Solomon in a Safavid Niche Rug: Words, Light and Kingship
A Safavid niche rug uses Solomon's name, Qur'anic inscriptions, colour and floral forms to bring spiritual and royal meanings into one composition.
Magazine
Tabriz Mihrab Rugs: Arches, Lamps and Woven Architecture
Five museum examples show how Tabriz weavers transformed the mihrab into open red fields, scalloped arches, hanging lamps and richly inscribed compositions.
Sanguszko Carpets: Safavid Stories Woven in Wool
Lovers, hunters and mythical creatures share the world of Sanguszko carpets. An illustrated look at Safavid storytelling and its later Qajar reinterpretation.
Caucasian Rugs: Kazak, Kuba, Karabagh and Soumak
Regional names, woven structures and shared motifs: a visual guide to Caucasian rugs, with museum examples and Persian-language scholarship.
Turkish Rugs: History, Regions and Identification
A source-led visual guide to Turkish rug history, regional groups, pile and flatweave construction, careful identification, and practical buying checks.
Ardabil Rugs: History, Designs and Identification
A source-led visual guide to Ardabil rugs, their varied regional design history, the famous Ardabil Carpet, careful identification, and practical buying checks.
Kerman Rugs: History, Designs and How to Read Them
Kerman or Kirman rugs span classical vase carpets, Qajar pictorial work, export production and regional weaving. Learn how to compare design, structure, condition and provenance without relying on one motif.
Armenian-Woven Persian Rugs: History, Designs and Identity
An illustrated guide to Iranian Armani-baf rugs, how they differ from carpets woven in Armenia, and how migration, regional workshops and shared motifs shaped their identity.
Joshaghan Rugs: History, Designs and How to Identify Them
An illustrated, readable guide to Joshaghan rugs, from their Kashan-area history and debated Safavid attributions to later lozenge fields, motifs and practical identification.
Afghan War Rugs: History, Motifs and Three Generations
A source-grounded guide to Afghan war rugs, from subtle Soviet-era motifs to post-2001 designs, with careful attention to weaving, displacement, markets, materials, and interpretation.
The Pazyryk Carpet: Age, Design and Origin Debate
A source-grounded guide to the Pazyryk carpet's discovery, construction, animal friezes, dye research and disputed place of manufacture.
Tabriz Rugs: History, Designs, Weaving and Identification
A source-grounded guide to Tabriz rugs, covering their historical context, design vocabulary, raj counts, materials, construction and practical identification.