$1,100
Back in the 1970s, when we were first collecting these unusually crazy rugs, we would ask, “What sort of rug is that?” The reply—“een qalin Gabbeh”, “this rug is a woolly rug”—seemed hilariously obvious at the time, but it has since become accepted nomenclature. A Gabbeh is simply a woolly rug because it wasn’t made for a wedding or a celebration, nor did it represent a clan or carry a ceremonial design. It was made for the weaver’s own life—woven thick for sleeping, for warmth, for living. Raw, personal, and instinctive, it speaks not to prestige but to presence. Every Gabbeh carries this same spirit—honest wool, natural dye, and patterns drawn not from a map but from memory.
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hello@therugshop.com.au / 02 6687 2424
Free Shipping within Australia.
Your rug will be shipped within 1-3 business days and should arrive within 3-5 business days from the ship date. Multiple items within the same order may not arrive together.
When your order is processed, you will receive an email containing a tracking number and dispatch confirmation.
Domestic shipping we use TNT express couriers & Aus post.
International shipping we use INTERPARCEL.
Returns are accepted within 30 days of delivery. Please contact us as soon as possible if you are considering a return. Buyer is responsible for return postage cost. Any returns must be unused and in original of when purchased.
No returns on our “Clearance” rugs or any rugs on sale.
Back in the 1970s, when the world was chasing speed, gloss, and synthetic shine, a few of us went looking elsewhere—into the quiet corners of Southern Persia, deep into the Zagros Mountains. What we found there were not formal rugs, not commercial carpets, but something wilder, woollier. When we asked, “What kind of rug is this?” the weavers replied with a smile: “een qalin Gabbeh”—“this is a woolly rug.” The phrase stuck. And so did the rugs.
A 70s Gabbeh Persian Rug is not ceremonial. It isn’t a dowry gift, nor was it ever meant to impress visiting dignitaries or show tribal allegiance. It is a rug woven for life—thick with hand-spun sheep’s wool, knotted tight for sleeping, for sitting, for shelter. It’s not a symbol—it’s an experience. And it is exactly this raw honesty that makes these rugs so compelling today.
At The Rug Shop, we honour these rare late-20th-century Gabbehs for what they are: deeply personal works of instinctive tribal art, rich in wool and memory.
Every 70s Gabbeh Persian Rug begins with wool—and not just any wool, but the fleece of mountain sheep, raised high in the hills of Fars and Lorestan. This wool is springy, lanolin-rich, full of body and breath. When hand-spun, it retains a rhythm and texture that speaks directly to the fingers.
In the 1970s, there was no separation between the weaver and the flock. The woman who spun the wool often knew the sheep it came from. There were no shortcuts, no synthetic blends. This was wool with a past and a purpose. And when it hit the loom, it became something more than functional—it became expressive.
Each 70s Gabbeh Persian Rug is a kind of woven journal. The designs are not laid out in advance. There are no blueprints. The patterns come from memory—zigzags, medallions, dancing goats, angular trees, and sometimes, nothing at all. Just fields of colour, broken by mood and moment.
One of the defining features of the 70s Gabbeh Persian Rug is its colour—warm, earthy, and utterly organic. In this era, weavers still relied on natural dyes: madder for red, walnut husk for brown, indigo for blue, pomegranate rind for gold. These dyes weren’t bought—they were gathered, boiled, stirred, and absorbed over firelight.
The result is a depth of colour that doesn’t sit on the wool but lives inside it. You don’t get flat hues; you get abrash—shifting tones that glow differently in morning light than they do in dusk. These variations, once dismissed as irregularities, are now understood as the heartbeat of tribal weaving.
At The Rug Shop, we look for that heartbeat. The more inconsistent, the more real.
There is something especially compelling about Gabbehs from the 1970s. They stand at a moment of cultural transition—when the old nomadic ways were still intact but beginning to fade. Many of the best 70s Gabbeh Persian Rugs were woven by women who had grown up in tents, under goat-hair canopies, moving with the seasons.
But by the late 1970s, many families had begun to settle. Government pressure, education reforms, and shifting economies changed the way these rugs were made. Which is why a genuine 70s Gabbeh Persian Rug feels different: it carries both the looseness of oral tradition and the grounding of settled craftsmanship.
They are thicker than most, more experimental, more eccentric in pattern. These rugs weren’t made for export—they were made for use. And ironically, that’s what makes them art.
The 70s Gabbeh Persian Rug isn’t about decor. It’s about contact. You sit on it. Lie on it. Wrap yourself in it. It isn’t precious—it’s essential. That’s why so many of these rugs remain in near-perfect condition today. They weren’t abused, but they weren’t babied either. They were lived with.
Their aesthetic value has only grown with time. Once overlooked for being “too simple” or “too rough,” these rugs are now sought by collectors who understand that simplicity is not the absence of skill, but the presence of truth.
To bring home a 70s Gabbeh Persian Rug from The Rug Shop is to bring home something honest. Not manufactured, but made. Not designed, but discovered. Not polished, but deeply human.
And in a world increasingly made of pixels and plastic, wool and memory may be the most radical material of all.
Can I get the same rug in a different size?
Each of our rugs is an individual, hand made work of art because of that it is not possible for us to have duplicates in different sizes.
How are your rugs made?
All of our rugs are 100% Handmade on a loom. We have created a close relationship with all of the craftspeople who make our rugs which allows us to get the highest quality rugs directly from the people who made them.
Are your rugs new/used?
We offer a variety of both new and used Persian rugs from many areas including Persia, Turkey, and Morocco see below for more info on locations.
NEW: We support over 30 families in Afghanistan who produce the highest quality Persian rugs.
OLD ANTIQUE VINTAGE: We source our used rugs from village and tribal families at source. As well as attend worldwide auctions. We have formed relationships with Persian rug collectors that allow us to get incredible pieces that are not normally on the market.
Can I try before i buy?
We have a “try before you buy” system for approved customers.
Where are your rugs from?
Afghanistan, Persia, Pakistan, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Morocco etc.
