Hamedan Rugs: The Definitive Guide

Hamedan (originally Ekbatan) is located in the Midwest of Iran. It is believed to be one of the oldest Iranian cities and one of the oldest cities in the world. There are records of the city being occupied by the Assyrians in 1100BC, with records of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, stating that it was the capitol province of the Medes, around 700BC.

The city is based at the feet of the Alvand Mountain, giving it a rich green mountainous landscape. It is filled with historic sites and popular tourist destinations, such as the Ganj Nameh inscription, the Avicenna monument and Baba Taher monument. These sites make Hamedan a popular tourist destination during the summer months.

Hamedan is the capitol of the rug trade in the midwest of Iran, hundreds of small towns and villages across the midwest bring their rugs to Hamedan to trade. Some of the most well known being; Hossainabad, Malaya & Nahavand.

Typical Designs of Hamedan Rugs

As many rugs from the surrounding villages are exported through the bazaars of Hamedan, they tend to be all banded together under the moniker of Hamedan rugs, thus bluring the designs of these different regions into one to the western buyer.

Hamedan rugs are not as fine as the other city rugs; such as Isfahan, Nain etc. even though they are a city rug. However their beuaiotufl colours especially of the older pieces are appealing to discerning customer.

Types of Hamedan Rugs

As previously mentioned many smaller towns and villages bring their rugs to Hamedan to be traded with dealers from across Iran and the the world, the dealers in the bazaars will band all of these rugs under the name Hamedan when trading with other countries.

Rugs that are called Hamedan but are actually from a surrounding village or town are shown below with their correct names;

Materials Used to Weave Hamedan Rugs

Hamedan rugs are woven with a cotton base (Warp) and woollen weft. As Hamedan rugs are known as commercial pieces their quality isn’t the highest. They are known to have a loose weave.

There are some Hamedan rugs that are of a higher quality these are known as Shahribaft rugs. The word Shahribaft means City Woven, rugs are called this when the quality of the weave resembles that of a city rug.

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