Tehran the long standing capital city of Persia was once home to a thriving high quality Persian rug weaving industry. Located in central Persia, Tehran stood as the home of the Shah of Iran until 1979, when he was exiled from the country.

The city of Tehran originally dates back 7,000 years when it was a small town next to the ever expanding city of Rey (Rhaga) which has home to 500,000 inhabitants. It was not until the 13th century when Rey was destroyed by the Mongols that Tehran became a major city in Persia.

Today the thriving metropolitan city is not known for producing Persian rugs, only a few master weavers such as Rassam Arabzadeh still weave rugs, however this is on a commission only basis and these rugs are usually produced for museums. 

Tehran Rugs Designs

Tehran rugs only started to be woven in the late 19th Century during the revival of the Persian rug trade so they do not possess any designs of their own, and simply take popular designs from major rug weaving cities. Some popular designs used in Tehran rugs can be seen below;

Materials Used in Tehran Rugs

Typically rugs woven in Tehran will have a cotton warp with a woollen weft, however with the finer pieces they can have a silk warp and woollen weft. 

Famous Weavers of Tehran Rugs

Rassam Arabzadeh is one of the most famous weavers of Tehran rugs, born in 1917 he learned his craft at a young age from his farther who would weave rugs infront of him to teach him the different patterns and knots.

Only ever weaving 66 rugs, Rassam Arabzadeh wanted to revalutionise the industry whilst paying homage and respect to traditional Persian rugs, he took inspirations from Persian poets such as Shams & Molana (Rumi).

Some of his carpets can now be found on display in the Louvre and Armitage museums.

Buying Tips

• Some of the best Tehran rugs were woven before 1940

• Today very few Persian rugs are produced

• Tehran rugs are extremely expensive & sought after