Oriental Rug Designs

Traditional design categories for oriental rugs

Oriental Rugs - Designs and Patterns

Although no two genuine, hand-made Oriental rugs are exactly alike, they can be categorized into groups with a similiar design pattern or layout. A rather rough, but popular categorization is the distinction between oriental carpets with geometric designs, curvilinear and floral designs, and those with pictorial designs.
Geometric designs: Small to mid-sized area rugs and runners that show repeated vertical, horizontal, or diagonal lines and other linear elements can be very decorative. These rugs are often woven by semi-nomadic or settled tribes, and many of the patterns in these tribal rugs are actually cultural symbols, that have been used for generations. Good examples for decorative rugs with geometric design are the carpets from Heriz, Hamadan, and Shiraz.
Curvilinear/floral designs: Patterns that resemble flowers, small plants, or animals like camels and birds, can be seen in many oriental rugs. The most common curvilinear motif of Persian rugs is the central medallion, which probably has been inspired by the domes of the Mosques. A well-known variety is the Herati pattern, a diamond shaped central medallion acts as the border of another similar medallion, which is the border of another medallion. The Herati pattern originated in the old persian city of Herat (now in Afghanistan) and has been used by oriental rug weavers all over Iran and the neighboring countries.
Pictorial designs: Oriental carpets with pictorials are the rarest and most unique types of handknotted rugs on the market. It is the most artistic style and one of the most difficult to make, because it requires great accuracy of sometimes tiny details from the weaver. Although there is no real standard for rugs with pictorial designs, you'll find frequently carpets with hunting scenes, historic events, landscapes, garden carpets, or persian monuments.

Another way of categorizing oriental rugs is to look for their origin in a master workshop, city, village, or the tent of a nomadic tribe. Rugs that have been woven in a big city are usually a bit more sophisticated in their designs, have higher knot counts, and more likely to follow market trends with their use of patterns and colors. Village and tribal rug weavers are more traditional with their designs, they produce mostly smaller sized rugs with lower knot counts.
When shopping for oriental carpets you will also encounter specific design patterns like the all-over pattern, the Shah Abbasi design (recognized by a lily in an isolated central position; Shah Abbas set up royal rug factories all over Persia), tree patterns, vase patterns, Mehrab patterns, and others.
Last not least the rug designers of many persian towns have developed one or more distinctive styles, thus 'branding' the designs with the name of a certain city or village. These designs are then often copied by weavers in other regions or countries. More information about specific city designs are available over the menu on the left side, that links to rug galleries and descriptions of carpets from different iranian cities.