Image Carpets

Khorasan
Khorasan, province in Northeast Iran, has been on and off a source of antique Persian carpets since the 16th century. Originally, the earliest extent piece came from Herat, now in Afghanistan: classic red grounds, in and out palmettes cartouche and tree carpets, jungle carpets with animals among vegetation and allover repeat patterns close to 18th century Caucasian parallels.
The loss of Herat to the Afghans in the 18th century, meant that rug production moved to smaller towns, especially Daroksh. Finely woven pieces: most with boteh patterns in field and border, in scatter and long carpet formats, as usual. Only in the later 19th century was Meshad the center of urban carpet making. In Meshad both Persian and Turkish knots are employed. The Farsibaff( Persian knots) carpets are relatively pliable with soft wool and often open fields with medallions and corners/layouts. The Turkibaff(Turkish knotted) carpets are stiffer with denser patterns in a deep rich colors including a mulberry red.
A few shops in Meshad have woven extremely fine carpets with excellent wool, complex dye palletes and multilayer patterns. Besides Amogholi the best known of them are Saber and Makhmalbaft. These carpets were generally for the domestic Persian market and are rarely seen in America.