Kirmanshah

Marco Polo praised the carpets of Kirman as a marvel to see in 1270. His description is still apt today. Kirman is the capitol city of a province with the same name in SoutheasteRug Iran. It is a city of about 2 million people about 1000 kilometers southeast of Teheran. For about the last 100 years a major source of high grade Persian carpets. Today Kerman produces highly distinctive carpets and rugs primarily in highly floral medallion or all over designs. In the older carpets the all cotton foundations have a depressed foundation with the first and third wefts rigid and the second sinuous. Kirmanshah or Laver Kerman became known for the best Kirmanshah rugs. Laver was a town 120 miles from Kerman where the Atiyeh family owned a large number of looms. Through the 20th century the Atiyeh were a major or perhaps the major producer of Kirmanshah carpets and rugs. It only stopped due to the Islamic revolution and ensuing difficulties they shifted production to China.