Rug No. has found its new home.
Every rug we sell is one of a kind, so that piece is gone. Here are others in the same spirit, or tell Rug Finder what you are looking for.
Sirjan Rugs
Sirjan lies in Kerman province in southeastern Persia, in country long associated with Afshar tribal weaving. The rugs are mostly small to mid-size, with dense geometric fields and boteh or diamond motifs.
Area sizes make up most of what we carry, with a few smaller accent pieces. Every one was hand-knotted in the 1970s and exists only once.
Sirjan: Afshar tribal weaving from Kerman
Sirjan lies in Kerman province in southeastern Persia, in country long associated with the Afshar, a Turkic tribal people resettled here long ago. The rugs combine tribal geometry with the softer palette of the southeast, and they are usually small to mid-size.
Afshar drawing is distinctive: dense fields of small repeating motifs, diamond medallions with serrated edges, and borders that are often busier than the field they enclose.
The Sirjan look
- Drawing: serrated diamond medallions, all-over boteh, small stylized flowers packed tightly.
- Color: madder red grounds most often, a few navy, with ivory, rose and a soft blue in the drawing.
- Construction: wool pile on a cotton foundation, with a soft handle.
- Sizes: mostly mid-size and large area rugs here, plus a few smaller pieces.
Where a Sirjan fits
Small Sirjan pieces work where you want pattern without committing a whole room to it: beside a bed, under a window, in front of a bookcase.
They also layer well over larger plain rugs, and the density of the drawing means they hold their own against strong furniture.
Afshar, Sirjan, Kerman
These three names circle the same rugs and it is worth untangling them. Kerman is the province and also a city famous for fine floral carpets. Sirjan is a town in the province. Afshar is the tribal group whose weaving tradition these rugs belong to. A Sirjan rug is usually Afshar weaving from the Kerman region, and is a different thing entirely from a city Kerman carpet.
Common Sirjan questions
Is a Sirjan the same as a Kerman?
No. City Kerman carpets are finely knotted floral pieces, usually large. Sirjan rugs are tribal, geometric and small.
Why are the borders so busy?
It is characteristic of Afshar weaving. The border often carries as much detail as the field, and in some pieces more.
How hard-wearing are they?
Moderately. They are happiest in bedrooms and sitting rooms, where foot traffic is lighter than in an entrance hall.
Finding the right one
Look for the piece whose field you want to keep looking at, since the drawing is dense and rewards attention. Each came off the loom around fifty years ago, and there is only one of each.
Afshar drawing, the red and navy palette and why these rugs stay small: the Sirjan guide.