Gabbeh rugs are wool hand-knotted rugs famous for its Persian tribal origin and its simple and geometric patterns unique to that part of the world. The Gabbeh wool rug is known for its natural and coarse look that portrays a rustic appeal but is still soft and comfortable.

These Persian rugs are traditionally hand spun wool of sheep. The designs in them are strongly influenced by the life style of these nomadic tribes. These Gabbehs are also colored using natural dyes from local plants in the area.

Even with just the use of natural dyes, these Persian tribal rugs are known for its use of bright colors and bold designs. These are highly adaptable and can be used for an eclectic theme or a Persian-influenced living room. It can also suit a lot of styles.

These Persian-style wool rugs are like bold arts with colorful details in them. The uniqueness of these wool Gabbehs is the result of personal touch to combining bright colors with geometric shapes. The usual designs show animals and plants, geometric shapes, and, sometimes, without design at all but different variegation of colors. This simple form of beauty of the rugs, enhanced by the bold choice of colors, has grabbed the attention of many Western designers that led to its recognition.

Because of its recognition, the Gabbeh are even considered as a valuable home décor. With good amount of proper care, these fine wool Persian rugs are even considered as treasured heirlooms by some families. Yes, it can be passed down from one generation to another because it is very durable.

How do they produce these Gabbeh wool rugs? The weaving of wool to produce Gabbeh rugs is actually a normal part of the everyday lives of the women of these Persian tribes. On the other hand, the men will cut the wool and deliver it to the women weavers. The women will then hand spun the fiber and start dyeing the yarn. Then, the weaving of the rug on a wooden loom begins.

Because Gabbehs are made of hand spun wool yarn and the dyes used are all natural, these wool rugs are relatively easy to produce. In fact, in the past years, the tribes had started to settle down in one place to maximize their time weaving more Gabbehs to provide for this growing demand for these unique wool rugs. Indeed, these wool rugs of Persia had been noticed for its unique beauty.

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In this time of fast-paced lifestyle, we are almost forgetting the comforts of our own homes. This post is about Persian rugs, a new solution to make your own space more relaxing. This Persian rug is called the Gabbeh, an original rug from the Qashqai tribe of Iran.

The Gabbeh rug is originally made by the nomad tribe Qashqai as locals of southwestern Iran. Because they move around as nomad tribes to provide their animals with food, they need to make long piles to sleep on while they are traveling. They use the wool from their sheep and use dye from plants and herbs. Aside from being a functional rug that provides comfort during the cold nights, these Persian rugs are also works of art.

Gabbeh actually means rough, unchanged, and natural. And this is what these Persian rugs are. Conceived as a form of naive art, the Gabbehs are very simple in patterns and designs and can be even considered as somewhat primitive. The influences of the Qashqai nomads are the things they see in their surroundings. The inspirations for their rugs are animals, humans, simple geometric patterns, and abstract patterns.

These Persian rugs are famous for the bold use of colors. Prominent colors of yellow, red, orange to cool hues of blue and green from these Gabbehs will instantaneously enliven any living room.

The nomadic people of Qashqai make use of ergonomic horizontal looms that are suited to their way of life. Because they are always moving, they developed hard and thick rugs, with an inch thickness, yet remain soft to the touch.

Persian Gabbeh rugs are dyed using only natural dyes for the colors. The tribes make use of ancient recipes, using local ingredients like plant roots and herbs. The common raw materials include pomegranate skin, walnut husks, indigo, and madder roots.

As you may notice, the original Gabbeh rugs may seem unevenly colored. These home-made dyes adhere unevenly to the wool yarns, producing a rustic appeal to the overall look of the Gabbeh. Interestingly, this is one of its unique features and a true representation of the Persian cultural legacy.

Even with its quite simple way of weaving, the Persian Gabbeh rugs are durable. You just have to take note how to property take care of it. It is suggested to put an underlay between the Persian rug and the floor to avoid erosion. You also need to rotate the rug to avoid the accumulation of dirt. This will also protect the dye from overexposure to sunlight especially when it is situated near the window.

Enjoy your Persian rug Gabbeh. It is original, pure, and a true work of art.

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The Gabbeh rugs from Iran are known to be simple yet whimsical rugs with modern and often geometric designs. Translated as an unfinished rug, Gabbeh is a Persian rug originally woven by the weavers of Qashqai, Iran.

