History

Woven to tell a story.
Every rug is one of a kind.

Woven for centuries, Gabbeh are tribal rugs favored among the Kurdish, Luri and Qashqai people the Zagros Mountains in Iran. Traditionally, the knotting and weaving of nomadic carpets are a woman's domain and area of expertise. True nomadic rugs such as the Gabbeh are almost exclusively knotted for personal use and often the woman's spirit and natural artisanship are quite apparent in these personal interpretations of their life.

These rugs are a byproduct of a pastoral lifestyle, produced using wool from their herd and dyes from native plants. The women are often seen spinning the long-fibred wool by hand. The vegetal dyes are extracted from the indigenous plants and roots of the region, prepared using traditional recipes developed over generations. Gabbeh are usually woven on horizontal looms, which can be assembled quickly and easily — a necessity for these nomadic people of Iran.

A distinct characteristic of Gabbeh rugs is a very thick pile, woven in a relatively low knot density. Designs are typically geometric and symbolic in shape and style. Gabbeh weavers may be telling a story, depicting a landscape or even conveying an emotion. Most commonly, Gabbeh will be asymmetric with figures and symbols depicting parts of the weaver's "tale". It is this subjective and random process that renders a genuine Gabbeh a completely unique work of art.

The word Gabbeh translates from Fārsi
meaning raw, uncut or natural.

Styles of Gabbeh

Our rugs generally fall into one of the following categories

Amalehbaft

Amalehbaft Gabbeh feature a medium weave in terms of coarseness and knots per square inch. They typically have very colorful, minimalist designs. These rugs are a great way to add color to a room without the distraction of busy design elements.

Traditional

Traditional Gabbeh feature a fairly coarse weave, with few knots per inch and a very thick, plush wool pile. They usually have very little in the way of design elements with large open fields, bold, bright colors and tribal drawings of people and animals.

Kashkoli

Kashkoli Gabbeh feature a fine weave with a fairly short pile. They express very simple and colorful geometric designs. The tightness of the weave and quality of the wool give these wonderful rugs a silk-like sheen that you must see in person to believe

Luribaft

Luribaft Gabbeh feature a fine weave and fairly short pile. They are unique in the fact that they typically have more sophisticated, detailed design elements. Like the Kashkoli, the tight weave and high-quality wool give these beautiful rugs a trademark sheen.

Rizbaft

Rizbaft Gabbeh feature a fairly fine weave and a medium pile. They are woven with a technique very similar to a Luribaft but express much more simplistic designs.

Kelim

Kelims are not pile rugs, but rather flat woven, using a technique where the designs are woven directly into the foundation. These rugs are both amazingly detailed and quite inexpensive.

Find Us

Asian Trade Rug Company
2623 N Campbell Ave
Tucson, AZ 85719

Contact Us

(520) 326-7828
ruginfo@gabbeh.com
tomas@gabbeh.com

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