Kashan is located 258 km South of Tehran. Part of this township is located in a vast plain and the other part is in a mountainous area. The climate of the township, like other central parts of Persia, is changeable depending on height of the area. The mountainous regions are cold and the plain areas, especially bordering the desert, are warm. Kashan is one of the oldest cities of Persia. According to archeological excavations in the Sialk hills (located 4 km. West to the city) this area was home to pre-historic man.
Kashan carpet styles have the most curvature in their patterns. They have a single medallion in the center and Persian floral motifs, including arabesques and flower-stems, palmettos, rosettes, blossom and leaf motifs. Kashan carpets also have one of the most dense patterns. The quality of Kashan carpet vary widely. The older (before 1945) pieces are very good but some of the newer ones are not. Some of the newer rugs have a lower KPSI and they are chemically dyed instead of using the traditional vegetable dyes.
Kashan carpets are mostly mid-sized. You can also find large examples up to 18x10 feet. The colors are mostly Ivory, light green and red are predominate. Newer ones have soft green and blue colours. Texture: Soft wool, thin, tight piles. The foundation (warp and weft) of the rugs are cotton, except in very fine pieces - which are pure silk.
Rugs that where made in Kashan feature Persian knots, the weave is fine to exceptionally fine. The number of knots range from around 120 KPSI up to 842 Kpsi.
