Ardakan Rugs

Ardakan (also Romanized as Ardakān, Ardekan and Artagan) is the center of Ardakan County, Yazd Province, Iran. It is possible that Ardakan is the Artacana of Ptolemy described as a town of Parthia in the Carmanian desert.

View of building in Old Town Ardakan

A traditional center of a major agricultural area which was formerly served by more than thirty qanats, Ardakān developed during the 19th and 20th centuries into a major caravan stop. It is said that the town had approximately 15,000 inhabitants around 1900.

It was at this period of time that rug weaving started in Ardakan. At first, Ardakani weavers were under the influence of Kerman and (later) Yazd, adopting their designs and style of weave. But little by little they showed an interest in Kashan designs and weave style. Today Ardakan rugs are described as “coarser Kashans”. Rugs made in Ardakan may be branded as “Ardekan”.

Technical aspects and the structure of Ardakan Rugs

Knots are asymmetrical (Persian) in Ardakan. Warp and weft are cotton. Piles are mostly woolen. A combination of wool and silk is also possible for pile. There are small area rugs which enjoy silken foundations.

Knot density is about 120 per square inch in Ardakan. Both rug and carpet sizes are common. Carpet sizes are mostly woven for domestic market in which bigger sizes are preferred. Prayer rugs could also be found.

Dyeing and painting of Ardakan Rugs

Ardakan fields are colored with either red, cream (or beige), deep Yellow (or mustard) white (or ivory) or navy blue. Ardakan secondary palette consisted of Ivory (or white), shades of red, brown, beige, dark and light blue, yellow, etc.

Designs and patterns of the Ardakan Rugs

Following Kashan designs, some Ardakan central medallion rugs are design with a kind of medallion and pendants known as the Kashan medallion. This medallion is a lozenge that may be lobed or indented. The medallion and its pendants are filled with tiny intricate floral motifs.

Like in Kashan, Saruq (Sarouk) medallions are also used in Ardakan. In such designs the central medallion is surrounded by wavering sprays of flowers. All-over designs, too, are woven frequently. Again inspired by Kashan’s designs, Ardakan’s all-over designs are filled with floral repeats.