Since
50
years
Amir Rasty & Filles
Oriental rugs in Geneva for 50 years
Fifty years ago, Amir Rasty opened his first rug shop in Geneva. He came from Iran, where his family had been weaving rugs for six generations. He grew up in that world, learning young how to knot, to mend, to weave, and to recognise an exceptional rug at a glance. Over the years he became a true authority on oriental rugs, recognised as an official appraiser for customs and insurers.
A passion handed down through generations
Amir passed that passion on quite naturally to his two daughters — Florence, an interior architect, and Nadia — who have worked alongside their father for close to twenty-five years. Today a new generation joins the house in turn, with Elena, his granddaughter. Together they bring life to the shop on rue de Hesse and its four floors, where more than ten thousand rugs are on display.
Value through design
Our family business draws its strength from importing directly.Working closely with the weavers gives us a rare choice, at prices no one can match.
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Figures that speak for themselves
A family business in Geneva for over fifty years, with an exceptional collection and a rare command of the craft.
Rug collection
10 000
pieces
Geneva showroom
1 200
m²
Our services
Everything you need to find the perfect rug.
Shop
The great rug collection of Amir Rasty & Filles
Expert appraisal
Official appraiser for customs and insurers
Contact us
For more about rug sales at our Geneva shop or about our online store
Our strength: direct importing
Our family business, established in Geneva for fifty years, draws its strength from importing directly. Part of the family still lives in Iran and travels the country to seek out the finest weavings, with no middleman. That closeness to the weavers lets us offer a rare choice, at prices no one can match. Every rug sold by the house comes with a certificate of origin and an official appraisal, guaranteeing its authenticity, its provenance and its quality.
Exceptional craftsmanship
Les matières
An oriental rug is made from three main materials. Wool — from sheep, goat or lamb — forms the pile; the most sought after, known as Kork, comes from the down of the lamb's neck. Cotton is used for the warp and weft, the invisible structure that gives the rug its stability. Silk, reserved for the finest pieces such as those from Isfahan, Nain or Qom, may be used alone for the most precious rugs, or blended with wool to lift the motifs.
Les teintes
Once spun, the wool is dyed with natural colourants: madder for red, indigo for blue, saffron for yellow, walnut husk for brown, henna for orange.
On nomadic rugs, subtle variations of colour known as abrash sometimes appear: they come from successive dye baths, never quite identical. That is what makes each one singular.
Le tissage
On a vertical or horizontal loom, the warp threads are stretched, then the knotter ties the knots by hand, one by one, row after row. There are two main knots: the Ghiordes, symmetrical, known as Turkish, and the Senneh, asymmetrical, known as Persian. The finer and tighter the knots, the more precious and durable the rug.