Pathology of Contemporary Mashhad Carpets from Experts' Point of View with Emphasis on the Field of Design

Mashhad city carpet as one of the significant urban styles of Iranian carpet from the Timurid period (in the 9th AH/ 14th A.D) until now has been changed alot. The golden age of Mashhad carpets ended in the Safavid period and after two hundred years, Mashhad carpets in the late Qajar and early Pahlavi period, which coincided with the revival of carpet weaving throughout Iran, regained some of its glorious era. During this period, with the initiative of Azerbaijani and Kermani immigrant merchants and producers, large and exquisite carpets were produced while preserving the identity and historical features of the original Mashhad carpet. However, in recent years, due to a purely commercial approach, the contemporary urban carpet of Mashhad has lost its former glory. As a cultural product, Mashhad carpet reflects the traditions and beliefs of producing communities and plays an effective role in giving identity to the geography of its production. Therefore, the main problem of this research is to study the main factors that create this phenomenon through summarizing the opinions of experts in this field. The main question of this research is to know the damages of contemporary carpets of Mashhad and to know the economic and cultural contexts of these damages from the perspective of experts. The research is qualitative in a descriptive and analytical manner and using the categories obtained from the content analysis of interviews with 10 active experts in the Mashhad carpet market. he results show that economic fluctuations, changes in consumers' lifestyles, numerous export barriers, lack of understanding of market tastes, and copying of popular designs have been among the most important damages of contemporary carpets in Mashhad.