Setting
Sirjan lies on a dry plain in western Kerman province, a road and rail junction with a regional bazaar.
Why this place matters for craft
Weavings attributed to Afshar groups around Sirjan are a recognised category in the rug literature, typically wool-on-wool with small repeated motifs. The Afshar label covers a wide and debated area.
Quarters, bazaars and workshops
| Area | What is there |
|---|---|
| Sirjan bazaar | Regional rug and textile trade. |
What to look for on an object
- Afshar-attributed rug — Small-scale repeating field motifs, often on a dark ground, with a supple wool handle.
These notes are for learning to look, not for authentication. No description here certifies an object, its age or its origin.
Practical notes
- Buying here means dealing with local dealers; Kerman city is easier for visitors.
- Workshop addresses, bazaar hours and market days change; confirm locally before travelling.
Season: Autumn to spring.
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 hand-embroidered wool textile from Kerman in which coloured silk or wool threads are worked in dense chain and satin stitching over a woollen ground, typically in a limited palette against a natural or dyed field.