The Farmand family have been rug merchants for three generations, with nearly a century of experience in the field of textiles. Since the 1980s, we have dealt exclusively with antiques, pieces from before the 1930s. Our collection includes carpets, kilims, textiles, masks, and historical costumes. Everything we work with is original and handmade. We do not deal in modern or machine-made rugs.
Mohammad Farmand was born in the Caucasus region that is now Azerbaijan, but at the time was recently part of the USSR. While young, he moved south to Tabriz in Iran and started his family. By the ’60s, his son, Karim Farmand, began working in the rug business as a weaver and learning the family trade which he, in turn, taught his son—myself, Rahim Farmand. For many years, I scoured Caucasia, Turkey, and the most remote villages in Iran searching for exceptional and rare rugs. I become well-acquainted with various tribes and craftsmen who have worked for millenia preserving the traditional art of weaving. In 1988, I restructured the family business so that we would focus solely on antiques. Tabriz, the city where I was born, served as our primary resource, having been a carpet capital of the world and its Historical Bazaar Complex a main stop on the Silk Road since antiquity.
In 2000, my family and I moved to Rome where I opened Farmand Gallery three years later on Via del Gesu, centrally situated in the historical heart of the city within walking distance of the Pantheon, Colosseum, Piazza Venezia, and Fontana di Trevi. Joined now by my son Mehran, we have continued to grow our business until it has become one of the leading antique rug galleries globally, servicing international collectors, museums, major corporations, and luxury hotels.
Today, Farmand Gallery’s collection of antique rugs, textiles, and collectibles is one of the largest and most precious in the world, with rare pieces from Algeria, Anatolia, the Balkans, the Caucasus, Central Asia, China, the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Ghana, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mongolia, Morocco, Nepal, Portugal, Scandinavia, Spain, Tibet, Tunisia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
