Highly unusual and exciting, antique Shahsavan rugs and carpets have only recently been recognized among the production of the Transcaucasus or far Northwest Iran. Related to the Kurdish rugs of this region, and to those of the Caucasus as well, Shahsavan weavings have a strongly tribal flavor with highly abstract, geometric designs and rich colors. They are sometimes distinguished by certain shades of lavender or deep pink and salmon tones, in conjunction with soft blues. The Shahsavan tribes were originally transported and resettled in the Northwest from Central Asia by the Persian kings in the seventeenth century. This helps to explain the ties between these rugs and those of the Turkomans and other Central Asian tribes.
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