The Golden Age of Persian carpet weaving occurred during the Safavid dynasty, when Shah Tahmasp (1524-1587) began establishing court factories for carpet production. Prior to this time, the production of vintage and antique Persian rugs in the region was primarily a village craft, defined by use of simple rectilinear patterns. Following the Afghan invasion in 1722, there was a significant decline in vintage Persian rug production until the late nineteenth century when European demand for Persian rugs contributed to a major revival in the art form. Antique Persian rugs can be divided into two main categories – city (formal) rugs, which were made in workshops, are known for their finely-woven and often intricate designs, and village rugs (informal), which are widely varied in their unique blends of city and nomadic motifs and techniques. The most important formal rugs come from Tabriz, Kashan, Kirman, Doroksh, Khorassan, Meshad, Tehran, and Sarouk and the most well-known villages included Malayer, Sarab, Bakhtiar, Bakshaish, Sultanabad, Bibikabad, Senneh, Fereghan, Heriz, Hamadan and Shiraz. For today’ s interiors, city rugs tend to work well in formal settings, such as New York offices or apartments, whereas informal nomadic rugs are often excellent choices for more casual spaces such as rooms in country houses.
