Qum Silk

Qum Silk Carpet – a True “Treasure for Your Floor”

Carpets are usually hard-wearing items for daily use. After all, they are constantly being walked on, which likewise applies for oriental rugs. Yet there are other kinds of carpets that are best placed on the floor as decoration. One example in this regard is the Qum silk carpet with its particularly captivating, noble look.

What is a Qum silk carpet?
As the name suggests, the Qum silk carpet is made of silk and originates from the Holy City of Qum. Qum is a city and a province located about an hour south of the Iranian capital Tehran. The province and city of Qum bring a sparkle to the eyes of very carpet lover. Qum is also one of Persia’s holy cities. For carpet lovers, however, Qum is the Mecca for finest carpets, i.e., finest silk carpets. Although the craft of carpet knotting did not established itself in this region until the early 20th Century, Qum stands today for finest oriental rugs. For many connoisseurs, a Qum silk carpet is the quintessence of a noble Persian carpet.

A Qum silk carpet is one of the highest quality Persian rugs. It is distinguished by its exclusiveness and special designs. Qum carpets are the luxury models among Persian carpets. The craft of knotting finest silk carpets has spread from Qum to adjacent regions, and silk carpets are also being knotted, for example in Zandian.

What makes an oriental rug from Qum special?
Oriental rugs from the Iranian Province of Qum are something special because they are made from the most noble of all fibers, i.e., from pure silk! A carpet made from Qum silk is distinguished by the fact that not only the pile but also the warp and weft are made of pure silk.

Chinese silk is considered the highest quality silk worldwide because it facilitates very fine weaving. Sole use of precious silk yarn intrinsically makes Qum silk carpets a true treasure. A carpet crafted from pure silk has a unique sheen that makes it a magnificent eye catcher. Fine silk yarn makes the carpet very thin allowing it to be used as a tapestry. It is very important not to lay a silk carpet in an area with heavy foot traffic.

Why is the Qum silk carpet especially valuable?
Apart from using finest silk, a Qum silk carpet assumes special ranking because it persuades via highest Persian quality. Numerous master weavers, draftsmen and designers settled in the Qum region during the previous century. These artisans, all experts in their craft, ensure that silk carpets from Qum are especially beautiful and adhere to especially high quality standards while being produced.

One of the most important quality features of an oriental rugs are the number of woven knots per square meter. No other carpet can keep pace with a silk carpet due to the special thinness of a silk thread. A Qum silk carpet can contain up to 1 million knots per square meter.

What does a Qum silk carpet look like?
Use of pure silk gives the carpet a beautiful sheen. A genuine Qum oriental carpet captivates the viewer with patterns common to oriental rugs. Especially delicate patterns are possible due to the high number of knots per square meter. Master craftsmen can create artworks that cause any painting to fade by comparison. Qum rugs with especially artistic motifs, such as hunting motifs, may also decorate walls as tapestries and not just enhance floors as carpets.