The original purpose of the Gabbeh rugs is the weaver’s own personal use as sleeping rugs. Some of the original designs are usually primitive and un-dyed with colors ranging from beige to ivory to black. These types of rugs are the natural Gabbeh rugs.

Now, the more popular Gabbehs are usually brightly colored with the weavers having all the free reign in the design. The original subtle and understated designs with muted colors are now replaced with bold and unique designs filled with colors. The designs, basically influenced by the classic Persian style, include geometric shapes and the local scenery. There are designs with herd of camels and another with central medallion coupled with plants in the background. There are also more daring pieces of rugs with no shapes but mere variegation of colors to showcase the wool quality.

To this date, the primary factor that determines the beauty of Gabbehs is the colors. Together with some innovation brought about by more contemporary forms of production, Gabbehs are now available in jewel tones as well as with more modern and refreshing designs. The old school techniques for dyeing the materials are also renewed and further developed.

Because of its simple design elements, Gabbeh rugs from Iran are best fitted for modern interiors, no matter where you are in the world. These rugs are also great for eclectic themes for a room as well as traditional Persian interior designs. This rug, however, is not a good fit for more formal rooms.

Gabbeh rugs from Iran are woven by tribal groups. These tribes have Turkic ancestry. As far as the Gabbehs are concerned, the best quality rugs are from the areas in the Zagros Mountains. This area is located at the southern part of Iran. These Gabbeh rugs are woven with hand-spun Persian wool and are usually done in the weaver’s home. This is the reason why original Gabbehs have their own unique individuality.

In the past, the Gabbeh rugs from Iran are actually regarded as something crude and not very pleasing. Thus, local merchants and dealers of yesteryear have ignored these beautiful rugs and find them of lesser value. Within the last decade, however, this had dramatically changed with the recognition of its beauty especially by the Western world and by the influence of globalization.

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This post will discuss the Gabbeh Rug Collection from southwestern Persia or the modern Iran. We hope you enjoy these details and information to these unique Gabbeh rugs.

Three decades ago, no one knows about this Gabbeh rug collections. But it is very much different today with the high consciousness of the public for these highly sought pieces of rugs. Though based on old patterns and designs, the simple yet brightly colored designs are very contemporary looking and are highly valued even by collectors.

The word “Gabbeh” means natural or uncut. This is the reason why Gabbeh rugs are quite coarse and natural looking even with their brightly colored designs. The nomadic tribes of the Fars province, in southwestern Persia or Iran, are the people behind these unique Gabbeh rugs.

There are two main categories of the Gabbeh rug collection. These are the natural rugs and the colored ones.

The first type of rugs is the natural Gabbehs. These are made with un-dyed yarn in different shades of muted neutral palette like white, gray, cream, brown, and balck. The natural Gabbehs are actually the original ideas of a place near the Meshed city, the Khorason district of Iran. Because these Gabbehs are not intentionally planned, the weaver has all the freedom with the rug, usually creating a spontaneous and unpredictable design.

The second type of rugs is the colored Gabbeh collection. This time, you have wide variety of designs in different colors and shapes. The usual designs are geometric patterns that are simple yet elegant. One of the most common patterns is the central medallion on an open field. In the large expanse of the field, there are animals and plants or geometric motifs randomly scattered. The usual colors used are the bright shades of yellow, red, orange, gold, blue, green, and white.
Because of the tribes’ nomadic culture, the Gabbehs are actuallt woven on a horizontal loom that can be dismantled instantly. The Gabbeh rugs made all local materials like vegetal dyes and hand spun wool in the mountainous region of this southwest Persia.

Because of its innate beauty, there are already knockoffs of these genuine Gabbeh tribal rugs. You can now see replicates of the rugs in India, Turkey, Pakistan, and almost everywhere in the Middle East. But the best Gabbehs are still the original rug collections from Iran. This is because of its original Persian influence and the product of years of expert weaving and natural artistic expression.

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Deep in the sparse valleys of the Zagros mountain range of Iran, you will find Iranian rugs woven by women who have been doing this type of weaving for centuries. The word in the Farsi language means natural or made in the rough and therefore their product is called Gabbeh Persian rugs because they are made with natural fibres, coarsely woven and knotted in the age old tradition. In almost all rugs you will find that the weaver has depicted her personal life’s journey or another might have captured a moment in time in her masterfully woven rug.

The pile that is used to weave their tales of scenes and emotions is very thick and the knots are tied fast in a low density. With a variety of symbols and geometric shapes, you will find that each carpet is unique and can never be duplicated, therefore making it a genuine article of great aesthetic value to the owner.

