Hamadan

Hamadan rugs are robust hand-knotted Persian rugs from the Hamadan region in the west of Iran. The term does not stand for a single style but for a whole group of western Persian village rugs with geometric patterns, vigorous colours and daily-suitable quality. They belong among the most widespread Persian rugs of all and cover a wide span from simple commercial goods to finer pieces from a well-known place.

What is a Hamadan rug?

A Hamadan is a hand-knotted rug from the city of Hamadan and its surrounding villages in the province of the same name. Characteristic are the symmetric Turkish knot, a cotton warp, a wool pile and the typical single-weft structure, in which only a single weft thread lies between two rows of knots. This construction makes Hamadan rugs flat, stable and hard-wearing.

Hamadan is a collective term for village rugs

Many hand-knotted village rugs from the city of Hamadan and the surrounding places in the west of Iran are called Hamadan rugs. Pattern, colour, quality and knot density can therefore differ markedly. The city was for centuries the central trading market of the region, on which the goods of several hundred villages came together and entered the trade under the name Hamadan.

Well-known variants and neighbouring provenances include Nahavand, Malayer, Touiserkan and the Kurdish-influenced Koliai. Finer pieces from individual places can turn out markedly higher quality than the simple commercial qualities also sold under the name Hamadan. Anyone wanting to place a Hamadan should therefore always consider the particular piece and not orient solely on the name.

Origin: the city and province of Hamadan

Hamadan lies about 300 kilometres south-west of Tehran at the foot of the Alvand mountains, in one of the oldest continuously settled regions of the world. As Ecbatana the city was the capital of the Median empire and later an important residence of the Persian Achaemenid empire. The knotting tradition reaches far back here and is closely tied to the rural life of the surrounding villages.

The province comprises several hundred knotting places. Larger names such as Nahavand and Malayer have established themselves as their own provenances, while many smaller villages still sell their goods through the city's market. The whole region belongs to the wider family of Persian rugs.

Typical features

Hamadan rugs usually show a central medallion, often in the form of a diamond or a hexagon, surrounded by stylised flowers and vines. The continuous Herati pattern is also widespread. The palette is dominated by deep red and blue tones, supported by beige, ivory and accents in green or yellow. The borders are usually laid out in several layers and pick up classical Persian motifs such as palmettes or the Herati pattern. Overall, Hamadan rugs feel more geometric and more village-like than the curvilinear manufactory patterns from Isfahan or Nain.

Material and knotting technique

The warp is traditionally made of cotton; the weft is cotton or wool. The pile is virgin wool from local flocks, valued for its hard-wearingness. Hamadan rugs are knotted with the symmetric Turkish knot, also called the Ghiordes knot. This is somewhat unusual for Persian rugs, since most provenances use the asymmetric Senneh knot.

The most important technical feature is the single weft: between two rows of knots lies only one weft thread. This construction distinguishes Hamadan from double-weft provenances and produces the flat, firm character. The knot density of simple village qualities usually lies between 60,000 and 150,000 knots per square metre. Finer Hamadan variants and related provenances from individual places can lie above, which is why higher values are also given in the trade. How knot density bears on quality and price is treated in its own article.

Quality differences in Hamadan rugs

Hamadan rugs range from simple, robust village rugs to finer pieces from well-known surrounding places. The differences arise above all from wool quality, type of yarn, dyeing, knot density, pattern clarity and age. Older or finer pieces often show hand-spun wool, natural dyes and more precise patterns, while cheaper commercial qualities can be more simply worked and partly use machine-spun yarn.

Older Hamadan rugs traditionally enjoyed a good reputation as long-lived everyday rugs. Anyone judging quality looks for an even knotting, a saturated colour image without garish tones, a clean back and the state of the pile and edges.

Hamadan and its variants in comparison

Provenance	Relation to Hamadan	Typical features
Hamadan	umbrella term and region	robust village rugs, single weft, geometric patterns
Nahavand	nearby region, related style	vivid patterns, robust quality, geometric medallion
Malayer	neighbouring provenance	often finer, floral and geometric motifs
Touiserkan	surrounding region	village knotting, traditional patterns
Koliai	western Iranian, Kurdish-related	very robust, strongly geometric
Bidjar	neighbouring knotting region	extremely dense and heavy, very durable

What is a Hamadan rug worth?

The value of a Hamadan rug depends above all on age, condition, size, knot density, pattern clarity, wool quality, dyeing and precise provenance. Simple Hamadan village rugs are usually more affordable than finer Persian provenances such as Nain, Isfahan or Qom. Especially well-preserved older pieces or finer variants from well-known places can however be significantly more valuable.

For a grounded estimate see recognising valuable Persian rugs and the general buying guide.

How do you recognise a genuine Hamadan rug?

Reliable indicators of a genuine Hamadan are:

• Hand-knotted back: the pattern is clearly mirrored on the reverse, and individual knots are visible.
• Fringes as part of the warp: the fringes are the extended warp threads, not sewn on afterwards.
• Symmetric Turkish knot: Hamadan uses the Ghiordes knot, unlike most Persian provenances.
• Single-weft structure: only one weft thread lies between the rows of knots, which is readable on the back.
• Vivid red and blue tones with geometric medallion or Herati patterns.
• Wool pile on cotton ground with a robust, rather village-like presence.

Because Hamadan is a collective term, individual pieces vary strongly. A precise estimate should therefore always consider pattern, back, material, condition and provenance together. A step-by-step guide is given in Is my rug genuine?.

For which rooms is a Hamadan suitable?

Thanks to the flat, firm single-weft structure and the robust wool, Hamadan rugs are well suited to heavily used rooms such as living rooms, hallways and dining rooms. They lie stably, can be cleaned easily and cope with daily use. The vigorous geometric patterning suits both classical and modern interiors.

Care

Regular vacuuming in the pile direction and the occasional professional cleaning preserve the quality. Stains should be treated immediately with clear water, without rubbing. Direct sunlight over a long time bleaches the colours. Detailed notes are given in the care overview.