About - Malayer Rugs
Malayer Area
Malayers, unlike Sarouks, which use Persian knots, are always double-wefted and use the Turkish knot. Most Malayers contain a central medallion. The field of each rug is usually a dark blue color. They often utilize a “white-dotted” coping around the medallion, and a “rope-loop” effect of the main border.
Although not strictly a Hamadan region or rug, the town of Malayer serves as a “collecting center” for many rugs from north, west and even south, of the Hamadan weaving area.
Common Characteristics of Malayer
The exquisite use of color in much of the Malayer-related area derives from the ongoing use of natural dyes. Also, the wools are of excellent quality, in terms of strength, feel, and durability. The characteristic dark blue background creates a striking contrast to the colorful foreground medallion and design.
The Malayer area consists of Malayer, and east of which lie Jozan, Manizan, and Taimeh. Other villages, with somewhat related designs, are Tuisarkan, Nehavand, and Borujird.
Jozan Rug - Finest Weaving Village of Malayer
Malayers range in degree of fineness from Jozan, at the high end, through the list. Malayer rugs as a whole remain a reasonably good investments, and are quite popular among rug enthusiasts. Although Malayer rugs are woven within the larger Hamadan rug-weaving region, they remain distinctively different from most Hamadans, by virtue of their color, design, and overall quality.
Nearly all Hamadan rug weavers make single-wefted rugs, but the Malayer area uses primarily double-wefting, as well as predominant use of the dark blue-colored fields of the rug. The Malayer area typically does not extend beyond Jozar or Taimeh, but the following descriptions include rug producing villages and towns that clearly share various traits with the Malayer group as a whole.