NAHAVAND

Nahavand is a small city not far from Malayer in the Hamadan region. There is a curious note about the city's name: it means "the city where pots are made" (from nah, city and vand, pot) and comes from the area's ancient pottery-making tradition. Rug-making is important too, and the products are characterized by a particular style. Nahavands are made of very fine quality wool, that is very soft and has a sheen that makes it similar to silk. It is precisely for this feature of the yarns that the pile is sheared high. The knotting is not very dense, so the patterns are rather stylized. The designs are always floral with rounded roses, and a field decorated with a profusion of rosettes connected by straight stalks. The most frequent colours are blue and red for the field and medallion, and cream for the corner-pieces. The most usual border consists of a series of roses and palmettes alternating with bunches of flowers that are connected by zigzag lines that run along the entire border..