Moud

The mood and the name given to a very fine and rare collection of handmade carpets that are produced in Mashad, capital of the province of Khorassan in north-east. Attitudes are usually cut with a bunch fairly often, with an intricate all-over boteh or Herati, pattern in shades of beige and brown colors, blues and reds.
History & Construction
The province of Khorassan is the biggest in Iran, stretching through northeast of the country. The capital city, and Mashhad, where most of the area rugs are introduced. Some other rug-producing centers in this region are Kashmar (Turshis) Moud, Sabzevar, Ghain and Birjand, most of which are situated very close to Mashad. The king, Shah Abbas regularly seize and destroy badly woven carpets, and those with inferior coloring techniques, to ensure the highest levels of this ancient art. In 1722 there was an invasion of Afghanistan in Iran left the country in a state of political confusion and the rug industry in a state of disrepair, particularly in the areas established as Mashad. Fortunately Khorassan was the start of the blanket industry, because the royal court of Iran did much to help. Many Baluch-style rugs are also woven by Baluchi nomads who inhabit areas in the south. There are many grades of hand-made rugs produced in this province wide, but those woven inside the cities usually of a finer quality than those that are woven by nomads. Although the nomads were the first to weave rugs for their own use, cities adopted and refined their talents. Almost every color can be seen and everyone has a pile of wool on a foundation of cotton. In extremely rare, older cases, silk may be seen. Wool, however, and unusually bright and soft and models include historical illustrations (Persepolis, etc..) Unique to Khorassan.

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Visibility: MOUD (MOOD) rugs and carpets usually have curvilinear patterns with a single sunflower-shaped medallion in the center. MOUD (MOOD) has characteristics similar to BIRJAND Rugs.

Quality: MOUD (MOOD) rugs and carpets are excellent. They are highly prized because they are one of the best-looking carpets in IRAN and the world.

Size & Shapes: MOUD (MOOD) rugs and carpets come in different sizes, but the majority of them are mid-size (4 x 6 to 8 x 10 feet). You can also find large rugs up to 10 x 18 feet.

Color: Dark red ,brown and powerful blue colors predominate, with ivory forming a beautiful contrast. There are other colors such as soft green in newer carpets.

Texture: Soft wool; thin, tight pile.

Foundation: Warps is mostly cotton; wefts is either cotton or wool.

Knots: Inspection of the back of the carpet is important because the weavers in MOUD (MOOD) use Persian knots. The quality of the carpet depends upon the number of knots, which varies, but averages from around 120 KPSI (30 RAJ) up to 475 KPSI (60 RAJ).