They're the same thing. Persia was renamed Iran in 1935, so a carpet from that region is correctly called either. "Irani" is just how the word gets said across much of India.
So why does everyone ask? Because the trade uses these words differently from the dictionary. In practice "Persian" has come to mean a style, the medallion, the dense floral field, that particular palette, and it can be woven anywhere. "Iranian" usually means it was genuinely made in Iran. That gap is where the confusion sits, and where buyers get caught out.
What you're really choosing between
| Persian style | Iranian imported | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it's made | India, Turkey, elsewhere | Iran |
| What you're paying for | The design | Origin and weave density |
| What we charge | ₹2,160 to ₹19,440 | ₹17,800 to ₹216,000 |
Neither is a con. A well made Persian style carpet woven in India at ₹8,000 is a good carpet. It just isn't the same object as a 1500 reeds piece imported from Iran, and nobody should be selling it to you as one.
What 1500 reeds means
This is the number worth understanding, and most people buying one have never had it explained.
Reeds count the vertical threads across a fixed width of the loom. More reeds means more knots in the same space, which means the pattern carries finer detail. A curved stem that's actually curved instead of stepped. A face with features.
1500 reeds is a high count. At that density the weave stops looking like a grid and starts looking like a painting. And you can spot it without knowing anything about carpets. Just look at a curve in the pattern and see whether it flows or staircases.
It also makes the carpet heavier and denser underfoot, which is the bit nobody mentions and everybody notices.
Silk, wool and silk blend
Three materials, routinely muddled, occasionally on purpose.
Wool is what most traditional carpets are. Tough, warm, forgiving, and it takes dye in deep saturated tones. A wool carpet shrugs off furniture dents and survives being walked on for decades.
Silk is lighter and finer, with a sheen that shifts depending on where you're standing. The same carpet reads light from one end of the room and dark from the other. It's also more delicate, so silk belongs in a bedroom or a formal room, not a hallway.
Silk blend is the honest middle ground. Wool or viscose body with silk accents through the pattern, so you get the shift of light where the design wants it and the durability where feet actually go. Most of our imported 1500 reeds pieces are blends and we say so.
Ask what the pile is before you ask about the pattern. If the answer's vague, that's your answer.
Telling hand knotted from machine made
Turn it over. That's the whole test.
A hand knotted carpet's back shows the pattern nearly as clearly as the front, with slight irregularities. A knot sitting a fraction off, a line wavering by a millimetre. Machine made backs look printed, perfectly regular, often with a visible grid or a glued scrim.
Second check, the fringe. On a hand knotted carpet the fringe is the warp, the structural threads the whole thing is built on, coming out at the ends. On most machine made carpets it's sewn on afterwards. Tug it gently. If it feels like a separate strip, it is one.
Neither test needs any expertise. Both take about four seconds.
What they cost here, and why
Our Persian silk range runs ₹2,160 to ₹19,440. The imported Iranian 1500 reeds pieces start at ₹17,800 and go past ₹2 lakh for the big sizes.
That gap isn't margin. A 1500 reeds carpet has several times the knot count of a standard weave, which means several times the loom hours, and it was made somewhere with a different cost base and then shipped and taxed.
What you get for it: detail that holds up close, density that holds up under furniture, and a piece that'll outlive the room you bought it for. Whether that's worth four times the money depends entirely on whether you actually look at your floor.
Looking after one
Rotate it twice a year so the sun fades it evenly instead of in a stripe.
Vacuum without the beater bar. That rotating brush is fine on synthetic broadloom and it tears at a hand knotted pile.
Blot spills, never rub. Rubbing drives the stain down into the knot where it sets.
And get it professionally cleaned every few years rather than having a go yourself. A wool or silk carpet that's been home washed is usually obvious afterwards, which rather defeats the point.
Frequently asked questions
Are Persian and Iranian carpets the same? Geographically yes. Persia became Iran in 1935, and "Irani" is the common Indian pronunciation. In the trade though, "Persian" has drifted to mean the style, which can be woven anywhere, while "Iranian" usually means actually made in Iran. Ask a seller which one they mean.
What does 1500 reeds mean? Reeds count the vertical threads across a set width of the loom. 1500 is a high density, so the weave carries much finer detail and curves flow instead of stepping. It also makes the carpet noticeably heavier and denser underfoot.
How much does an Iranian carpet cost in India? Imported 1500 reeds pieces start around ₹17,800 and run past ₹2 lakh for large sizes. Persian style carpets woven elsewhere run ₹2,160 to ₹19,440. The difference is knot count, loom hours and import cost, not margin.
How can I tell if a Persian carpet is genuine hand knotted work? Turn it over. A hand knotted back shows the pattern clearly with slight irregularities, while a machine made back looks printed and perfectly regular. Then tug the fringe. On hand knotted work it's the structural warp, not a strip sewn on afterwards.