Hamedan Rugs

11 Jul Hamedan Rugs

There is a rug in a little antique store here that I have been obsessed with for nearly a year now.  The colors are not the norm, and it is just gorgeous.  When I first asked the booth owner about it, she told me it was not for sale.  Then a few months later, I went back, and she told me she would sell it to me for $795.  Eeks, that seemed like a lot so I turned it down.  But then I had a little birthday money in my pocket, I had just finished a job, and to be honest, in my overly-optimistic-Grace-way, I thought I could talk her price down a little, so I went back again.  Alas, she had decided not to sell it.  But it still sits in that booth taunting me, beckoning me, pleading with me to take it home.

I was thinking of this rug for my master bathroom.  It needs a little sprucing up, remember?

As you can see, I flipped the rug over on my last visit, and it had some information on the back.  (duh, why did I not do that before?)  It’s a Hamedan rug, which I had never heard of.

You can see Hamedan on this map (actually, you can see Hamadan, the names are interchangeable).

spongo bongo

Hamadan in the western part of Iran, and is one of the world’s oldest cities.  (If you are familiar with Biblical history, Hamadan is where part of the book of Esther takes place, and Mordecai and Esther have a tomb there you can visit.)

The city of Hamadan is known for its carpet trading, and their rugs are distinct.  Most are in the 3×5 and 4×6 size and often favor indigo blue, red, mandarin, gold, and violet colors.  (beautiful and unique, yes?)  Older Hamedan rugs are known to have better quality, as the more modern rugs have more synthetic fibers, but older rugs are, of course, harder to find.

Can you guess what I did?

Oh yes, I took to Ebay.  I searched for “Hamadan rug” and “Hamedan rug”, and there was some crossover, but if you are really interested in this type of rug, definitely do both searches.  There are not a ton of them (less than 400 – set your search to show 200 at a time so it’s a quick, easy two pages) so it makes for an easy Ebay scroll.  Unfortunately, I have not found a rug like the one I love at the antique store, but there are some pretty contenders out there.  I also tend to like the ones in the “Antique Rugs & Carpets” section more than the regular “Home Decor Rugs” section, too.

This type of small Persian rug is perfect for layering over a seagrass or other natural fiber rug.  Like I did in Sabrina’s formal living room here.

Have you fallen in love with any rugs lately?