Isfahan

Isfahan was the capital of Persia during the reign of Shah Abbas (1571 - 1629), and had the most beautiful palaces, mosques and libraries. Architecture as well as carpet weaving flourished at that time. Rare and precious carpets from this period are now kept in museums all over the world. Very fine well-knotted carpets are still being made in Isfahan today. The fascinating designs using lines and arabesques that appear on Islamic architecture also appear on the modern Isfahan carpets. Medallions are the most usual motif; however, animals and flowers are also used.   They have ivory background with blue, rose, and indigo motifs. The texture is of very tight piles of soft wool. Both warp and weft are of cotton, and there are between 130 and 360 knots to every square inch. The ISFAHAN carpets have different size and the majority of them are mid size(120x180 to 240x300 cm.).Large rugs up to (300 x 500 cm.) can be found sometimes.