Nain | 363 x 92 cm | Nr. Z-4361

Nain

Delivery time	2 days
Origin	Persia
Dimensions	363 cm x 92 cm (= 3.34 m²)
Construction	hand-knotted
Material	Pile: kork wool with pure silk
knots	810.000
Condition	pre-owned, but in very good condition (cleaned & restored)
Edition	one-of-a-kind piece

Origin

Nain is one of the best-known rug provenances (source, origin) in Iran. The town of Nain lies north-west of Isfahan and has a long weaving tradition. Before the Qajar dynasty (1794 - 1925), the finest cloaks for noblemen – known as abas – were made here. Under the influence of Western culture, the traditional cloak was displaced as clothing by the suit. The weavers shifted their business and began knotting rugs.

The rugs from Nain owe their unmistakable patterns and colour combinations above all to the master weaver Hadj Fatollah Habibian Naiini. He limited himself to fewer than ten colours at the loom and so laid the foundation for the colour composition of the Nain rugs that are still so popular today. To this day the base colours are usually white or beige and blue, although Nain rugs in red, green and yellow are appearing more and more often. Floral patterns whose contours are accentuated with silk are typical. Thanks to their understated elegance and restraint to just a few shades, Nain rugs also sit beautifully in modern interiors.

Nain rugs are distinguished by four quality grades, which are given in Lah (the Persian word for layer). Lah describes the number of threads twisted together to form the warp. The more threads are used, the thicker the warp and therefore the knots, and the lower the knot density.

Material

The pile of this Nain was hand-knotted from kurk wool and silk. Kurk wool, also spelled kork wool, is an especially fine-threaded knotting yarn that feels almost velvety. Kurk wool is taken from the neck, the belly and the inner sides of the sheep's legs and is of particularly high quality. The pattern of this Nain is picked out in lustrous pure silk, which is reeled by hand from the cocoons of the silkworm. The silk elements create a shimmering contrast and let the colours glow in different nuances, depending on how the light falls.

The weft and warp threads of this Nain are made of cotton. This versatile material is tear-resistant and elastic, which makes it especially well suited to a hard-wearing foundation weave.

Condition

This Nain has had admirers before you. The pile is evenly worn. In some places a few white threads are visible. That is quite normal in older rugs. These are the knot ends of the weft and warp weave, which work their way to the surface over the years. Structurally this is no major problem. It was knotted around 16. We have cleaned it thoroughly and restored it with care. That is why – despite its age – it is in very good condition.