Yazd Rugs
Guide to Yazd Rugs & Carpets
History
Yazd, once known as Yezd, is an ancient Persian city famous as the home of the Zoroastrian faith. It is east of Isphahan on the edge of the Dasht-i Lut (Lut desert) The city and surrounding area produce carpets very similar to Kerman. In Oriental Rugs of Yezd Jacobsen noted that most if rug dealers were shown a picture they would call it a Kerman. The term “made in Yezd” means well made in Iran. The rugs are typically in the style of Kerman but when Kerman cheapened the weave Yazd did not. Currently Yazd carpets have a lower knot count but overall the quality is much higher.
“The Gold Velvet that’s wrought in Persia is very charming, especially the curl’d Velvet and all those rich Stuffs, have that admirable Property, that they last for Ever as it were, and the Gold and Silver does not wear off whilst the Work lasts, and keeps still its Colour and brightness: ‘Tis true the Silver tarnishes at length, after twenty or thirty Years; yet then it cloth not come off, which I think ought to be imputed to the clearness of the Air, as much as to the goodness of the Work. The finest Looms for those Stuffs, are at Yezd, at Cashan, and likewise at Ispahan; those for Carpets are in the Province of Kirman, and especially at Sistan. Those are the Carpets we commonly call in Europe, Turky Carpets, because they brought them through Turky before they traded with the Persians by the Ocean. The Persians Rule to know good Carpets, and to Rate them by, is to lay their Thumb on the edge of the Carpet and to tell the Threads in a Thumb’s breadth, for the more there are, the dearer the Work is: The most Threads there are in an Inch breadth is fourteen or fifteen.” Sir John Chardin Travels in Persia 1673-1677 Book Two
Rug Construction
Carpets for export are generally in soft pastel colors. However Yezd carpets are extremely popular in Iran for domestic use. The rugs for the Persian home market have very bold colors. The carpet on this page is in the Persian style with a strong bluish red and an overall bold appearance.
Size: Most rugs are from 8 x 10 to 11 x 16.
Structure: Asymmetrical knot open to the right. 100 to 170 is normal in carpets with some pieces up to 250 knots per square inch.
Yarn Spin: Z.
Warp: White cotton
Weft: 2 shots blue cotton.
Pile: 2 wool singles.
Ends: Overhand knots with warp fringe.
Selvages: Multi cord overcastting wool.
Handle: Light – medium.
Similar Rugs
- Yazd Carpets are very similar to Kerman carpets in design but use thicker yarn giving a lower knot count. Yezd carpets are sturdier and do not have the fake field knots seen in some Kerman carpets. Yezd are more likely to have blue (or lavender) wefts
- Hamadan city rugs may look like a Kerman but have symmetrical knots
- Borchalu may resemble Yezd rugs but are single wefted.
- Kasmar rugs from Khorasan may look like a Yezd but are more flexible with finer warps and wefts.
Examples:
Floral Persian Yazd
Size: 7 foot by 10 foot 4 inch.
This is a fantastic Classical Yezd Carpet. The quality is outstanding and the carpet is beautiful. This is a Yezd Carpet. Similar in the style of the very best modern Kerman but it is distinctively a Yezd and has the much sturdier and hardier weave that we see in Yezd carpets.
Yezd is one of the old carpet production centers in Persia. In the sixteenth century Yezd was famed for making the best silk and gold rugs. Many rugs in the classic period attributed to Kerman and Isphahan are no doubt actually from Yezd. After the Afghan invasion the production shifted to wool rugs.
This one is a carpet from Yezd Iran. It is hand-woven and about 20 years old but it is in “as new” condition.
Yezd Carpet, Yezd, Iran, Circa 1970-
Size: 7 foot by 10 foot 4 inch.
Structure: Asymmetrical knot open to the left. 10 knots per horizontal inch and 10 knots per vertical inch. 100 per square inch (1550 per square decimeter)
Colors: Raspberry, cadet blue, Columbia blue, navy blue, mocha, grass green, pea green, hunter green, vanilla, tan, pink
Yarn Spin: Z.
Warp: Ivory cotton.
Weft: 2 shots ivory, pink cotton.
Pile: 2 wool singles.
Ends: Post-hitch wharf binding with 1 inch warp fringe.
Selvages: 4 cord overcastting raspberry wool.
Handle: Heavy, soft wool, durable, dense.
Further Notes: Excellent condition.
Floral Medallion
This is an extremely sophisticated Yezd Carpet. The quality is outstanding and the carpet is beautiful. This is a Yezd Carpet. This is in the in the style of the very best modern Kerman but it has the much sturdier and hardier weave that we see in Yezd carpets.
As I note I like the style many of the Kerman carpets. However in the second half of this century the Kerman weavers cheapened the weave by using false rug knots which gives a lower quality rug. Carpets from Yezd which is Northwest of Kerman makes rugs in Kerman styles but the weave is true. Please do not confuse these with the carpets made in Kerman.
Colors: Burgundy, sky blue, cadet blue, mint green, chartreuse, midnight blue, ivory, peach, gold, salmon, brown.
Yarn Spin: Z.
Warp: Ivory cotton.
Weft: 2 shots sky blue cotton.
Pile: 2 wool singles.
Ends: Post-hitch wharf binding with 1 inch warp fringe.
Selvages: 6 cord overcastting raspberry wool.
Handle: Heavy, soft wool, durable, dense, thick pile.
Further Notes: Excellent condition.
Yazd Carpet circa 1900
circa 1900 overcast sides, scattered moth damage on reverse
Signed Boteh Yazd Carpet
Product Type: Original, one-of-a-kind
Size: 10’0 x 12’8
Colors: Beige, blue-navy
Woven: Hand knotted
Foundation: Cotton
Pile: Wool
Style: Yazd
Category: City
Origin: Yazd Persian Rug
Age: 0-10 years
Condition: Excellent
Dye: 80% vegetable dye
KPSI: 118
Knotting Time: 360 days (3420 hours)
The city Yazd is located in central Iran, halfway between Kashan and Kerman. Yazd rugs usually have a single floral medallion in the center. In design, these are very similar to the rugs of Kashan. The two are often indistinguishable. These rugs are usually multicolored, meaning they have more than twenty colors, but they include mostly red, navy blue, and beige.
Shah Abbass Style Yazd Carpet
Product Type: Original, one-of-a-kind
Size: 8’1 x 11’5
Colors: Red, blue
Woven: Hand knotted
Foundation: Cotton
Pile: Wool
Style: Yazd
Category: City
Origin: Yazd Persian Rug
Age: 0-10 years
Condition: Excellent
Dye: 80% vegetable dye
KPSI: 118
Knotting Time: 262 days (2489 hours)
Yazd is an ancient city of central Iran which has been producing important carpets for at least four hundred years. It was the site of one of the earliest royal workshops of the Safavid Dynasty. Yazd carpets have great resemblance to those of Kashan in style and construction because of their geographic proximity. They are often mistaken one for the other and sometimes require expert opinion to tell the difference.
Shah Abbas Palmettes Yazd Carpet
Product Type: Original, one-of-a-kind
Size: 9’11 x 13’1
Colors: Beige, blue
Woven: Hand knotted
Foundation: Cotton
Pile: Wool
Style: Yazd
Category: City
Origin: Yazd Persian Rug
Age: 0-10 years
Condition: Excellent
Dye: 80% vegetable dye
KPSI: 118
Knotting Time: 367 days (3486.5 hours)
Kerman Style Yazd Carpet
Product Type: Original, one-of-a-kind
Size: 9’9 x 12’9
Colors: Red-burgundy, blue-navy
Woven: Hand knotted
Foundation: Cotton
Pile: Wool
Style: Yazd
Category: City
Origin: Yazd Persian Rug
Age: 0-10 years
Condition: Good, historically revived
Dye: 80% vegetable dye
KPSI: 118
Knotting Time: 351 days (3334.5 hours)
Floral Spray Yazd Carpet
Product Type: Original, one-of-a-kind
Size: 6’7 x 10’4
Colors: Red, blue-navy
Woven: Hand knotted
Foundation: Cotton
Pile: Wool
Style: Yazd
Category: City
Origin: Yazd Persian Rug
Age: 0-10 years
Condition: Excellent
KPSI: 82
Knotting Time: 133 days (1263.5 hours)
Diamond Star Yazd Carpet
Product Type: Original, one-of-a-kind
Size: 7’11 x 10’10
Colors: Beige, red-salmon
Woven: Hand knotted
Foundation: Cotton
Pile: Wool
Style: Yazd
Category: City
Origin: Yazd Persian Rug
Age: 0-10 years
Condition: Excellent
KPSI: 82
Knotting Time: 169 days (1605.5 hours)
Yezd Carpet, c.1910
Country of Origin: Persia/Iran Yezd
Date of Origin: circa 1910
Size: 12ft.4in. x 8ft.6in. (376cm. x 259cm.)
Note the midnight-blue field with an overall lozenge lattice containing individual flowerheads surrounded by floral sprays, in an ivory floral spray, scrolling acanthus leaf and delicate vine border between midnight-blue flowerhead and scrolling vine and floral meander minor stripes, even overall wear, and scattered areas of repiling.
Yazd Zoroastrian Silk Embroidery Panel, Third Quarter 19th Century
Country of Origin: Persia/Iran Yezd
Size: 1ft.9in. x 5ft.8in. (0.53m. x 1.73m.)
This panel would originally have formed the knee to ankle section of one trouser leg from a Zoroastrian woman’s wedding costume.
Yzed Carpet, c.1910
Country of Origin: Persia/Iran Yezd
Size: 18ft.2in. x 12ft.4in. (5.54m. x 3.76m.)
Date of Origin: circa 1910
Yazd Carpet, c.1920
Country of Origin: Persia/Iran Yezd
Size: 320cm. x 234cm.
Date of Origin: circa 1920
Yazd Carpet, c.1910
Country of Origin: Persia/Iran Yezd
Size: 293cm. x 203cm.
Date of Origin: circa 1910
Safavid Woven Silk Textile Fragment, 18th Century
Country of Origin: Persia/Iran Yezd
Size: 70cm. x 58cm.
Description: Rectangular form woven in yellow, cream, and green with horizontal registers of alternating chevron bands filled with cypress trees and flowering vine.
Yazd Rug
Country of Origin: Persia/Iran Yezd
Size: 9ft.6in. x 6ft.9in. (289cm. x 205cm.)
Yazd Carpet
Size: 9ft.7in. x 6ft.6in. (292cm. x 198cm.)
Yazd Carpet
Size: 10ft. x 6ft.6in. (303cm. x 197cm.)
Yazd Rug
Country of Origin: Persia/Iran Yezd
Size: 9ft.7in. x 6ft.10in. (292cm. x 209cm.)
Yazd Carpet, Early 20th Century
Country of Origin: Persia/Iran Yezd
Description: Note the central field woven with an elaborate sunburst medallion, extended on two ends by a palmette and surrounded by bouquets of small flowers, the corners of the field each woven with a cartouche centered by small flowers and elegant “C” scroll vines, inside a primary border of palmettes and bouquets of small flowers and two secondary borders of meandering flowers. all in deep cranberry, navy, ochre, creme, medium blue, and pink. Wool pile on cotton warp.
Condition: All over wear due to age. Selvage worn, but secure. White warp threads exposed in some spots.
Other Notes: This carpet is woven with a light blue weft which gives it a beautiful overall blue hue.
Deverian Yazd Carpet, c.1920s
Category: Persian/Iranian Rugs Yazd
Size: 10ft. x 16ft.
Condition: Good
Circa: 1920s
Other Notes: There are some low spots on this carpet, but it is not threadbare.