The city of Kerman is located southeast of Iran. Carpet weaving has been done in Kerman since the 16th century, though the rug industry remained on a relatively small scale until the late 19th century. Currently, weaving is done in Kerman and the surrounding villages. The Kerman province is the third largest province in Iran. The Dasht-e-Lut occupies the northeast portion of the province. Much of the rest of the province is composed of sandy desert and steppe. The city of Kerman is the capital and the largest city, which serves as the marketplace for Afshari and Kerman rugs in the province During the last several decades of the 19th century, a large number of pictorial rugs were woven, depicting shah or a ruler enthroned, mythological heroes, portraits and pastoral land scopes. Other designs from this period were adopted from Kerman Shah Pattern. After World War I, patterns such as repeated medallions or a central medallion with patterns and arabe sques filled the background. The overall tone of the rug is darker. The dark-blue backgrounds were commonly used with red, green, ochre, and light blue in the designs. After the World War II designs were inspired by French Aubusson carpets. These rugs are woven with a dense, thick pile. The designs are composed of a central floral medallion on either an open field or a field with detached floral sprays. A broken border design, consisting of swirls of flowers, was used instead of the traditional square corner border arrangement.Pastel colors were used for the floral motifs; ivory, rose, light blue and pale green were common background market, and became known as “American”. Kerman rugs made for the Persian market during this period were characterized by a central floral medallion and an open field. They were more finely woven and had a short pile. All sizes of rugs are woven, from small mats to large gallery size carpets; runners and occasionally round rugs are woven. Ravar (Laver) some of the finest Kerman rugs have been attributed to the small village of Ravar, which is located 84 miles north of Kerman. In Europe and North America the name has been modified to Lavar. For years the weavers in Ravar were renowned for their excellent-quality rugs.

Handmade Persian Rugs, Hand Knotted Oriental Rugs, Wool Area Rugs Hand-knotted Oriental rugs are pieces of art not just accessories for your home. Throughout history, these handmade rugs have been the object of fascination, desire, and status. CatalinaRug.com's mission is to help bring this rich cultural legacy to your home - at a affordable price! Browse our history of area rugs to learn all about the history of Oriental rugs and the weaving methods used to create them. Evidence suggests that thousands of years ago, nomadic tribesmen between Eurasia and Mongolia were the first to create pile carpets. These carpets were woven to add warmth and comfort to their simple tent homes. As more and more tribes mastered the technique of weaving pile rugs, it became a common practice to incorporated their creativity into the designs transforming a trade skill into works of art. Area rugs became not just a functional necessity in their tent homes but a symbol of taste and refinement by adding personality and beauty to their sparse surroundings. Today's rug designs are more sophisticated, but they serve much the same purpose, lending beauty, warmth and personality to enhance a home. When considering a rug for your home, there are a number of reasons why you might decide upon hand knotted Oriental rugs or handmade Persian rugs instead of machine-made ones. Quality is the most important consideration. Handmade rugs are much more durable than mass-produced machine made rugs. Handmade rugs are usually made with natural materials such as cotton, wool or silk. These natural fibers last longer and release no harmful gasses into the environment over time. And since each rug is hand-knotted, each strand has been tied individually for greater combined strength and consistency.