Gabbeh

Persian Gabbeh carpets come from the Fars province in southwest Iran and are traditionally hand-knotted by nomadic tribes of the Zagros Mountains. The word Gabbeh can be described in Persian as raw or natural. They have a coarse texture and simple patterns, and are typically made from undyed or naturally dyed sheep’s wool, which sets them apart from finer Persian carpets.

Every rug at Rugbloom is made by hand. Most are hand-knotted, knot by knot, by skilled weavers who follow the centuries-old tradition of their region, while others are woven or felted by hand. Depending on its size and knot density, a single hand-knotted rug can take anywhere from several months to several years to complete. This slow process means each piece has small variations in tension, dye batch, and motif rendering. These are not flaws, but signs that the rug in front of you is unlike any other.

Handmade rugs are built on centuries of material knowledge. The pile is typically hand-spun wool, valued for its lanolin content and resilience, sometimes accented with silk for luminous highlights on finer pieces. The foundation is usually cotton, wool, or silk, chosen for its stability. This particular piece combines a Wool pile on a Cotton foundation. Traditional natural dyes, such as madder root for reds, indigo for blues, and walnut hulls for browns, soften over the decades rather than fading.

Cared for properly, a hand-knotted rug lasts for generations. Most antique pieces in this collection are already 60 to 120 years old. Vacuum gently without a beater bar, rotate the rug every six months to even out wear, keep it out of prolonged direct sunlight, and have it professionally washed every five to seven years. Every piece at Rugbloom is sourced directly from family workshops and co-operatives that pay fair wages and strictly exclude child labor. Buying a Rugbloom rug supports the weavers whose hands made it and the tradition that trained them.