Mohtasham Kashan Rugs: The Pinnacle of Persian Carpet Artistry

By Dariush Nateghi, Third Generation Iranian-American Purveyor of Fine Persian Carpets, Known for His Extraordinarily Deep Knowledge of Rare Persian Antique Carpets

Kashan carpets represent one of the most significant achievements in refined urban Persian weaving, serving as a direct legacy of the Golden Age of Persian carpet-making during the reign of Shah Abbas, the celebrated patron of the arts, in the 16th and early 17th centuries.

Many of the archetypal Persian carpet designs we know today originated in Kashan. One notable example is the "Royal Garden" motif, inspired by an actual royal garden in Kashan built by Shah Abbas himself during the Safavid Dynasty. This magnificent garden, with its flowing spring water, has been remarkably preserved since the 16th century. Like most city carpets of this tradition, Kashan rugs draw their fundamental inspiration from the Garden of Paradise concept.

The Golden Era of Kashan Weaving

The majority of prized antique and vintage Kashan rugs available today date from the second half of the 19th century through the beginning of the 20th century. During this period, the finest Kashan carpets were commissioned for individual homes, while others were produced for domestic or foreign markets. Superior quality wool has always distinguished the best Kashan carpets. Earlier antique pieces feature traditional vegetable dyes, while virtually all pieces from the 1930s onward incorporate modern chrome dyes.

Mohtasham Kashan: The Crème de la Crème

The rarest category of Kashan rugs is the "Mohtasham Kashan," woven until the end of the 19th century. This elite class of carpets employs non-traditional designs and color palettes that set them apart from other Kashan weavings. The extraordinary quality of lamb's wool used in Mohtasham Kashans creates a luminous, highly reflective surface that is immediately recognizable to connoisseurs.

True Mohtasham Kashan antique rugs are exceptionally rare and extraordinarily finely knotted. They typically feature either graceful teardrop medallions or intricately detailed allover blossom and leaf patterns. These exquisite carpets are characterized by their use of purple and ruby red silk bindings for the selvedges, along with imported merino wool of exceptional quality.

The most prized examples are the earlier Mohtasham Kashan carpets dating from the middle of the 19th century or even earlier. The finest of these Persian masterpieces utilize antique ivory or gold backgrounds and display exceedingly fine detail, along with time-softened pastel and earth tones that have mellowed beautifully over the decades. Mohtasham Kashan antique rugs of great age are typically held in private collections and rarely come to market.

The Master Weaver: Zufilkhar Ed Din Mohtasham

From the third quarter of the 19th century and for approximately thirty years, the finest and most delicate wool and silk area rugs were woven by Zufilkhar Ed Din Mohtasham, arguably the most respected ustad (master weaver) of his time. The town of Kashan, located in central Iran between Isfahan and Tehran, is often referred to as the greatest weaving center in western Persia.

While the Mohtasham name is well known in modern times, little is known about his origins. According to bazaar legend, Hadji Mollah Mohammad Hassan Mohtashem was a prosperous businessman famous for his textiles. In the 1880s, when European machine-worked textiles threatened his livelihood, his young wife from Sultanabad brought with her the ancient tradition of knotted carpet weaving. She wove a carpet using imported merino wool from Manchester, and local merchants were so enthusiastic that they commissioned more.

This sparked a revival of carpet weaving in Kashan—an art that had been dormant since the fall of the Safavid dynasty in 1723. The revival was remarkable: in 1890 there were only three operating looms in Kashan, which grew to fifteen hundred by 1900 and four thousand by 1949.

The Visual Poetry of Mohtasham Rugs

Imagine an elegant and refined weaving graced with curvilinear flora winding through and around a commanding medallion. Picture a sea of swirling ruby tones, indigo, and sapphire—a rug as bejeweled and becoming as a sultan's own palace. This is not fantasy but the reality of antique Mohtasham rugs.

These masterpieces feature delicate scrolling floral vines and palmettes in soft blues and ivory colors, all woven with high-quality kourk wool and an extremely fine weave. The combination of exceptional color palettes, extraordinary condition, and rarity makes each Mohtasham rug a truly magnificent work of art. These rugs are particularly scarce in runner sizes, adding to their collectibility.

Investment and Design Versatility

The best 19th-century and turn-of-the-20th-century Kashan carpets, whether of the Classical or elite Mohtasham style, are essentially formal, richly sophisticated, and complement traditional décor beautifully. They also work exceptionally well in a range of other settings, particularly the grand spaces being conceived by today's creative architects.

The finest examples, when preserved in good to excellent condition and featuring appealing palettes of exclusively naturally dyed colors, should be considered very solid art investments. These are not merely floor coverings but museum-quality works of art that appreciate in value over time.

Visit Noure's Home to experience these extraordinary antique Persian carpets in person at our premier luxury showrooms:

Merchandise Mart Location:222 Merchandise Mart PlazaWorld Trade Center Design Center, Suite 6155Chicago, Illinois

Lake Geneva Showroom:830 West Main StreetLake Geneva, Wisconsin

Contact Information:Phone: (312) 464-9890 (IL) | (262) 248-2222 (WI)Email: info@noures.comWebsite: www.noures.com