There is a popular misconception about handmade Oriental rugs that because they are art, they must be taken as seriously as possible. Nonsense: these rugs represent a proud folk tradition, and as a result they contain all the joy, laughter and mischief you might expect from a social activity shared with great love among generations of talented women.
In this spirit, some of the most devoted rugs weavers in the world recently joined together to break a record: the largest Persian rug ever, as officially sanctioned by the professional skeptics over at Guinness. Breaking the tape at a whopping 133 meters by 48 meters, this colossal carpet gives new meaning to the term “palace rug.” It has also instantly turned the village of Nishapur into a tourist attraction that draws upwards of 2000 visitors daily.
This stunt isn’t all about fun and games, of course—Persian rugs, no matter what their size, represent a dedication to craft and tradition that dates back for thousands of years. That one group of people wanted to get their town on the map through a creation of this magnitude says a great deal about their love of Persian art, not to mention their singular discipline in the hand-knotted rug trade.
Are you looking for something just a bit smaller than 2 billion knots? Browse the nation’s most luminous and appealing Persian rugs, including hundreds of brilliant handmade carpets, here.