TEHRAN -- A documentary on the world’s largest hand-woven Persian carpet has been completed by Shadmehr Rastin under the title “Larger than Large”.

It took two years to finish the documentary, which features the process of producing the carpet, including its design, materials, the equipment in the workshops near Neyshabur, the weaving process, and shipment to Tehran and on to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Measuring 7,119 square meters, the 45 ton carpet is laid at the Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi and is estimated to have cost about 9 million dollars.
Designed by Iranian artist Ali Khaliqi, the carpet consists of 2,268,000 knots and was woven by 1200 artisans in Neyshabur and the regional villages. The pieces together with the artisans were later flown to Abu Dhabi to stitch the entire work for the final fitting.
The documentary “Larger than Large” depicts the teamwork and great efforts of the artisans and carpet experts who accompanied the team over these two years.
Rastin conducted all the research and editing of the documentary and cinematographer Babak Bazrafshan cooperated in the project.
According to producer Mohammad-Ali Hosseinnejad, a great number of photos and dailies are now available in addition to the current prepared copy, and further copies can also be made for educational and research use.
Sound-recorder Ali Isarian, graphic designer Arash Sadeqi and editor’s assistant Mohammad Mehrjuya are among the crew members.
Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi is the largest mosque in the UAE and the sixth largest mosque in the world. It is named after Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founder and the first President of the United Arab Emirates, who is also buried there. The mosque was officially opened in the month of Ramadan in 2007.
Photo: World’s largest hand-woven Persian carpet is seen in aerial photo taken while it was unveiled at the Imam Khomeini Mosalla on July 31, 2007. (Abbas Takin)