.