Ghom Kork

The holy city of Qom lies approximately 100 km south of Tehran. Although carpet production only started here roughly 100 years ago, Qom carpets are considered to be some of the most impressive and highly prized examples of fine Persian carpet craftsmanship in the world. The carpets made in Qom are all made using only the finest raw materials available. Qom silk is considered among the finest silk in the world and the wool used is known as kork wool, a high quality particularly shiny wool with a higher fat content, sheared from the neck of the lamb. The carpets are either entirely composed of a natural silk pile and warp (sometimes with a double silk pile), or feature a fine cork woolen pile, sometimes even with intricate silk details in them. The threads of the silk used is extremely thin which enables the weavers to use a finer weaving technique resulting in carpets with a very high knot density and thoroughly detailed, intricate designs. Qom carpets have a very distinct signature style and depict a rich variation of designs, featuring everything from idyllic landscapes to stylized floral medallions, old Persian hunting scenes, historical events, images of winged lions, dragons, birds as well as prayer carpets portraying various religious themes. The extreme richness of details makes them look almost like real life paintings and due to their often smaller size, Qom carpets are not only used as carpets, but also hung on walls and appreciated as pieces of decorative tapestry art. It takes an incredible amount of both time and skill to make a Qom carpet and it understandable that Qom carpets are more commonly found in smaller sizes, although they can sometimes also be found in larger sizes. The carpets come in stunning beautiful colour combinations and can also be found in rare colours for Persian carpets such as light green and turquoise blue that were introduced by a new generation of designers. The fact that carpet production in Qom is relatively new is rather unique, with colours and patterns largely influenced and developed to cater for western demand in ways that other more traditional carpet areas never did. Qom carpets remain some of the most sought after of all carpet types for collectors worldwide.