Roodbar rugs

Roodbar rugs, hand woven in northern Iran, are long rug runner style carpets featuring curvilinear designs in a repeating all-over pattern with a center medallion.

Roodbar, located in northern Iran, is well known for its long rug runner style of weaving. In addition, Roodbar is a major producer of olives, and generates electricity with windmills, courtesy of the constant high winds. The weaving of rug runner style carpets in Roodbar can be traced back over 3000 years. This time honored tradition has been passed down from generation to generation. In order to accommodate the nomadic lifestyle of the weavers, a handmade horizontal loom is used because it is easily transported from place to place. Durability is a must in a rug runner. The Roodbar rug runner is known to wear extremely well due to its single weft construction, excellent quality wool, and moderately high knot count (75 – 100 KPSI). The local weavers use both Persian and Turkish knots.

The Roodbar rug runner typically features curvilinear designs in a repeating all-over pattern with a center medallion. Small fish and floral patterns reminiscent of the classic Herati design figure prominently on a Roodbar rug runner. A variation of the theme features birds in a tree or small animals. The backgrounds are dominated by strong colors, mostly different shades of red and blue, with ivory providing the contrast. Newer rugs will include the addition of softer shades of green, blue, and brown. All of the colors are still created by natural vegetable dyes.
The foundation on a Roodbar rug runner is cotton, while the pile is wool. Historically the rug runner was used over a donkey’s back. When the nomadic tribes were living in tents, the rug runner was used at the door steps or to cover an area next to the bed. Now we enhance our décor by using a rug runner to grace our hallways and entrances. However, returning to one of its original uses, we are more frequently seeing the rug runner being used in bedrooms as well.