This is my beautiful farsh-e dastbaf (hand-knotted rug), a gift from my beloved grandfather — roohesh shad. For years I was away and couldn’t take it with me, but my mom kept it safe and recently gave it for special care and cleaning, just before Nowruz.
📖 Table of Contents
- What Is Farsh-e Dastbaf?
- Why Iranians Say Farsh-e Irani
- The Living Carpet
- The “Persian Flaw” Story
- Khune Tekooni and Nowruz
- Closing Thought
🧵 What Is Farsh-e Dastbaf?
In Persian, rug is called farsh. A handmade one is farsh-e dastbaf:
- dast = hand دست
- baf (from baftan) = to weave باف
- -e = the connector word
So literally, farsh-e dastbaf means “hand-woven rug.”
🇮🇷 Why Iranians Say Farsh-e Irani
In English, the world knows them as Persian carpets. But in Persian, Iranians usually say farsh-e irani — “Iranian carpet.” Why? Because carpets are woven all across Iran: Tabriz, Kashan, Qom, Isfahan, Kerman, Turkmen regions, Kurdish weaves, and more. Saying farsh-e irani includes them all.
🌱 The Living Carpet
Unlike machine-made rugs, these real ones are alive. They need to be walked on, cared for, and cleaned. But never with shoes — only with clean, bare feet! Their flowers bloom when they are stepped on gently and kept clean. This is why farsh-e irani feels alive: it is meant to be used, not hidden away.
✨ The “Persian Flaw” Story
There’s also a story people sometimes call the Persian flaw. According to it, Persian carpet weavers would deliberately include small imperfections in their rugs.
Now, I’m not saying this is a proven fact — I couldn’t find a solid Persian source using the exact phrase “عیب عمدی فرش ایرانی” (eyb-e 'amdi-ye farsh-e irani) in classical texts. What I did find were hints, claims, and modern interpretations that echo this idea. So let’s treat it more as a cultural anecdote than an established tradition.
Still, I find the story beautiful, and my own interpretation is this:
“Perhaps those deliberate imperfections were a way to show humility and remind us that only God’s creation is truly perfect. Persian carpets are breathtaking works of art, yet they are still human-made. Maybe it was also a reminder for the weavers themselves, as artists, that their creativity and power of design are gifts. Staying humble keeps them connected to the source — to God.
Or maybe it’s a quiet message to us: when you love something, you love the whole of it — even the flaws.
And above all, Patterns can repeat, but these little “flaws” make every carpet unique — like a fingerprint. Without them, they’d all look exactly the same."
You don't feel this way when you look at your mass produced Tshirt, a purse made in China, or whatever. Right?
In Persian carpet‐weaving, a common term is غلطبافی (“wrong weaving” or “error weaving”). It refers to breaks or distortions in the design caused when the pattern is misread or a knot is misplaced.
Importantly, some Persian sources acknowledge that غلطبافی may be done intentionally or accidentally:
+ Golcheh describes “if the plan is read wrongly intentionally or accidentally,” the design may become disordered. گلچه فرش
+ Lemart cites “جا افتادن عمدی (a part being skipped intentionally)” as one cause of غلطبافی. Lemart
In more artistic or tribal weaving traditions, there is a related concept called فرش ذهنیبافت / ذهنیبافی (“mental weaving” or freehand weaving). In such cases, the weaver might deliberately deviate from strict symmetry or the given plan to introduce variation or personality. Some buyers even appreciate these irregularities as a sign of uniqueness. Ahmad Carpets
Other English phrases that capture the idea:
+ “weaving flaw” or “weaving error”
+ “pattern irregularity”
+ “intentional imperfection” (if you want to highlight the artistic or symbolic side)
| Source | What it says / how it treats the idea | Reliability & notes |
|---|---|---|
| دیکشنری آبادیس – “persian flaw” | Defines persian flaw (in English) as “اشتباه عمدی، هنر اشتباهات و نواقص عمدی، غلط بافی” — “deliberate mistake, art of errors and intentional defects, wrong weaving.” (Abadis Dictionary) | A modern online dictionary entry reflecting what people claim the term means, not historical proof |
| Oriental Rug Experts – “Deliberate mistakes in handmade Persian rugs” | Argues that some carpet makers include small pattern‐mistakes to show humility, based on the belief that only God can make something perfect. (Oriental Rug Experts) | This is an English‐language specialist source discussing the concept in rug lore |
| Wikipedia – Persian Carpet page | Mentions “The idiom ‘Persian flaw’, meaning a deliberate mistake … is said to originate … in the belief that only God’s creations are perfect.” (Wikipedia) | It presents it as an idiom / claim, not an established historical fact |
| Iranian.com blog | “Expression referring to the purported practice … intentionally put one flaw … because only God is entitled to be perfect.” (The Iranian) | A blog, not an academic source |
| Medium (Persian Empire) article | Claims that carpet makers would intentionally make mistakes to show humility, because only God is perfect. (Medium) | Popular writing / interpretation, not scholarly verification |
🏡 Khune Tekooni and Nowruz
Before Nowruz, Iranians practice khune tekooni, literally “shaking the home.” Families clean every corner, wash curtains, polish dishes, and often send carpets for professional cleaning to welcome the new year with freshness and blessings.
💭 Closing Thought
So, taking care of a farsh-e irani is not only about preserving an object — it is about honoring a living tradition. My dream house? A farsh-e irani in every corner.
Shoma ham mesle man farsh-e irani doost darin?
[Do you also love Iranian carpets as much as I do?]
Here's your takeaway:
✔ Farshe dastbaf: dast = hand, baftan = weave/knit → “hand-knotted rug.”
✔ Moth damage: wool rugs (natural fibers) attract moth larvae if unused; machine-made synthetic rugs don’t face the same issue.
✔ Khune tekooni: A deep-cleaning ritual before Nowruz, literally “shaking the house.”
✔ Farshe Irani vs Persian carpet: Iranians say farsh-e irani In Persian (“Iranian carpet”), while globally the brand is “Persian carpet.”
📚 Sources
- Wikipedia – Persian Carpet
- Little Persia – Moth Damage in Rugs
- Oriental Rug Salon – Protecting Rugs from Moths
- Odd Athenaeum – The “Persian Flaw” Story
Source: https://divar.news/introducing-different-types-of-azerbaijani-carpets/
