Sirjan carpets are hand-knotted by a sub-branch of the Afshar tribe, in the district of Sirjan, located in the great province of Fars, in southern Iran. The carpets were originally part of the nomadic lifestyle and were not made to sell commercially. Today this has changed and they are increasingly popular, mainly due to their simplicity and less busy patterns.
Sirjan carpets were traditionally knotted for personal use, as part of an ancient custom that has been part of Iranian heritage for several thousand years where girls started to weave at a young age to show their preparedness for marriage. The finished carpet was seen as a sign of readiness and offered as part of their dowry.
Sirjan carpets have been a source of inspiration for many other nomadic groups and Ghashghai and Afshar tribes have fetched much of their carpet inspiration from the playful yet rather sophisticated Sirjan carpet design portfolio.
Each and every carpet is the result of the individual expression of the weaver woman behind it and although no two carpets will ever be identical, they all depict nature and all its beauty in one form or another. Sirjan carpet design is diverse and features anything from intrinsic repeating animal or plant motifs, to geometric and more angular designs that serve as a reminder of the Azerbaijan roots of the Afshar tribe before they were displaced around 500 years ago.
Sirjan carpets are knotted using the symmetrical Turkish knot and made with durable cotton and fine wool from the tribe’s own herd of sheep. The carpets are usually very soft and shiny, coloured with natural plant and vegetable dyes. The designs and colour schemes are lively and playful yet never overwhelming, which makes them a perfect choice in the modern home.
A Sirjan carpet is a great way of enhancing a space or room whilst also bringing a sense of serenity and warmth to it.