With there distinct knots and thick piles you cannot find another rug elsewhere which stands out like a Gabbeh rug. Many have tried to imitate them, but if you know how to look you will quickly find that the counterfeit has a more synthetic feel and is made of inferior wool. The rule of thumb would be to look for a white fringe on its borders which render it an imitation made from cotton.

There is a wide range to choose from and many different colors such as the kashkoli, baluch, basic, amalehbaft to name a few. These different types are varied in the way they are woven. Some are coarsely woven with few knots per inch and some are medium woven with short soft piles. There are also some rugs that are flat woven and then there are those who are not as colourful as there counterparts.

Because of the nomadic lifestyle of the people of Southern Iran, they weave their carpets on horizontal looms. The wool is locally sourced from sheep and treated with dyes made from various plants in that specific area which the weavers have discovered over the centuries.

For instance, roots will be dug up and transformed into special pastes and later diluted with water to make beautiful color pallets, which are organic in appearance and composition. When entering their habitat you will find many women sitting while separating the woolen fibers – all done by hand of course. Gabbeh Persian rugs which are well maintained will appreciate with age and use.

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Gabbeh carpets have gained rapid popularity in the West since the beginning of the 1980s. Buying an authentic Persian carpet, however, means you have to know what you do. We will try to address some frequently asked questions below.

Where are Gabbeh carpets made?

They originate in the Zagros mountains of Persia (nowadays called Iran). They are manufactured by Qashqai, Luri and Kurdish tribes. Traditionally the weavers used to be women only, but nowadays you will also find many male weavers. There are counterfeits on the market made from either cotton or cheap wool. These mostly originate in India and Pakistan.

What does the word Gabbeh mean?

The word comes from the Persian word for something that is natural, uncut, raw. These are rugs made by working people for everyday use and abuse. They are therefore not sophisticated, but rather made to withstand rough conditions. This is exactly where the appeal of these carpets lie for most people.

How will I know a genuine Gabbeh carpet from a fake one?

If the fake is made from Cotton, the fringes will be white in color. If it’s made from wool, the carpet will not be as soft as the genuine article. The wool used in Persia is of a high quality and it’s very soft.

How do Gabbeh rugs differ from other types of Persian carpets?

Their texture is coarser than the average Persian rug. They are also thicker – sometimes they are as much as an inch in depth. This is due to the thick knots that are used in the weaving process. These rugs are extremely durable and with the correct care they will last a lifetime and longer.

What type of colors and designs are available?

Gabbeh carpets usually display bright colors, such as red and yellow. Patterns are often geometrical in shape and a single rug can contain large areas of one color, although colors will vary throughout the rug. Since the weavers are mostly women, you will notice scenes depicting everyday village life, animals and folklore.

What is a genuine Gabbeh carpet made of?

The genuine product will always be made of hand spun wool of a fine quality. These are very soft to the touch, yet at the same time they are rugged. Only natural plant dyes are used in the dyeing process.

Gabbeh carpets are not only works of art, they are an investment that will give you a lifetime of enjoyment.

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Everybody dreams of having their own house but is afraid shelling out thousands to build their dream dwelling. Those who have ventured into spending for their dream house know that it does not end with the house itself – filling the house with furniture and decorations all add up. If you’re into carpets and runners, you know that Persian rugs do not come cheap; so what about a Gabbeh runner?

Pronounced “gava”, Gabbeh is a Farsi term that equates to “in the rough” or natural. It refers to a variety of Persian floor coverings which are hand-woven and traditionally made by tribes from the Zargos Mountains and plains. Considered as a primeval type of weaving, Gabbeh products usually give a rough and coarse feel.

Because of the way a Gabbeh runner is made, they are sold cheaper than usual runners. Though not as expensive as other runners, they are far from a lower quality. In fact, since they are mostly hand-woven, much attention is given to details. Initially done to depict artistic interpretations of the weaver’s life, they are usually characterized by splashes of color and design which border on playfulness.

Geometric and symbolic shapes and styles are often woven into a Gabbeh runner or, since they are mostly created to depict a tale, they may present either a landscape or a particular scene from the weaver’s life and family history. Emotions may also be apparent in a Gabbeh design. This artistic likeness of an individual’s life makes each runner unique from each other – a quality that separates a Gabbeh runner from other types of runners.

