Zanjan is a province in north-western Iran, on the road between Tehran and Tabriz, and the rugs that carry the name are village work: modest in size, direct in color, and made for use rather than display. We hold 75 of them, and nearly two thirds fall between about fifteen and thirty square feet.
Red, and not much argument about it
Fifty-seven of our 75 lead with deep red, and burgundy takes most of the rest. Cream, navy and dark blue appear in the borders and the medallion but rarely in the field. If you are looking for the pale Turkish register, this is the opposite end; try Manisa instead.
The red is madder, and on a village rug it was usually dyed in small batches. That is why a Zanjan often shows abrash, a horizontal band where one dye lot ran out and the next began. On a factory rug that would be a fault. Here it is the record of how the rug was made, and our note on natural dyes explains why those bands age the way they do.
How to recognize one
Geometry, not curves. Zanjan medallions are stepped and angular, drawn from memory rather than from a cartoon. Size. Small to small-area; there is almost nothing above fifty square feet. Wool. Low pile on most, with a firm handle.
What they are for
A Zanjan is an accent rug with a real history behind it. Beside a bed, at a door, in front of a sofa as a layer, in a small study. Prices run from about $270 to $1,500 with the middle around $510, which for a hand-knotted village rug from the 1970s is straightforward value rather than a bargain that needs explaining.
Browse the Zanjan collection, or small and accent sizes across all origins.
