Location: The city of Hamadan, perhaps the most important centre of rug-making is situated in the north-west of Persia. The term Hamadan, however, is applied to rugs from a wide area around the town.

General Description: Hamadan was once à the capital of Persia during the period of the Seljuks and is today the catchment centre for rugs from numerous towns and villages, many of which have been weaving rugs for centuries. Because Hamadan rugs are drawn from such a wide area, they can be extremely varied in design. They are very hard wearing and generally of good quality.

Rugs are also made in the town, but this is a fairly recent development. The Hamadan group itself includes Lilhan, Mahal, Mazlaghan and Mushkabad rugs. Of the main area near the town the best rugs come from the village of Khamseh to the north of the town and Borchelu to the east. Apart from the village rugs, Hamadan also encompasses some nomad work that is bought into the town for sale. The term Mosul is sometimes applied to rugs of the Hamadan group, though this is incorrect and misleading. Rugs so-called are generally not of high quality, the knots are not too close and the woollen pile somewhat coarse.

Khamseh rugs are normally distinguished by their central medallion of geometric form. The corners are decorated with a similar design to the central medallion and the border, normally three banded, displays highly stylised motifs.

The Herati design is perhaps the most common motif used on the rugs from Borchelu. A red background is favoured. Sometimes a floral or geometric medallion on an ivory background is found. As with Khamseh rugs, the design of the central medallion is repeated at the corners. The central border repeats the main design, while the two flanking guards tend to display a continuous rosette design. Generally speaking a natural camel-haired brown ground is favoured for many Hamadan rugs. A distinguishing feature of Hamadan rugs is the fringe which is normally one-sided, with the other having a narrow selvedge.