Persian rugs are named after their origin, Persia, which is the modern day Iran. Most people confuse the rugs for oriental rugs, but the two are different. Oriental rugs are from Turkey, Pakistan, India and other rug producing areas between the Atlantic and the Pacific. Rugs made from Persia are also of a higher quality.

The art of weaving Persian rugs

The art of rug weaving in Persia reached its peak in the between the 15th and 16th century. Rug collectors call that period the Golden Age of Oriental rug weaving. In Persia, the Safavid Shahs were the rulers. These rulers would order a search for highly skilled rug weavers and craftsmen. Once they were found they would make elegant rugs of intricate designs utilizing fine materials such silk and cotton. The results were rugs that featured large floral designs, bright colors, and large centrally placed medallions.

Persian rug materials

The rugs are made from wool where traditional Persian rugs are made from local wool. There are a few rugs that are made from cotton and others from silk. Rugs made from silk are expensive and delicate. While you can place the other rugs on the floor, it’s recommended that you hang silk rugs on the wall as most of them can’t handle the foot traffic.

Contemporary Persian rugs

These are the modern rugs.  To save time and resources, most of them are machine made. If you visit the rug market, you will find a few handmade rugs that attract a higher price. Hand-woven rugs are also of a higher quality compared to their machine made counterparts. While machine made rugs are beautiful when new, they aren’t as durable as hand woven rugs.

Due to the high costs that come with handmade contemporary oriental rugs, you need to take good care of them so that you aren’t required to buy new ones every now and then. One of the ways of taking good care of the rugs is using rug pads. These are units that you place under the rugs thus protecting them from the floor. The pads also keep the rugs in shape.

Another way of taking care of the rugs is cleaning them properly. Unlike other rugs that you can clean at home without problems, it’s wise that you take these rugs to a professional rug cleaner that will not only clean the rugs, but also treat the rug fibers promoting long life of the rugs.