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Baneh Kilim.
Gabbeh: Graffiti 1.
Spinning wool.
Carpets and culture With its unique carpet designs and weaving culture, Zollanvari continues to sustain and further the extraordinary art form and traditions of Persian carpets, celebrated around the world for more than 2,000 years. Zollanvari’s understanding of the captivating aesthetic, splendour and profusion of Persian creativity has empowered the company to produce the highest quality carpets for over half a century. Today, the manufacturer has established itself as global leader in creating carpet art.
These new Gabbehs, produced within exacting standards, proved an immediate success, exploding onto the world stage and satisfying the demands of Western markets. Zollanvari became a market leader and the brand’s name and its innovative spirit became a synonym for Gabbeh itself.
TEXT: THOMAS SCHROERS I PHOTOS: ZOLLANVARI INTERNATIONAL
Gholamreza Zollanvari, the current patriarch dubbed ‘The Father of the Gabbeh’, could not have dreamt of a worldwide carpet business when he began working in his father’s carpet firm in 1947. But this legacy had already been engraved in the family history since the business was handed down the generations from his great grandfather. With the passing of time, this is also what Gholamreza would do. Initially he focused on the traditional products of the nomads of South Persia and Gabbehs. With the rising appreciation and demand for these, he worked with the nomads to start weaving new Gabbehs with more 24 | Issue 43 | October 2016
contemporary designs, whilst at the same time his son Reza brought his father’s company and name to Europe. Zollanvari in Zurich It was 1985 when Reza Zollanvari established the company’s base in Zurich, enabling the business to directly access the European market. Four years later, Zollanvari expanded further and enlarged their portfolio by weaving larger and room-sized Gabbehs. For its production the company decided to only use handspun and naturally dyed wool, pioneering a radical step towards added quality and excellence.
Since then, the company has experienced steady growth. While Reza has been engaged in developing the Western markets, his brother Hamid has led the business’s dyeing and warehousing back home in Iran and expanded the home and Eastern markets. At present, Zollanvari’s outreach boasts the sixth generation of family members active globally, from Hamburg to Cape Town and China to the USA. Relating past and present Every aspect of each carpet produced adheres to explicit quality standards. Zollanvari is unique in its sourcing of material and designs, which are both