About Hand Woven Rugs, by Andrew Haughton
Hand or machine, natural or not
Whoever you go to, (and Scotland has plenty of independent rug shops) I recommend you do look hard at only genuine hand woven wool rugs rather than machine produced rugs. Though more expensive (not always), they're more characterful and made of entirely natural material. On ecological grounds, rugs of synthetic material will likely be chucked into our groaning landfill in 10 years so may be a compromise we can avoid.
Origins
There are many ways to categorise, rugs from the main weaving regions such as India, Iran, Afghanistan or Morocco.
You could come across the very old traditions of tribal and nomadic rugs with sometimes simpler patterns and fewer colours. There are slightly sharper or more controlled patterns from settled or village weavers. Then you'll see finer still designs from city workshops where a master directory or naqshe might call out the colours to his weavers.
Rugs may be naive like the so called 'gabbeh' from SW Iran. They can also be fabulous, ravishing, complex and powerful expressions of beauty. Prepare to be bewildered, though I hope my notes help a bit.
Design and colour
A village rug design may be influenced by a neighbour’s or by a design seen in the market place or from another country. You may spot, especially in tribal and village rugs, little irregularities, changes in colour; that’s usually a sign of hand weaving and often a lasting delight to the owner.
There is also the lustre (or dullness!) of wool to notice. And then colour; new synthetic dyes can be exceptionally good and long lasting, though not always. Natural dying is a dying art but some great examples persist, not just in 19th century rugs.
Finally, take time to look around, may be ask to try one at home, see if it connects in the room, above all love it!
Andrew Haughton, The Nomads Tent, Edinburgh, December 2025.
Top rug images: (left) Fine Kazak, Afghanistan, 233 x 154 cm, (centre) Fine contemporary gabbeh, Fars Province,196 x 152 cm, (right) A Persian garden design, Bijar province, 152 x 112 cm - all from The Nomads Tent
