Retailers of Tribal, Persian and Oriental Carpets

Welcome to Zargos Tribal Rugs, retailer of handmade, authentic Persian, Tribal and Village rugs and carpets. Browse our online catalogue and explore our Narberth, Wales showrooms to see the intricate designs that reflect centuries-old carpet weaving traditions. 

Many of our carpets are handmade by the ladies and their families of mountain villages and the nomadic tribes whose flocks of sheep are used to produce the fine wool, the dying of which is a  specialised craft passed down through the many generations of weavers using local plants available to them in season. i.e.onion skins, pomegranate rind, madder, reseda, indigo, walnut husk, millet. Synthetic dyes are also used in combination with the natural. Change inevitably occurs in the colour of dying batches and can be easily mistaken in the finished carpet as fading. This is known as Abrash and represents the colour changes of the landscape from shadows cast by the sun, wind moving clouds or the natural landscape.

Large carpet woven over periods of time can also require much wool, as well as the natural dye plants which are not always possible to collect at one time. For a large carpet with a complex colour and pattern, it can take several years to collect these materials ,especially in the given circumstances and lifestyle of the people who make them.

The weavers also are not constrained in their total adherence to pattern. Each area or tribe will have an identity and recognisable style but quite often there is no set idea and the designs and colours are  totally random and abstract which represents  the artistic freedom of the weaver. 

The wool which is produced to make these lovely carpets and rugs comes from the flocks of sheep and goats belonging to the pastoral nomads who inhabit the Zargos mountain range. The main tribes are Kurd, Lur, Bakhtari and Qashqai.

They herd their flocks during the spring months to the cooler climates of the high mountain plateaus and valleys where the grass is abundant and rich in minerals. The fleeces grow thick and produce a lustrous wool, fine in texture, and when spun and using many natural dyes, have a high colour saturation.

The Persian carpets we have in our shop are handwoven using this wool, which is ethical, sustainable and constitutes a substantial source of income for the families in these remote mountain areas.

We encourage our customers to visit our shop in person to ensure they are happy with color quality and size. Please bring measurements. We offer a free delivery service for inland uk.. All our carpets are professionally cleaned.