Meshkinshahr or Meshkin carpets

Meshkin carpet

Meshkinshar carpets come from Meshkinshar, west of Ardabil in north-western Iran. Nomads live in the region, mainly engaged in carpet weaving and agriculture.
This region of Iran was occupied by Mongols in the 13th century, who brought with them a very bold style of carpet weaving and the predominant use of the Turkish knot. Most Meshkinshahr rugs are very long and are perfect as stair runners.
Although the use of stair runners is much more widespread in the United States than in Europe, they are gaining popularity. Stair runners increase safety by providing traction on the stairs, protecting your wood from wear and tear, and effectively reducing noise.

History

Meshkin is a city in Ardebil Province in north-western Iran, east of Azerbaijan. It is an ancient city with a historical tribal population speaking a Turkish dialect. Meshkin rugs have been on the market in runner and tribal formats since the late 19th century.
Meshkin rugs are geometric in style and similar in design to those of the nearby weaving town of Sarab. The runner designs of older pieces generally feature medallions in the form of diamonds, pendants, and hexagons that are repeated along the length.
Sometimes stylized hook motifs surround the medallions, showing influences from tribal weavings of Asia Minor. Within and around the medallions are tribal designs such as S, double E, star, animal and bird motifs. Flower heads, leaves and tendrils or herati (fish) patterns also appear. Some medallion designs are divided into half and quarter medallions, bordering on the edges and corners of the field.
Meshkin runner borders are narrow and feature one, two, or three guard borders with flower heads, leaves, vines, animals, and other tribal design elements. After World War II, global demand for rugs soared and meshkin weavers adapted their practice to produce all sizes. The rugs were made with a wool foundation using tribal patterns mainly in the Caucasian style. Meshkin rugs were highly sought after and commissioned in large quantities for export abroad to the West.
This rise in carpet weaving became an important source of income and greatly helped the weaver families.
Meshkin rugs have either a wool or cotton foundation and a wool pile. The Turkish (symmetrical) knot is used. The formats range from small bags to carpets with large spatial dimensions. Runners were often woven, along with gallery sizes and scatter rugs. The fabrics are manufactured in medium to good qualities.
The field colors of the runners and carpets are ivory, brick red, brown red or dark blue. In addition, different shades of camel, brown, green, red, blue, gold and cinnamon are used for borders and design elements. Dark brown or black is used for pattern outlines.