Qom in pure silk | 150 x 101 cm | Nr. 17667

Floral Qom in pure silk, rust red with border

Origin	Persia
Dimensions	150 cm x 101 cm (= 1.52 m²)
Construction	hand-knotted
Material	Pile: pure silk Weft & Warp: pure silk
knots per m²2	720.000
Pile height	3mm
Year of manufacture	1980
Colour	Rust red, gold
Edition	one-of-a-kind piece

Origin

Qom is a relatively young provenance for Persian rugs. The city of Qom (also Ghom, Ghoum, Goum) lies in the centre of Iran, about 100 km south of the capital, Tehran. Since Qom had no long knotting tradition of its own to build on, patterns were – and still are – adopted from other weaving regions. Over time, however, a distinctive style grew out of this. Today the silk rugs from Qom are among the most celebrated and finest rugs in the world. The field of Qom rugs often has a light ground, decorated with finely drawn medallion patterns or all-over boteh or vase motifs.

Pattern

The lavish floral motifs of this Qom are elegant and wonderfully varied. The graceful plant symbols, depicting blossoms, leaves and branches, are artfully intertwined.

The ornate border forms a wonderful contrast with the centre and shapes the transition at the edge of the rug.

This Qom is graced by the so-called Mehrab or Mihrab motif. Mehrab refers to the Islamic prayer niche in mosques, which indicates the qibla, the direction of prayer towards Mecca. Traditionally, rugs with the Mehrab motif are used by Muslims for prayer and are therefore especially precious.

The abstract, geometric composition is what gives this Qom its quiet elegance. The pattern flatters the way a room is put together and never steals attention from the furniture, the decoration and the architectural details. It creates a pleasant atmosphere without dominating the style of the room.

The background of this Qom is rust red. The border is worked in dark blue, beige and rust red.

Condition

This Qom has a story to tell. It was hand-knotted around 1980. We have cleaned it thoroughly and lovingly restored it. Despite its age, it is therefore in very good condition.

Material

The silk of this Qom's pile makes the colours of the pattern shine in ever-changing facets, depending on how the light falls. It turns this Qom into a real highlight and creates an atmosphere in the room that is cosy and at the same time very elegant and refined. Silk is obtained 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 finer patterns to be created. 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. The thin but hard-wearing material of the weft and warp threads permits a particularly fine knotting, and with it a particularly fine pattern.