What IS a Persian Rug?

On June the 5^th, 2013 something astounding happened. In New York City at Sotheby’s a Persian Rug sold for $34 million. Thirty. Four. Million. Dollars.

To the vast majority of the populace that is a simply unfathomable amount of money. An amount that very few of us will ever see.

It seems a ludicrous amount of money to spend on, of all things, a rug. But, as with any object, it is worth what someone is willing to pay. So why was someone willing to pay that much for this particular rug? And just what is so special about Persian rugs anyway?

As the name implies, a Persian Rug has to be made in Persia (well, technically Iran), just like a Melton Mowbray Pork pie. Yes, I just compared a $34,000,000 rug to a pork pie, but the principle is the same: you can make a pork pie anywhere, any time, but if it ain’t from Melton Mowbray, you can’t call it a Melton Mowbray pork pie. Same with rugs.

It is not only the geography that denotes a Persian rug, but also the method of manufacturing. Persian rugs typically use a certain knot in the weave called a ‘Persian Senneh Knot’. This knot is special as it takes up less space, allowing for more knots per square inch. This means finer lines and flowing patterns can be created. They are also, always, unequivocally, handmade.

The most commonly used material to make Persian rugs is wool. It has a wonderful texture, can be dyed a huge array of colours and lasts an incredibly long time: the oldest surviving rug is from the 5^th century BC. Cotton is sometimes used and, occasionally, so is silk, but silk rugs are incredibly rare as they are so difficult to make. When a silk rug is made they are not typically used for floor coverings, but are more often hung on walls as decorations.

They can be divided into three groups, based on their sizing. Farsh/Qali are anything bigger than 6×4 feet. Qalicheh are under 6×4 feet, and Gelim are nomadic carpets.

But still, none of the above explains why they are revered in the way they are.

One aspect is due to the intricacy of their patterns. Rugs from other cultures typically had more geometric, straight lined patterns. But due to the fineness of the wool and the knotting technique Persian weavers used they were able to create swooping lines and thus, a greater array of patterns. This has since been emulated by many other cultures. Closely linked to this is judging the value of a rug by its ‘knots per square inch’, or KPSI. A typical high quality rug will have roughly 150 KPSI. To lend this some perspective: a knot takes a skilled weaver around 10 seconds, so, assuming an 8 hour working day, a 9×12 foot rug will take 810 days to make. Some silk rugs have a KPSI of over a thousand, and can quite literally take a lifetime to make. This is where it starts to become clear why these rugs are valued like they are.

Though not all rugs are valued as such. 150 KPSI is typical from an inner city workshop working with modern tools. A small village or nomadic rug maker with basic tools will have a KPSI of around 25-100. In this instance however you are paying for the heritage of the rug, and for the story it tells.

What needs to be realised is this is still very much a hands-on craft that has not been industrialised. Everything from the raising and shearing of the sheep (done at a high altitude to create a better quality wool), to the dying of the wool (knowledge of which is passed down from generation to generation) to then planning and drawing before finally making the rug, is all done by small communities, by hand. It is a very labour intensive process, which many people are involved in. You can get machine made rugs, but these are not technically classed as ‘A Persian Rug’ and have nowhere near the same value.

A small note on the dying process. In the late 19th century, to try and achieve a more complex array of colours, dyers started to use Aniline dyes. But when it was discovered these Aniline dyes were not as hard wearing and didn’t provide the same depth of colour that traditional dying methods did, the Persian government banned the import of them. Any dye houses still found using them after the ban were burned down.

This all goes to show why Persian rugs have the value placed on them that they do. But why did that one particular rug sell for $34 million? There are a few reasons. One of the largest being it is a Kerman Rug. Kerman is a region in Iran which is to rugs as Champagne is to… champagne. They are especially renowned for the quality of their dying. The wool is dyed before it is spun which makes for a more consistent colour. The dyers are also so skilled that they can achieve colour hues others can’t. They are also known for a style of carpet known as a ‘Vase’ carpet. Made in the late 16^th and early 17^th century a Vase carpet has an all over pattern of over stylised flowers and oversized palmettes with vases. This particular rug was a perfect example of a Vase rug from the Kerman region. Meaning, give or take, one of the finest rugs ever made.

The $34,000,000 Rug.