Hello akreithen,

master Fathollah Habibian is the most important figure of the Nain
panorama, as he was the patriarch of the local ustad. He died in 1995, at
the age of 93. A good article on Habibian was published by Ghereh
magazine in August '95 (#6). But please pay attention: there are *very*
few (old) Nain knotted by Habibian himself (and they costs many thousands
of dollars!). Indeed, the Habibian signed Nains sold today are workshop
products, and the vast majority are fakes (copies)!

Here is an old post from the great Rugnotes board, still useful:

"Nain is a city in Iran. They didn't start weaving until the 1930's,
hence no antique Nains. They are woven on cotton foundations, with silk
and wool pile. The designs are based on the Isfahan patterns, a city
which is in close proximity. Most of the production of Nain comes from
workshops, the most famous being Habibian. Note--this isn't a "master
weaver" signature, but the workshop name. There other workshops as well,
Mohammedi being another high quality name. Nains are usually exported in
three grades: Sharla, Shishla, and Nowhla, though lower grades are
occasionally found. Sharla consist of 3-ply warps, each ply being very
fine, with approx 675 KPSI; shishla is also 3-ply, but the plys are
noticeably thicker, and KPSI is from 625-675; nowhla grade is 6-ply, with
a KPSI around 575-625. With Nains, as in most city carpets, KPSI, along
with quantity of colors, quantity of silk, and complexity of design, all
contribute to the grade of the carpet. Habibian Nains are the recognized
best of all Nain carpets; real ones are rare, as production only amounts
to about 300-325 per year. Most of those go to the Gulf States or to
wealthy Iranians--few make it to the open market. Real ones are always
signed, have unusual designs, sizes and color combinations, use only the
finest New Zealand wool, and are never below Sharla grade"

Hope this helps!

Bye,

Alessandro.

>i am new to this so maybe i posted already, i'm not sure. my question
>is regarding a nain rug my husband and i just purchased. it is signed
>by habibian, and we would like as much information as we can get on
>this signature. however, it is difficult to find on the internet. a
>lot of people out there are referring to their nain carpets as habibian
>nain but no actual info about what habibian signifies. thanks.