Shirvan Rugs: The Weaving Tradition Behind the Pattern

Shirvan is a real place in the history of carpet weaving, and the name on a modern rug is a reference to a specific tradition rather than decoration. Here is what it refers to, and what the pattern is actually saying.

Where the design comes from

Shirvan is the plain running down to the Caspian, and its weavers worked at the opposite extreme from Kazak — very low pile, very fine weave, and pattern built from dozens of small units instead of a few large ones.

In our range this sits in the Caucasian Tribal collection. The loudest weaving in the region — few motifs, enormous scale, colour at full strength, and hooked edges that were meant to turn away harm.

How to read the pattern

A field tiled with small repeating boteh, stars or medallions. The reward is in the detail: no two repeats are drawn quite identically.

Shirvan in a machine washable rug

Caucasian design survives translation better than almost anything else, because it was built from large flat shapes and unmodulated colour in the first place. What matters is holding the colour at full strength — a washed-out Kazak is a contradiction.

Our Shirvan designs are woven in chenille polyester on a woven cotton backing with a non-slip finish. That construction is what makes the rug washable at 30°C in a domestic machine — there is no latex or rubber layer to crack, and no wool to felt. It is a genuinely different object from the hand-knotted rugs the name refers to, and it is meant to be: one is an heirloom, the other is a floor covering you can put in the wash.

Colours it comes in

We currently weave 1 Shirvan design, in blue & navy. Prices run from £50 for the 60 × 100 cm to £185 for the 200 × 300 cm, with delivery to the UK and Europe included.

What size to buy

Tribal geometry reads well at any size, and it is one of the few design families that genuinely works as a runner: the pattern climbs the rug rather than radiating from a centre.

Every design is woven in all ten sizes: 60 x 100, 80 x 150, 100 x 200, 120 x 180, 80 x 300, 100 x 300, 155 x 230, 200 x 300, 160 round, 200 round cm. We would put Shirvan in the living room, the bedroom, the dining room and the kitchen before anywhere else.

Common questions

Is this the same as a hand-knotted Shirvan?

No. A hand-knotted Shirvan is a different object entirely — tied by hand in wool or silk, often over months, and priced accordingly. What we make is a power-woven washable rug that uses the Shirvan design vocabulary. The pattern is the inheritance; the construction is modern.

What colours does Shirvan come in?

Currently one colour family: blue & navy. We file a rug under the colour it reads as across a room, not the colour covering the most area, so an ivory ground with strong blue motifs is listed under blue.

Where should a Shirvan rug go?

The living room, The bedroom, The dining room and The kitchen suit it best. Anchor the sofa and coffee table. Because it washes at 30°C, the rooms most people avoid putting a rug in — kitchen, hallway, under a dining table — are the ones where it earns its keep.

Living with it

• Machine washable at 30°C on a gentle cycle — sizes up to 120 × 180 cm fit a standard 7 kg drum.
• Non-slip woven cotton backing: no separate underlay needed on wood, tile or laminate.
• Low pile, so robot vacuums pass over it without snagging.
• No latex, glue or rubber crumb — nothing to break down into dust.
• Dry flat or over a rail. Never tumble dry.