Since Gabbeh runners are a very popular variety, lots of copycat Gabbeh are appearing in the market. Indian and Persian weavers are taking to coming up with their own lesser quality versions. Though these imitation runners may fool a lot of buyers, to the educated eye they are easy to spot. In imitation runners, chemical dyes are usually set on cotton materials and therefore these usually leach out into light colored and white borders. Also, the material is softer and gives off the feel of not being hand-woven.

In a nutshell, a Gabbeh runner is a beautiful and inexpensive addition to any home. They are unique, with weavers pouring in lots of attention to the colors and designs that go into them. For those who are starting their lives in a new home and are looking at saving a few pennies on decorating their place, these runners are a good way of being cheap without actually looking cheap.

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If you have just moved into a new house or rearranged your living room and looking for something to give it that special touch, consider getting a rug to fill in that empty spot on the floor. Gabbeh area rugs could be the perfect choice to enhance the look of your room and give it a touch of warmth and a homey feeling, while making the place look brighter and more sophisticated.

Especially if your living room has a wood floor or tile surface, then a rug is a great way to fill in the space and give a little bit of comfort to a room that deserves to be comfortable. If you have children around the house, then this is the perfect spot for them to sit and relax with their toys without having to feel the cold, hard floor.

Even if you do not have kids around the home, a rug can be a way to tie together the colors found in your couches, table, and any paintings or decorations on your wall. You will be surprised at the way one small piece like this can bring together an entire room and how it can transform an open, impersonal area into a cozy place that others will love to spend time in.

You should keep in mind, however, that a dark color will probably work better than a light one if you plan on using this room often. Unlike a painting, which you can reasonably expect to stay clean because it is on the wall, away from fingers, a carpet sits on the floor where people walk. It is not reasonable to expect that it will stay perfectly clean because people will definitely be stepping on it constantly.

If you are very careful to make sure that all parts of your home look perfect at all times, then a light colored rug will drive you crazy because it will constantly be scuffed up with marks and dirt. Unless you insist that all guests take off their shoes before coming inside, then you will be dismayed by how quickly this can be damaged.

A dark color will save you hours of aggravation and a lot of money in cleaning costs because it will effectively hide all of the dirt from the bottom of people’s shoes. It can go much longer without needing to be cleaned and it will still look as nice as when you bought it.

Gabbeh area rugs can be a perfect addition to a floor that is otherwise bare. In the winter, they will provide a place to warm up your toes and all year round, it will decorate a spot that could use some enhancement.

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Gabbeh rugs is a traditional type of Persian carpet, that has been woven for centuries by tribal people in the Zagros mountains and the surrounding plains. The meaning of the word Gabbeh in Farsi (the dominant language used in Persia) is something that is rough, uncut and natural. These are the best known Persian tribal rugs anywhere in the world today.

The rugs are hand-woven with beautiful abstract designs that cleverly make use of open fields of color; the patterns often exudes a certain playfulness. The texture is much courser than any other Persian rug – these rugs are made to withstand abuse; some of them are more than an inch in depth. In a sense one should actually call them kilims and not rugs.

The colors are bright, with yellow and red being quite common. Sometimes large fields of solid color are used, although colors vary throughout the rugs.

The designs are very often geometric in shape and arranged in such a way that they tell a story. Landscapes are also very popular and sometimes a rug will simply very effectively convey a specific emotion. Very often the design will be asymmetric, making use of shapes and figures to depict scenes from legends or the lives of the weavers.

These rugs are usually made almost solely for personal use. According to tradition, this is a woman’s job and even today therefore the rugs are mostly knitted and woven by women. This is often apparent from the designs; the women portray their lives and characters in this ageless form of art.

Gabbehs are knitted and woven by using only real wool that has been hand spun. Colors are created by using natural dyes from plants. The thick knots (less knots per square centimeter) and sometimes irregular designs make these rugs cheaper to produce than some other types of Persian carpets, although these are the same reasons for which they often have a very special place in the hearts of rug lovers.

A word of warning: Gabbeh rugs are nowadays being copied and cheap “knock-offs” from India, China, Egypt, Turkey and Pakistan are flooding the market. Fortunately there is a way to determine whether the rug you want to buy is a real Gabbeh or not: the wool from Persia is not only markedly softer, it is also of a higher quality than that used in the reproductions. It will therefore last much longer. If the rug is a cheap cotton imitation, you can spot this from the fact that it will have a white fringe.

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