At Chelsea Cleaning, we don’t sell carpets or make carpets ourselves. We do love interesting and unusual carpets though!
These unusual Persian carpets, made of sand, have added a new dimension to our appreciation.
They may be impermanent but they showcase the intricacy of traditional Iranian and Persian carpet designs.
Iran’s amazing sand carpets
For years, incredible sand carpets have been created on Hormoz Island off the coast of Iran. The island is well known for its colourful soil. This gave rise to the idea of using the rich colours of the soil to create the world’s largest sand carpet.
The impressive scale of one of the carpets created on Hormoz Island. Photo credit: Iran Tourism and Touring Organization.
There are a few of sand carpets that have been created by numerous artists and assistants but the first one was the work of artistic director Ahmad Kargaran. The carpet was named Farsh Sheni.
The striking carpets are made from over 100 different sands from the local mines and hills on the island. They feature a range of motifs including fish, camels and white mangrove or Hara trees.
Some of the detail of the sand carpets. Photo credit: Iran Tourism and Touring Organization.
Each carpet is completed by dozens of artists from Iran and abroad. The first carpet was completed in 2008. By 2015, a further six huge carpets had been completed on the island.
An aerial view of one of the carpets. Photo credit: Institute for Public Art.
The largest of the carpets covered an area of 2000 square metres.
Although ephemeral by nature, with the sand shifting away over time, the carpets are a popular tourist attraction.
Artists and assistants working on the sand carpets. Photo credit: Iran Tourism and Touring Organization.
Persian sand carpets in an Amsterdam academy
Danielle van Ark is a well-known artist in The Netherlands. One of her art installation projects involved creating intricately designed carpets from plain, white sand.
A detailed sand carpet installation by Danielle de Ark. Photo credit: Nazmiyal Collection.
The artist studied the traditional process of making sand carpets in the province of Drenthe. The women from Drenthe have been making sand tapestries with patterns of flowers, crop circles and other agricultural motifs since the 19th century.
Danielle’s carpets use white sand for striking contrast. Photo credit: Nazmiyal Collection.
Inspired by traditions in Denthe, the artist then merged contemporary designs with the patterns found in Persian carpets, to create her own detailed installations.
The carpets require a steady hand and a lot of patience to complete. Photo credit: Nazmiyal Collection.
The carpets took five weeks to finish and were creating using hand-cut stencils and templates, to give the finished work a handcrafted feel. A piping bag also came in handy for the more intricate patterns.
A close-up of one of the sand carpets. Photo credit: Danielle van Ark.
Like all sand carpets, no matter how much time and effort goes into them, they are invariably swept away over time. These sand carpets encourage the viewer to contemplate the impermanence and transience of life.
The varied motifs in Danielle’s carpet include animals, fleur-de-lis, numbers and other patterns. Photo credit: Danielle van Ark.
About us at Chelsea Cleaning
We don’t make sand carpets or offer advice on how to do so – but we do love carpets!
