Hamadan (the ancient Ecbatana of Median and Achaemenid Persia) is a major city in northwestern Iran and serves as the regional trade hub for rugs woven across more than 100 surrounding villages. As a result, "Hamadan" is one of the broadest and loosest labels in the entire Persian rug trade, it can refer to weaving from any of dozens of villages with widely varying quality and style.
Characteristics of typical Hamadan-region rugs:
- Single-wefted construction, one weft thread between each row of knots; this is the defining technical feature of Hamadan-region weaving
- All-wool or wool-on-cotton construction
- Symmetric (Turkish) knot, atypical for Persian weaving generally, but characteristic of the Hamadan region's Kurdish and Turkic influence
- Moderate knot density (typically 50–120 KPSI for village production)
- Wide design vocabulary, Herati (Mahi), all-over boteh, medallion-and-corners, geometric tribal motifs
- Smaller average sizes, Hamadan production includes many runners, scatter rugs, and small area pieces
Notable Hamadan-area weaving villages, each producing distinctive styles:
- Bibikabad, long-format, medallion-and-corners
- Borchalu, geometric Kurdish-influenced patterns
- Nahavand, south of Hamadan, finer weaving with Persian floral designs
- Tuiserkan, geometric medallions
- Hosseinabad, village rugs with traditional patterns
- Mehraban, fine village production
- Mazlaghan, long-format rugs with large medallion designs
- Saveh, geometric tribal weavings
- Garahgozloo, Kurdish tribal pieces
For buyers, the practical reality is that "Hamadan" rugs cover an enormous quality range. A village rug from Mehraban or Bibikabad can be a fine piece worth significant money; a more typical Hamadan from a less-known village may be a serviceable but ordinary rug. Specific village attribution makes a meaningful difference in value and is worth asking about.
