How to recognize a Pakistani rug
Pakistani Bokharas are asymmetric‑knotted in soft, lustrous wool (often New Zealand wool) on a cotton foundation, in deep red, rust, green, navy or ivory with the Turkoman gul repeated in rows and a long, fine fringe. Pakistani Persian‑design rugs from Lahore and Karachi ("Pak Persian") copy Kashan, Tabriz and Isfahan designs at 200 to 400 knots per square inch with a silky wool pile. Peshawar and Chobi rugs are the pastel, vegetable‑dyed, hand‑spun Oushak‑style rugs, most woven by Afghan refugees and now by Pakistani workshops.
Bokharas were the hand‑knotted rug of choice for Long Island dining rooms in the 1970s to 90s, and they are still in Garden City, Rockville Centre, Merrick, Massapequa, Hicksville, Huntington and Smithtown; Peshawars are in the newer houses.
- Origin
- Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Pakistan
- Knot
- Asymmetric; 100–400 kpsi
- Pile
- Soft, glossy wool
- Foundation
- Cotton
- Dyes
- Bokhara reds run when hot; Peshawar tints not fast
- Our method
- Dye test → dusting → cold immersion, stabilizer where needed → clear rinse → centrifuge → flat dry, fringe combed
