On Persian Carpet

The characteristics and important factor that have made the carpets of this land world famous are
their pleasant, varied and unique. Each Persian carpet has a design of it's own, so that thousands
of fascinating designs can be seen in a whole range of Persian carpets, each being very beautiful
and possessing perfect harmony.

All the designs can basically be categorised into three principle group. All the motifs and figures
which constituted the design are made from composition, contact, rotation and balance of the
line. If the line along their route makes angles, the design will be classified in the curvilinear
group. Should the lines of the design in same part of their route make angles and in other make
roundish movements, the design belongs to the stylized group. Most Persian carpets are
decorated with medallion(Torang) and corners. The medallion is always located in the in the
center of the layout and shape may be round, oval, rhomboid or in different sizes which vary
according to the taste and custom of the weaver, all Persian designs are categorized in two main
group:

1. Tribal designs

These designs have been influenced by old and noble Persian patterns that were created by native
carpet weavers. In spite of the patterns, which are not ordered and regular, the designer are still
attractive. These design are recognized by the name of the production zone such as Maslaghan,
Ferdousan may take the name of the chieftain such as Ghashghayi. Most Tribal Designs are
geometric an stylish style.

2. Urban design

The designs of Urban carpet in comparison to tribal pattern's are more elaborate and precise,
therefore to realize them the weaver needs to use the template. Some kind of design: Abbasi,
Arabesque (Eslimi), Vase (Goldan), Harati, etc.

On Carpet Design Major

Nowadays, for a better use of hand-made carpets, historical art of carpet design is combined with
modern art to match today needs for decoration.
Not a long time ago, carpet design used to be seen more like a profession than an art but in 1990s
due to the wide extent of design diversity for this branch of Iranian art a separate major named
‘Carpet Design’ started in some Iranian universities. In this major, students learn about the
history of carpet, sociology of carpet, different carpet weaving types and tools, geography of
carpet, and most importantly design of the carpet. In general, this major includes five minor
disciplines: repair, completion, design, coloring, and weaving. The design minor includes
theoretical courses such as Persian Carpet Design, Evolution of Design, Aesthetic of Carpet
Design, Carpet Marketing, and practical courses such as: General Design, Traditional Design,
Ghali and Gelim (two types of Persian carpet) Design, etc.
Ghalicheh
Bakhtiary Design
Oriental Design
Ghali