Nain Rugs

Nain began weaving in the 1930s, when the town's cloak-weaving trade collapsed and its weavers turned to carpets. They brought a textile-maker's fineness with them, and within a generation Nain was one of the two or three finest weaving centres in Iran.

A Nain is recognisable at a glance by its palette. Ivory or soft cream grounds, navy and sky blue in the medallion and vines, and touches of sage and rose, all kept deliberately quiet. The other signature is technical: the outlines of the floral drawing are worked in silk against a wool pile, so the pattern catches the light and lifts off the ground.

Fineness is graded in la, the number of threads in each knot. A 9 la is fine, a 6 la is finer, and a 4 la is about as fine as wool and silk can be knotted. The Habibian workshop is the name collectors look for. Because the palette is pale and the drawing restrained, Nain rugs sit comfortably in modern interiors where a madder-red city rug would dominate.