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Tabriz, Hisphan, Nain, Kashan, Qom, Garage', Ushak , Konya, Kazak, Shirvan, etc. are nothing but the names of the cities from which they originate. It can be seen that nearly every city or nomadic family produces particular designs and colours which are handed down from one generation to the next. The floral "Kashan" has nearly always a central medallion with four corners, and it's predominant colours are red and blue. The elegant "Nain" uses silk to outline it's designs and flowers and is always recognisable by its' colours: cream and light blue, cream and dark blue, cream and red and more rarely, green. Similarly Qom, Hisphan, Mashad etc. also have their own particular designs and colours.
Another aspect is the fineness of the carpet, and therefore the number of knots per sq. cms. For example, the oriental carpet known as Tabriz found in the north west of Iran, has a knot that ranges from 20 raj (around 30 knots per sq. cms.), up to 60 raj (800 knots per sq. cms.). We can rarely find a 70 raj , often knotted on silk with 900 knots per sq. cms. That is why a 20 raj Tabriz measuring 2 x 3 metres has a market value of a few hundred US dollars, while a 60 raj Tabriz of the same size has a high percentage of silk and a dense design and therefore one can spend up to a few thousand US dollars. The same can be said for the Nain, of which there are 5 qualites: Nain Sishla' (6lines), Nain Nola' (9 lines), Tabas A, Tabas B and Kashmar.
Therefore it can be seen that is not the name, the city or the country of origin that determines the preciousness of the carpet, but it is a number of different factors stated above that unite the ability and the taste of the weaver to create this valuable item. For several years now Pakistan has become one of the major leaders in the exportation of oriental carpets around the world. The ability and skilfulness of the carpet weavers enable them to reproduce antique oriental carpets by using natural dyes and hand spun wool. Even Iran has problems competing to produce the "antique" effect of these types of oriental carpets.
Marotta store is rich of authentic ancient and contemporary art masterpieces, full of history from the Europe and the East. | |
