What is a Persian Carpet?
“Persian carpet” is not the same as “carpet made in Persia”. In fact, the exact meaning might vary from speaker to speaker, but most probably means “individually knotted pile carpet bearing a traditional persian design pattern or picture”. A carpet made in China, India or Pakistan might still be called “Persian” because they imitate the Persian designs and production techniques, though some speakers try to use the more exact terms “Sino Persian”, “Indo Persian” and “Pak Persian”. (There is a change regarding Kashmiri Persian carpets, more often just called Kashmiri.) A carpet made in Iran using modern knitting machines bearing a non-traditional design would not be called Persian carpet. On the other hand, carpets made in countries that developed styles different from Persian styles, might still be loosely called “Persian carpets” in a collective sense, though “oriental” might be the more appropriate qualifier but that leaves out the north african countries whose carpts are often includ
