The city of Keshan or Kashan, is located in the centre of Iran between Isfahan and Tehran, close to the Dast-e-Kavir desert. It is one of the oldest cities in Iran and used to be an important city on the ancient Silk Road.
Keshan carpets are considered to be amongst the most famous and beautiful of all Persian carpets and many associate the image of a typical traditional Persian carpet with the characteristics of a Keshan carpet. The carpets typically feature a central medallion on a background field of red or navy blue with ornamental ivory or red borders. Carpets with allover designs are also found, and even these breath a flare of the image of a typical Oriental carpet for most.
The world famous Ardebil carpet found in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London is also believed to have been knotted in Kashan in the 16th century.
Keshan carpets are very popular carpets, with a high knot density and today mostly knotted using very good wool sourced from Sabzevar, a desert town that produces some of the best wool in Iran due to the high copper content in the water. Up until the onset of the Great Depression when the wool market collapsed, imported Merino wool from Manchester, UK, was used to make some of Iran’s finest carpets.
These beautiful and impressive carpets enjoy a great reputation worldwide and stand for the highest standards and the finest examples of traditional Persian carpet craftsmanship.