Quchan Rug

Quchan Rug origins in Quchan City is located in northwestern Iran, just southwest of Mashad. In medieval times it was known as Khabooshan and Khoojan. Today Quchan is an important collection point for Kurdish and Afshar tribal and village rugs. An area rug woven in Quchan will often feature the same designs as those produced in other locations in the northwest, with Caucasian Kurdish rugs, and with Afshar rugs. Both Persian and Turkish knots may be used to weave Quchan rugs and the only way to tell which knot was used on a particular area rug is to carefully inspect the back. The average KPSI (knots per square inch) on a Quchan rug is approximately 120.

Quchan Rug
Design of Quchan Rug (Rugman)
General information
Name	Quchan Rug
Original name	قالی قوچان
Alternative name(s)	Quchan Carpet
Origin	Iran: Khorasan
Category	Village, City
Technical information
Common designs	Medallion, Geometric
Common colors	Red, Blue, Brown, Beige, Ivory, Green
Dyeing method	Natural, Synthetic
Pile material	Wool
Foundation material	Cotton, Wool
Knot type	Symmetrical (Turkish)

History

Quchan is a city in the Khorasan Province of northeastern Iran.The population is mostly Kurd tribe in origin. Historically, the Safavid Empire moved the Kurd people to this region for political reasons during the late sixteenth century. The Kurds were respected as strong fighters, so the Safavids brought them in to defend the northern Khorasan border against enemies from neighboring territories, primarily the Turkmen tribes.
Quchan rugs are known in the antique market from the nineteenth century. The rugs have a wool foundation and a wool pile.The Turkish (symmetric) knot is employed. Quchan pile and flatwoven rugs are geometric in pattern, with influences from Kurd Carpets and Baluch tribe designs. Their popular motifs are the lozenge-shaped medallion or allover style, Shrub, and other folk art concepts. Generally, older Quchan weavings are referred to as Kurd Khorasan rugs.
The rug palettes are generally strong in appearance, with reds, blues, or ivory for the field and borders. In addition, shades of brown, gold, gray, and black appear in the design elements and outlines. Quchans formats range from small bags to gallery sizes approximately twelve feet by six feet. The rugs are generally woven from medium to good in grade quality.
By the late twentieth century, some Quchan weavers began to make carpets similar to those of Meshad and other Khorasan weaving cities. These carpets were sold in the Meshad and Tehran markets for domestic use and foreign export.

See also

Search for Quchan Rug on Wikipedia.

Bibliography

Abraham Levi Moheban. 2015. The Encyclopedia of Antique Carpets: Twenty-Five Centuries of Weaving. NewYork: Princeton Architectural Press.