Shiraz Rugs
Shiraz, in the Fars province of south-west Persia, is tribal country, home to the Qashqai and Khamseh nomads.
Their rugs are bold and geometric: hooked medallions, little birds and figures, warm reds and blues. Each carries the small irregularities that only a rug woven by hand, away from a city loom, can have.
Shiraz: bold tribal weaving from the Fars highlands
Shiraz is the marketing city for the tribal weaving of the Fars region in southern Iran, including Qashqai and Khamseh work. These are nomadic and semi nomadic weavings, made on portable looms in hand spun wool, and they have a directness that workshop carpets do not. Fields are typically filled with stacked diamond medallions, animal figures, birds and small geometric fillers scattered wherever the weaver saw space.
The colour is where these rugs win. Madder red, deep indigo, ivory and saffron used at full strength, and often with genuine abrash as the dye lots changed.
What to look for
- Field: stacked or single diamond medallions, tribal figures, birds and animals as fillers.
- Colour: strong madder red and indigo with ivory and gold; frequent visible abrash.
- Wool: hand spun, lustrous, often with a slightly uneven and very characterful surface.
- Sizes: mostly small to mid; genuinely large Shiraz pieces are scarce.
Where they work
A Shiraz is a character piece. It suits a room where you want the floor to be interesting rather than quiet, and it works beautifully layered or used as a single strong element in an otherwise plain space. Bedrooms, studies and entryways all suit them.
Because the drawing is asymmetric and lively, a Shiraz also rewards being looked at properly. The small filler figures scattered through the field are usually where the personality lives.
Tribal irregularity is the point
Sides that are not perfectly parallel, a field that widens slightly towards one end, a medallion that sits off centre. In nomadic weaving these are inherent to the process, and to collectors they are evidence of authenticity rather than defects. If perfect geometry matters to you, a city weave is the better direction.
Shiraz rug questions, answered
Why is my rug not perfectly rectangular?
Portable looms and hand spun wool. Slight irregularity is normal, expected, and generally desirable in tribal weaving. It settles once the rug is on the floor.
What is the difference between Qashqai and Shiraz?
Qashqai refers to the tribal group; Shiraz is the city where their carpets were traded. Much of what is sold as Shiraz is Qashqai or Khamseh work.
Are the animal figures significant?
They are part of a long tribal vocabulary of birds, dogs and horses, used freely by weavers rather than to any fixed system. They are one of the most enjoyable things to find in a Fars weaving.
Choosing your Shiraz
Look for strong colour and lively drawing rather than regularity. Every piece here is one of a kind.