ABADEH

Abadeh is located in southern Iran on the road between Shiraz and Isfahan, close to the area where the Afshari and Qashqai live and make well-knotted, sturdy rugs with cotton wefts. There are typical Abadeh patterns: the most common, known as hebatlu, is of tribal origin with a large central diamond-shaped medallion that divides the rug into four corner-pieces and a central cream or blue field with a stylized medallion that is repeated five times. The background is decorated with stylized designs: stars, coloured polygons and birds. Sometimes there may also be deer heads with long horns. The other typical, though less frequent pattern is a classic Persian floral design, known as Zellol Sultan. Here there is a repeated motif of a vase of flowers flanked by a bird on either side. The Abadeh make rugs in many sizes from the small scatter- or bed-rug, up to 300 x 200 cm and runners.