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Silk on Silk
Kashan
Turquoise field, coral medallion
Carpet design · Silk Carpets
Kashan
Kashan is the most recognisable of all classical carpet layouts — a central medallion floating on a field of flowers, echoed by a quarter-medallion in each corner. Named for the Persian city whose looms perfected it, the design was carried to Kashmir by master weavers and has been knotted in the Valley ever since.
How to recognise a Kashan
Look for a single, elaborate medallion at the exact centre — often with pendant finials above and below — and four corner spandrels that repeat a quarter of the same motif. Between them, the field is dense with palmettes, blossoms and scrolling vines, framed by a wide main border and several narrow guard borders.
In Kashmir the Kashan is woven with a distinctly Kashmiri fullness: the field is packed with flowers so closely that almost no ground colour shows, a taste inherited from the Mughal garden.
Colourways
The classical Kashan is madder red with navy and ivory. Our looms also weave it in unexpected colourways — a luminous turquoise silk with coral medallion, or navy with rose — which suit contemporary rooms that want heritage without heaviness.
Where it belongs
A symmetrical medallion carpet is made for a room arranged around a centre: a formal drawing room, a dining room, a library, or beneath a bed. Because the design reads from every side, it works in rooms entered from several doors.
Questions
What is a Kashan design carpet?
A Kashan is a classical carpet layout with a large central medallion, matching quarter-medallions in the four corners and a field filled with floral motifs, framed by a main border and guard borders.
Are Kashan carpets Persian or Kashmiri?
The design originated in Kashan, Persia, and was brought to Kashmir by Persian master weavers in the fifteenth century. A Kashmiri Kashan is hand-knotted in Kashmir, usually in silk, with a denser floral field than its Persian ancestor.
Guide: How to identify a genuine hand-knotted Kashmiri silk carpet →
Pieces in this design
Kashan, made by hand
Prices on request. Every piece can be commissioned in your own size and palette.
Bespoke
Kashan, to your own measure
Choose the size, the palette and the density of the work. Our naqash draws the design for your approval before a single knot is tied, a stitch made or a brush lifted.
