Leading family of Qom's Five Great Masters — the plant-dye original

Jamshidi Workshop

The Jamshidi family is at the forefront of Qom's "Five Great Masters." The current main atelier was founded by Mr Mohammad Jamshidi in 1962 and has been carried on across generations. Alongside the main house, the family includes three independent branch ateliers — Masoud, Abbas, and Jafar — each releasing work under its own name.

The defining feature is the plant-dye tradition that only the main (Mohammad) house preserves. Indigo leaves, pomegranate skin, turmeric, madder, and walnut husks are simmered the old way to colour the yarn. The subtle variation between threads creates a depth that chemical dyes cannot match. The three branch ateliers more commonly blend chemical dyes, pursuing their own colour schemes and compositions in compensation.

Signature motifs include medallion designs, dome (gonbadi) patterns, and figurative work depicting Persian court culture. The workshop is also known for an unusual technique of "two colours within a single knot."

Eight-petal medallions and deep grounds — the classical school

Sedighian Workshop

The Sedighian workshop favours eight-petal star medallions set against deep grounds rimmed with gold — a classical school whose dignified work suits formal spaces. Deep greens, deep reds, and indigos sit at the centre of the palette.

An unusually deep green sometimes appears, rare for Qom silk; the owner sets a piece aside on each visit when something exceptional turns up. As one customer wrote, "you can feel the owner's eye and passion in what he brings back."

Dozens of colours, small florals — a signed master

Eshaghi Workshop

Famous for countless small floral motifs in dozens of colours. From a distance the impression is brightness; up close, the work resolves into an astonishingly fine accumulation of detailed drawing.

"The closer I look, the more I find," is a customer line that captures this workshop well. Long-established European dealers have continued to carry it under the "Signed Eshaghi" banner — placing it firmly in the canon of signed Qom masters.

Persepolis patterns — historical pictorial school

Zabihi Workshop

Zabihi specialises in translating the wall-relief carvings of Persepolis — the ancient Persian capital — into silk carpet form. Animals filing along columns, royal figures and other site motifs are brought directly into the composition. It is a rare, technically demanding lineage that also requires deep historical knowledge.

Restrained, deep-green palettes anchor the work, in sizes from entrance mats up to mid-sized pieces. Customers with an interest in history and ancient sites are particularly drawn to it.