Oriental Rugs Glossary

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Kashan Mohtasham

At the end of the 19th century the local hand-weaving industy of textiles of Kashan has collapsed due to very cheap imports of textiles. The excessive imported Australian Merino wool has then been used for the first time for rug weaving. The results were stunning: velvet-like soft pile, a successful workmanship of finest and complex designs and new elegant color combinations. As a result of the great success of these rugs, new manufactories have been built as e.g. Mohtashem. Mohtashem- and Dabir-Sanayeh-Kashans are particularly desired today and achieve collectors' prices if preserved in the right condition. Kashan rugs are almost entirely woven by women - in homework as well as in studion and manufactories. The Persian knot is used as opposed to the more common Turkish knot. Due to their unusually high quality, Kashan rugs are very durable and as a result there is a relatively high number of antique Kashan rugs in very good condition.