Old Qom in pure silk | 175 x 105 cm | Nr. Z-2439

Old Qom, rust red with border and medallion

Origin	Persia
Dimensions	175 cm x 105 cm (= 1.84 m²)
Construction	hand-knotted
Material	Pile: pure silk Weft & Warp: pure silk
knots per m²2	640.000
Pile height	3mm
Year of manufacture	1930
Colour	Rust red, black
Edition	one-of-a-kind piece

 

Origin

Qom is a relatively young provenance for Persian rugs. The city of Qom (also Ghom, Gom, Ghoum) lies in the centre of Iran, about 100 km south of the capital, Tehran. Since Qom – as far as rug knotting is concerned – had no long-standing tradition to build on, patterns were and still are adopted from other knotting regions. Over time, however, a style of its own has grown out of this. Today the silk rugs from Qom are among the most famous and finest rugs in the world. The field of rugs from Qom often has a light ground decorated with finely drawn medallion patterns or all-over boteh or vase designs. This old Qom is around 90 years old and a true collector's piece.

 

Pattern

The edge of the rug is graced by a surround (border). The border forms a wonderful contrast to the centre.

At the heart of this Qom's central field lies the symmetrical centrepiece, also known as the medallion. The design of the field is subordinate to the medallion, so that the medallion seems to float on the field.

The background of this Qom is rust red. The border is worked in black and rust red. In the rust red centre, golden beige and black are combined.

 

Condition

You aren't the first to take a liking to this Qom. It has had owners before you who treasured and used it. It was hand-knotted around 1930. It has been thoroughly cleaned and is in good condition. The rug has a few small stains. 

 

Material

The silk pile of this Qom makes the colours of the pattern glow in different shades, depending on how the light falls. It turns this Qom into a real highlight and gives the room an atmosphere that is both cosy and thoroughly elegant and refined. Silk is gathered by hand from the cocoons of the silk moth. Because the individual silk filaments are extremely long, very fine yarns can be spun that are light in weight yet still tear-resistant. Fine yarn allows smaller knots to be tied and therefore more detailed patterns to be worked. This is why the finest rugs in the world are hand-knotted from pure silk. In this Qom, even the foundation is made of pure silk. Thanks to the thin but hard-wearing material of the weft and warp threads, a particularly fine knotting and therefore a particularly fine pattern are possible.