Learn about the symbols of Iranian “Persian” Carpets (Video)

Iranian “Persian” Carpets from Chris Beauchamp on Vimeo.

In July 2010, Chris and I visited Iran for 3 weeks. While there, we met a man named Abed. I like to describe him as an “Iranian hippie”.

We spent four wonderful days with him in Esfahan, Iran. He shared his mind and style of life with us, taking us to the new, hip parts of town, as well the old historical ones. Above all, he opened our eyes to the history, the unique story and the life behind each and every Iranian “Persian” Carpet. Each carpet has meaning unique to itself. The two broad categories of carpets are City Weave and Nomadic.

In this video, Abed teaches the significance of common symbols found in carpets. The video features the two Nomadic carpets Chris and I bought to commemorate our epic eight month journey and visit to Iran.

Music by Niyaz. Footage by Chris Beauchamp. Video production and editing by Laura Beauchamp.

Please do not reproduce without permission. www.outtheresomewhere.ca


Comments

2 responses to “Learn about the symbols of Iranian “Persian” Carpets (Video)”

  1. Louise Vinciguerra Avatar
    Louise Vinciguerra

    I own a rug…I am not sure what type of rug it is. I purchased the rug from a man that has traveled to many different countries during his life. I noticed that there is a symbol in only one of the corners of the rug and I wondered what the signifigance of the symbol was…just curious.
    Thank you in advance for any help that you might be able to provide for me.

    1. Post a link to a pic and we can try to find out… 🙂 We’re not experts, but there are lots of people out there.

      One thing we learned, some of the nomadic carpets have sparse symbols because it represented things like scarce animals in a field.

      One other thing we learned is that the carpet makers do most of their work without a pattern, and like to invent small unique symbols or even just make a mistake.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *