The Oriental Collection - Catalog - Page 25
REZAS VILL AGE RUGS
Keshan
Keshan is a city of about 300,000 people, situated in the Isfahan province in central
Iran. It is rather low lying, and it gets very hot in summer. Traditionally, people have
sought to alleviate this by building the houses into the ground. Keshan has always
been famed for its handicrafts. The villages lie on the main road between Ghom and
Isfahan in central Iran. To the East, the region borders Iran’s largest desert.
Despite the decline of this particular handicraft during the 20th century, many
beautiful Keshan (or Kashan) rugs are still being produced in accordance with the
traditions of the old masters, e.g. decorated with the beautiful medallion patterns
or tapestry featuring human and animal motifs.
The patterns are most commonly woven around a medallion in the centre of the rug,
some of which are repeated in the corners. The other fields are densely decorated
with realistic flowers and vines. The main border often features the “Herati” motif (an
arched leaf), while the secondary borders feature rosettes. Brick red and dark blue
are the most common base colours.
The shape of a Keshan medallion is quite special; it is made by alternating curved
lines and right angles. The most common colours are a red field and a blue medallion, with secondary details in other colours. The trimmings of a Keshan rug are also
special; the main trimming is normally surrounded by stripes that form a geometrical
pattern, usually small blue and red triangles. Keshan rugs feature knot densities
between 150,000 and 250,000 – and up to 450,000 for Keshan Fine.
48
49
