TEHRAN – An exhibition of European and Indo-European handwoven rugs and carpets will open doors to the public at the Carpet Museum of Iran on December 18.

“Of the selected carpets, seven pieces are French-made, one is from the UK and three are of Indo-European origins,” Mehr news agency quoted Shokufeh Mesbahi, the secretary of the exhibit, as saying on Tuesday.

Sponsored by the Research Institute of Cultural Heritage in close collaboration with the Tourism National Iranian Council of Museums, the exhibit will be running until January 6, 2017.

The Carpet Museum of Iran is situated on North Kargar St. beside Laleh Park in central Tehran. It showcases variety of Persian carpets from all over the country, majority of which date from the 16th century onwards.

Experts say modern weavers have inherited rich traditions from ancient nomads of Central and West Asia, who developed woolen carpets as a shield against sever weather conditions.

The oldest-known hand-knotted Oriental rug was excavated from the Altai Mountains of Central Asia near Pazryk in 1948.

Dating from the 4th century BC, the rug was found in a semi-frozen Scythin burial mound. It is currently on display at the Hermitage Museum in Leningrad, Russia.

The File photo above shows a Louis XVI-style French Aubusson carpet made in circa 1920.

AFM/MG