Nain | 444 x 307 cm | Nr. 17370

Floral Nain, beige with border, medallion and signature

Origin	Persia
Dimensions	444 cm x 307 cm (= 13.63 m²)
Construction	hand-knotted
Material	Pile: kork wool with pure silk Weft & Warp: cotton
knots per m²2	1.000.000
Pile height	7mm
Year of manufacture	1995
Colour	Beige, Dark blue
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 graded in four quality levels, expressed 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. This piece of true knotting artistry rightly carries the pride and the name of its maker in the form of a signature, which translates as: "Habibian"

 

Pattern

The lavish floral motifs of this Nain are elegant and full of variety. The graceful vegetal symbols, depicting blossoms, leaves and branches, are artfully intertwined.

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 Nain's central field lies the symmetrical centre, also known as the medallion. The design of the field is subordinate to the medallion, creating the impression that the medallion is floating on the field.

A special highlight of this Nain is its signature. The signature documents that it was made in one of the most renowned knotting workshops in Nain. Written in Arabic characters, it expresses the individuality and the noble origin of this rug.

The background of this Nain is beige. The border is worked in dark red, light brown and beige. In the dark blue centre, light blue and wine red are combined.

 

Material

The pile of this Nain was hand-knotted from kurk wool and silk. Kurk wool, also spelled kork, is an especially fine-threaded yarn that feels almost velvety. It is taken from the neck, the belly and the inner legs of the sheep and is of particularly high quality. The pattern of this Nain is picked out in lustrous pure silk, obtained by hand from the cocoons of the silkworm. The silk elements create a shimmering contrast and make the colours glow in different facets depending on how the light falls. The weft and warp threads of this Nain are cotton. This versatile material is tear-resistant and elastic, which makes it ideally suited to a hard-wearing foundation.