Majestic Persian Ziegler Mahal Carpet – Oversize

Persian Mahal large carpet handwoven from wool in Iran. Items of this proportion are considered oversize with respect to standard room size.

There is no actual city, or area that was responsible for the so-called Mahal carpets. At the end of the 19th century, Arak, (Sultanabad) was both the main weaving town and the marketing centre for all the weavings made in the area. To the north was the Feraghan area, to the west, Seraband, and to the east the Mushkabad and Mahallat regions. Towns included Malayer, Saruk and Lillihan. This was one of the most productive weaving areas of western Iran, and indeed still is. It is possible that the name Mahal was originally derived from Mahallat, although it is unlikely that all weavings called Mahal and marketed as such were actually made there, just as all the carpets called Mushkabad were not necessarily made there rather than anywhere else in this area. It seems that initially that the best carpets were sold as Sultanabads, (or if made in the Ziegler workshops, as Zieglers), the best rugs and carpets made in Saruk and the surrounding areas and small towns and villages were sold as Saruks, and those carpets in what could be described as the typical Feraghan style were sold as Feraghans. The best examples of other distinctive types, those from Lillihan, Malayer, and Seraband, were also sold under the names of those specific places. All other rugs and carpets were divided into two main groups: the best were sold as Mahal and the rest as Mushkabad. In recent years, the name Mahal has been used to describe a particular group of carpets, usually floral, like most of the weavings from this area, are asymmetrically knotted; the majority have bleached white cotton warps and dyed blue cotton wefts.

Ziegler & Co

The firm of Ziegler & Co. of Swiss origin and based in Manchester, England, was one of the largest exporters of printed textiles to Turkey and Iran in the second half of the nineteenth century. It began importing Persian carpets to England, and setting up its own workshop in Arak, (then Sultanabad) in north-west Iran in 1876. It remained in production until the firm closed in 1934 and much is known about its history and products. Ziegler carpets held enormous popularity as furnishings in wealthy homes throughout the firms active life and have maintained popularity in western homes to the present day.

For further information please contact us and our team will be pleased to assist you. All pieces in the collection are under the auspices of Essie Sakhai, one of the world’s foremost experts and collectors of fine handmade Persian rugs and carpets.