An Abaadeh carpet is a type of Persian carpet made in the town of Abadah in Iran.

• 1 History
• 2 References
• 3 Pop Culture
• 4 In the News
• 5 Design

Over the last 50 years Abadeh carpets have emerged as a recognizable group in the marketplace. Abadeh, a market town halfway between Isfahan and Shiraz in Iran, is traditionally where the Qashqai in their north/south seasonal migration would cross the highway. Consequentially it was an important market town and one that most Qashqai were familiar with.

Through time Abadeh area women were able to weave using larger and better looms making larger and better rugs. The sides of the rugs became straighter, the Knot density went up, and they used a cotton foundation.

The rise of the Persian carpet industry began in the late 1800’s. This is important for particularly Abadeh rugs, because the city of Abadeh became an area for carpet production during this period of time. This information is given in Helfgott’s journal article, Carpet Collecting in Iran, 1873-1883: Robert Murdoch Smith and the Formation of the Modern Persian Carpet Industry. The London museum, South Kensington, hired an engineer and Persian telegrapher who was also an employee of the museum to buy Persian delicacies for a collection the museum was creating. This man was Robert Murdoch Smith, and because of his career with Iran, was able to network with people in ways other buyers and collectors not known in Iran could not. During his search for Iranian relics, carpets became main purchases he made for the museum. Through the story of Smith, the rise of the Persian carpet industry is displayed through how high the prices were for them, how kings were also buyers on the market, and the explanation as to why the west wanted these woven artifacts so much: Vienna’s World’s Fair exhibited Persian rugs.