Tabriz is the largest and oldest continuously productive weaving centre in Iran, and that is precisely what makes the name unhelpful on its own. It has produced museum pieces and it has produced volume commercial goods, sometimes in the same decade.
What defines it
- Knot
- Asymmetrical, tied with a hooked knife
- Density
- 30–70+ raj (roughly 100–500 KPSI)
- Foundation
- Cotton; silk on the finest grades
- Design
- Medallion, all-over, pictorial, Herati — very wide range
- Palette
- Broad; ivory and soft blues common in modern production
The technical distinction is the hooked knife. Tabriz weavers use a knife with a small hook at the tip that pulls the yarn through, rather than tying knots purely by hand. It allows very fine, very fast work and is unique to the region.
The raj system
Tabriz quotes fineness in raj — knots per 7cm of width — rather than knots per square inch, and it is worth learning because it is what you will be quoted.
| Raj | Approx. KPSI | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 25–30 | ~100 | Coarse; simplified drawing |
| 40 | ~160 | Standard commercial grade |
| 50 | ~250 | Good quality, detailed drawing |
| 60 | ~360 | Fine; usually part-silk |
| 70+ | ~500 | Very fine, silk foundation, master workshops |
Raj is a genuine quality signal here, unlike in tribal weaving, because Tabriz is a cartoon-woven tradition where density directly determines how much detail the drawing can carry. A 30 raj Tabriz and a 60 raj Tabriz are executing different drawings, not the same drawing at different resolutions.
Range of design
Tabriz is unusual in having no single house style. You will encounter formal medallions in the Kashan manner, Herati all-over fields, hunting scenes, pictorial rugs, and twentieth-century revivals of Safavid designs. Some of the best-known Persian carpets in museums — including the Ardabil — are Tabriz-attributed.
Modern Tabriz production leans towards ivory grounds and softer blues and golds, deliberately aimed at contemporary interiors. That is a market decision, not a decline.
On signatures
Fine Tabriz rugs are often signed in a cartouche in the border. A genuine master signature affects price materially, which is exactly why signatures are also forged. Treat one as a claim to verify rather than as evidence.
Buying one
Because the range is so wide, the region name should be your last question rather than your first. Establish density, foundation, wool quality and dye evidence, then ask about attribution — the sequence in identification.
A well-made 50 raj Tabriz in a room size is one of the more sensible practical buys in Persian weaving: durable, widely available, and liquid if you later sell.
More on the surrounding regions in types of Persian rugs, and on pricing in what Persian rugs are worth.
Common questions
What does "50 raj" mean?
Raj is the Tabriz measure of fineness — the number of knots across 7cm of width. Roughly, 30 raj is coarse, 40 is standard commercial, 50 is good, 60 is fine, and 70 and above is very fine work usually on a silk foundation.
Are Tabriz rugs good quality?
Some are exceptional and some are ordinary. Tabriz is a large production centre that has made rugs at every price point for a century and a half, so the name alone tells you the design language and the likely construction, not the grade.