Tajabad-Hamedan

Mere om Tajabad-Hamedan

Tajabad

The village of Tajabad lies in the Markazi province, just North of Arak in Iran. The carpets made here has many similarities with carpets from Tafrish, Malayer and other local carpets from the Markazi province.

Tafrish, Tafresh

The town of Tafrish is located north-east of Arak, towards Tehran. Carpets from here are often comparable in quality with a good carpet from the Hamadan area. They are however more finely knotted, and the pattern is easy to recognise on the rather special, scalloped medallion. The colours are nicely matched and provide a rich contrast. The wool is usually good but can vary somewhat in quality. The warp and weft threads are cotton, the Ghiordes knot (the Turkish knot) is used and the knot density is between 14,000-28,000 knots per ft2. Most carpets from the Arak area are made for daily use – they are usually durable and made from high quality wool.

Read more about the Arak area:

The Markazi-province
The Arak area

The Arak area near the town of Arak is a rich agricultural zone where the population speaks Farsi (Persian). Arak was founded in the 19th century under the name Sultanabad. The carpet producing zones include Saroug, Ghiassabad, Djozan, Malayer, Saroug-Mir, Mahal, Wiss, Bordjalo and Lilihan. For over 200 years carpets have been knotted in the Arak areas. It was the merchants from Tabriz who, in the mid-1800s, noticed the skilled Arak knotters. Thanks to the wool, colours and harmoniously designed patterns, the carpets quickly became a popular export product to the West. The wool quality in Arak is generally quite good. They remained popular carpets, and natural dyes were predominantly used. Today, good wool and natural dyes are no longer a given, but there are still carpet makers around who struggle to honour the good old carpet traditions.

Malayer

The town of Malayer is located in the eastern part of the Hamadan area, close to the border to Arak. In terms of quality and pattern, malayer carpets are comparable to carpets from Saroug and Djozan. They can also slightly resemble carpets from Ferahan as they are knotted with a different technique and seem a bit thinner. However, do not mistake the quality, which can be amazing particularly in the older carpets. Here too you will find subdued red and blue colours as well as indigo/dark blue. Some carpets from Malayer also come with a pearl chain pattern on the main border. The knot density is usually 14,000-28,000 per ft2.

Read more about the Hamadan area:

Hamadan, Hamedan

(Most carpets from the Hamadan-province are good carpets – usually tough and wear resistant.)

The town of Hamadan, formerly called Ekbatana, is located by the Alvand mountains at an altitude of 1900 metres. The climate is pleasant in the summer, as it is cooler here than in many other Iranian cities, but in the winter, it is relatively cold. The city is the centre of one of Iran’s largest carpet districts. The Hamadan area is a large area with many hundreds of villages, all of which are known for their own patterns and qualities. The carpets from this area have their own names, all depending on their origin, but since the city of Hamadan is the gathering point for the area, these carpets are simply called Hamadan carpets, even if they were not knotted here.

Source:
You are reading an extract from the book ‘Oriental Carpets, Knottet with Love’ by Martin Munkholm.
This extensive book about all that is carpets can be borrowed in Danish libraries or be bought following this link: https://belle-rugs.dk/en/information-about-oriental-rugs/

The book is published by Muusmann Forlag.
For more info: http://muusmann-forlag.dk/

See video about Tajabad-Hamedan rugs here: https://www.youtube.com/embed/RqRdS6f6zpo 

You can find our selection of Tajabad carpets underneath.