Some very Traditional Oriental rugs, no longer exported to the UK, still have an important place in handmade rugs and carpets. They 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, followed by Tabriz, where you would expect to find fabulous rugs often using wool with silk highlights. In addition, there are other renowned ancient 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.

Finally, we could look at the most rustic of the Persian rugs: Gabbeh carpets were originally made by women from the Qashqai tribes of southwestern Persia.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.