Asef Residence court · Town setting only, not evidence of local manufacture or current visitor access.
Mahmoodreza Mohajerani · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons; resized/re-encoded JPEG)
2015-10-13 11:13:02 · Source metadata and photograph visually checked 24 October 2026; no visible watermark.
Photograph source · Wikimedia CommonsA field observation record
- 01
Observe
Record material, structure, joins and wear before interpreting a pattern or city label.
- 02
Document
With permission, photograph the whole object, reverse, edges and any maker mark; retain repairs in the frame.
- 03
Separate claims
Keep maker, production location, point of sale and proposed age as separate statements, with their evidence.
Setting
Sanandaj sits in a mountain basin in the Zagros at about 1,500 m, with a nineteenth-century governor's complex and a covered bazaar in the old centre.
Why this place matters for craft
The trade name Senneh, derived from the older name of the city, is attached to finely knotted, thin single-weft rugs and to a distinctive kilim. As with all trade names, it describes a structure and design idiom rather than a guaranteed place of manufacture.
Kurdish woodwork and knotted textiles
Sanandaj, the capital of Kurdistan province, is associated with fine Senneh rugs and kilims, and with inlaid and carved woodwork. The trade name Senneh comes from an older name for the city. Senneh knot is also the name used in Western literature for the asymmetrical knot, which can be confusing: the knot name does not mean a rug was woven in Sanandaj.
Classic Senneh kilims are often finely woven with small repeated motifs and a central medallion. Fineness should be described with counts and photographs rather than adjectives.
Separating knot, design and place
Three different claims are often merged: the knot type, the design family and the weaving location. A rug can use an asymmetrical knot and a herati-style field without any connection to Kurdistan. Ask the seller which of these claims they are making.
Woodwork marketed as Sanandaj craft may include musical instruments, boxes and lattice panels. Request the workshop name and describe the joinery and inlay materials in writing.
Condition and care
Very fine kilims can tear along slits and weakened wefts. Avoid hanging them by one edge and do not wet-clean an older piece without specialist advice.
Photograph both faces, the ends and any reweaving. Changes in weft colour on the reverse often reveal repairs more clearly than the front.
Objects, evidence and attribution limits
| Object or claim | What to examine | What it cannot prove |
|---|---|---|
| Senneh kilim | Weft count, slits, ends and reverse | Fineness is not proof of age or place. |
| Asymmetrically knotted rug | Knot type on the reverse and foundation | The Senneh knot is used widely beyond Sanandaj. |
| Wooden instrument | Maker label, joinery and repair history | A label may be replaced or added later. |
Common questions
- Is every rug with a Senneh knot from Sanandaj?
- No. It is a technical name for a knot type used across many regions.
- How should a fine kilim be displayed?
- Use a full-width support such as a sleeve or Velcro system advised by a conservator, and avoid direct sun.
Sources and further reading
- Encyclopaedia Iranica · Carpets
Regional weaving categories and knot terminology.
Editorial draft, not independently checked by a named craft specialist. References provide context, not authentication or confirmation of current visitor access.
Quarters, bazaars and workshops
| Area | What is there |
|---|---|
| Sanandaj bazaar | Rug and textile lanes, with regional klash footwear also sold. |
| Asef Vaziri mansion area | Museum quarter useful for seeing regional textiles in context. |
What to look for on an object
- Senneh-type rug — Very thin, stiff handle from single wefting; the back feels almost grainy.
- Klash / giveh — Hand-stitched textile upper, usually white, on a hard sole.
These notes are for learning to look, not for authentication. No description here certifies an object, its age or its origin.
Practical notes
- Regional villages are the source for much of what is sold in the city bazaar.
- Kurdish weaving is often marketed by broad group name; ask for village detail.
- Workshop addresses, bazaar hours and market days change; confirm locally before travelling.
Season: Late spring to autumn.
Used in these crafts
A hand-knotted pile textile woven across Iran in city workshops, village looms and pastoral camps, distinguished by regional structure, palette and design vocabulary.
A flat, pileless woven textile made across Iran by interlocking or slit-weaving coloured weft threads over a warp, used as floor covering, storage bag, saddle cover and tent divider depending on region.
A narrow-strip flatwoven textile, usually made in warp-faced bands on a portable loom and then sewn together into a wider cloth, traditionally used as bedding cover, floor spread or door hanging by village and pastoral households.
A traditional handmade summer shoe with a cotton-thread woven or crocheted upper and a sole historically made of pressed cotton fabric or leather, produced in a number of Iranian towns known for the craft.
A non-woven wool textile made by matting and pressing raw wool fibres with moisture, heat and friction rather than by weaving, traditionally produced across Iran for floor coverings, cloaks and protective mats.