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.
Songhor Rugs
Songhor is in Kermanshah province, western Persia, in Kurdish weaving country. The rugs are village pieces with the sturdy handle and firm geometry Kurdish work is known for.
Runners are the most common shape here, with accent and area sizes alongside them, on navy, red and pale camel grounds. Every Songhor we carry was woven about fifty years ago and has no double.
Songhor: Kurdish village rugs from Kermanshah
Songhor is a town in Kermanshah province in western Persia, in the middle of Kurdish weaving country. The rugs are unglamorous in the best sense: sturdy, geometric, plainly made, and built for floors rather than for walls.
Kurdish weaving in this part of Persia is known for good wool and for a firm, slightly heavy handle. Songhor is a clear example of both.
Spotting a Songhor
- Drawing: stepped and hooked medallions, repeating boteh, and strong multi-stripe borders.
- Color: navy and madder red grounds in roughly equal share, with a few beige and cream pieces and camel or ivory in the drawing.
- Construction: wool pile on cotton, firm, medium weight, hard-wearing.
- Sizes: runners are the most common shape here, with area and accent pieces alongside.
Halls, kitchens and studies
Songhor runners are a practical answer to a long hallway or a galley kitchen. The pattern repeats often enough that the runner does not look truncated when it stops, and the build takes daily traffic.
In area sizes they suit studies and family rooms, where a formal city carpet would feel out of place.
Kurdish wool
The wool from this region is resilient and takes a slight sheen with age, and it cleans well: a firm, dense pile holds dirt near the surface where a vacuum can reach it.
Things people ask about Songhor
Is Songhor a well-known name?
Less so than Bijar or Sanandaj, which are the famous Kurdish weaving centers. Songhor rugs are often sold simply as Kurdish, so seeing the town named is unusual.
Are Kurdish rugs Persian rugs?
Rugs woven by Kurdish weavers inside Persia are Persian rugs. The two descriptions are about different things, one geographic and one cultural.
How do they handle heavy traffic?
Well. This is one of the more robust village weaves in western Persia.
Deciding on a Songhor
Start with shape, then ground color. Each Songhor here dates from around the 1970s, and its exact twin does not exist.
Who wove these rugs and what to expect from one: the Songhor guide.