Sirjan Rugs: Afshar Geometry from Kerman Province

By Storied Rugs6 min read

Stone farmhouse den with a wood stove, a brown velvet sofa and a linen armchair on a deep red rug with small repeating motifs

Sirjan rugs are small tribal rugs from the country around Sirjan, a town in Kerman province in southeastern Persia. They come out of the Afshar weaving tradition. You can spot one by its straight-lined drawing: diamond medallions stacked down the center, hooked edges and a deep red or navy ground. They are made to be used every day, beside a bed, in an entry or in a reading corner.

Red and navy Persian Sirjan rug with two ivory diamond medallions in a Craftsman entry with dark fir paneling, an oak bench and baskets — A Sirjan, 4 feet 4 inches by 5 feet 11 inches, just inside a front door. Two diamond medallions sit inside a navy shape with stepped, hooked edges, the classic Afshar layout.

Who the Afshar are

The Afshar are a Turkic-speaking tribal people.^[1] Groups of them settled in the Kerman region centuries ago and kept weaving the way their families had.^[2] Sirjan is one of the towns most closely tied to their rugs. That is why a Sirjan and an Afshar are often the same rug sold under two names. We use the town name because it is the more specific of the two.

The city workshops of the same province are covered in the Kerman guide. The two make a useful contrast: same province, a completely different way of drawing. If you want the bigger picture, tribal, village and city rugs explains how the three kinds of weaving differ.

How to recognize a Sirjan rug

The usual layout is easy to spot once you have seen it. Two or three diamond medallions run down the center. They sit inside a larger dark shape whose outline steps and hooks outward. Around that, the field (the main background) is scattered with small stars, flowers and boteh. The borders are often as busy as the field they frame. Almost nothing is drawn with a curve.

Tribal weavers usually worked from memory rather than from a drawn plan. You will see the result in small quirks: one medallion a little wider than its twin, or a border that changes rhythm near a corner. Buyers sometimes worry about these, but they are normal in tribal weaving.^[2] They are also the plainest sign that a person made the rug by hand.

Looking down at a small red Sirjan rug with dark hooked motifs and an ivory border on pine boards beside a bed, felt slippers nearby — A Sirjan, 3 feet 7 inches by 4 feet 9 inches, beside a bed. Small dark motifs repeat in rows across the red field, the way Afshar weavers filled fields and borders alike.

If the boteh is new to you, our guide to reading a rug explains it along with the other motifs you will see on a Sirjan. The boteh collection gathers rugs where it covers the whole field.

The colors you will see

Picture a Sirjan and picture deep red. Most have a deep red ground, and some lean darker into burgundy. A few reverse the scheme, with a navy field and red borders. Navy is the usual second color. Ivory or cream does the fine drawing, and some pieces add black, often in the dark shape that holds the medallions. Now and then you will meet an odd one out, such as a magenta mat or a pale greige rug with a rust border.

Navy and red Persian Sirjan rug with three ivory diamonds in a gray sitting room with a cognac leather armchair and linen sofa — A Sirjan, 5 feet by 6 feet 8 inches, with the colors reversed: a navy field, a deep red border and three diamonds down the center.

It is a warm, saturated palette. It sits easily with wood, leather and brass. It also gives a small rug enough weight to hold a spot on its own, which matters when the rug is the only pattern in the room. In a room that is mostly gray and white, a navy Sirjan will sit more quietly than a red one.

Sirjan or Kerman: how to tell them apart

Both names come from Kerman province, and sellers sometimes blur them. They are very different rugs.

A Kerman city carpet was woven in a workshop from a drawn design, often for export or for a formal room.^[2] It is drawn in curves: flowers, vines and a rounded medallion. Blue, cream and soft rose turn up often, and many are big enough for a living room or a dining room.

A Sirjan came off a smaller loom in a tribal or village home. The drawing is geometric, the colors are deep red and navy, and the rugs stay small. If you need a room-size rug from this province, look at the Kerman collection. If you want a small rug with a bold, graphic pattern, a Sirjan is the better fit.

Sizes, rooms and what they cost

Sirjan rugs are small. Most measure between four by six and five by seven feet. There are a few smaller mats and the occasional longer piece, but none is big enough to hold a living room seating group. They work beside a bed, in an entry, in a reading corner or in front of a bookcase. For the front door, how big an entryway rug should be walks through the measurements.

Nearly all have a low pile, so they sit flat, clear a door and do not catch a chair leg. Prices run from about $350 to $850, and the price mostly follows the size. If you are unsure what will fit, the size guide works it out room by room.

Caring for a Sirjan rug

Every rug is washed and repaired by specialists we trust before it is listed, so a Sirjan arrives ready to use. After that the care is simple. Vacuum with suction only, or with the beater bar switched off, and work in the direction of the pile.^[3] On a hard floor, put a thin non-slip pad underneath.^[3] A small rug slides more easily than a large one, and the pad also takes some of the wear.

In an entry, turn the rug end for end every few months so one side does not take all the traffic.^[3] Blot spills right away with a clean white cloth, and do not rub.^[3] A washed vintage rug sheds very little, and why wool rugs shed explains where the fluff comes from. The rest is on our rug care page.

Where to go next

The rugs themselves are in the Sirjan collection. For another southern Persian tradition with the same love of geometry, see the Shiraz guide. The whole picture, region by region, is in the ultimate guide to Persian rugs.