Persian Kurdish

It is the Kurdish people of the Middle East (primarily from the larger Kurdistan region that includes the Eastern part of Turkey, Iraq, southernmost Caucasus, Soviet Armenia and North-Western Iran) that first wove the Kurdish rug. For these nomads, the art of rug-making – which was the primary means of creative expression – was also instructional, helping to teach youngsters the symbolic language of patterns and colours that is the cultural heritage of the Northwest Kurdish people. Evidence that the younger generations were encouraged to try their hand at weaving exists in many of the antique rugs from this region, and the sequence of the traditional Kurdish symbols woven into the textile clearly convey the hopes and dreams of the rug makers. The colours are astonishing – near-transparent terracottas and burnt oranges, lush blues and greens and resplendent saffron yellows – that are made more lustrous by the silky wool used by Kurdish weavers. Today, the Kurdish rug industry is concentrated in Afghanistan and Iranian Kurdistan and the styling of these rugs, with their iconic patterns, extraordinary colours and fine fleece, makes them highly prized.