Rug weaving in Kerman precedes the Safavid dynasty, yet the flourishing period was during the reign of the same rulers. After the fall of the Safavid dynasty, rug weaving began to lose its importance.

Another hard blow was the rise to power of Agha Mohammad Khan Ghajar (1786-1797) whose frightful slaughter of the population destroyed the security and economy of Kerman, including its rug industry, during this period, despite the scarcity of rugs, those available are so fine and of such good quality that the exquisite taste and remarkable skill of the artists and weavers were evident. Towards the end of the Ghaijar dynasty, carpet weaving once again obtained its former splendor.

At present, some beautiful Kerman rugs of that period can be seen in some of the museums of the world. In the 19th century, Kerman was one of the leading producers of a type of cloth named "Shawl", which gained fame in Europe, particularly in England.

After a while, the Shawl became out of fashion and the Shawl weavers of Kerman began to weave carpets. Even now the Botteh (Paisley) patterns that originally were used in shawl cloth are in demand both in Kerman and the other rug centers of Persia.

Almost all the rugs in Kerman are woven with local wool and some others with the wool obtained from the provinces that produce wool which are Rafsanjan, Barn, jiroft, and the areas surrounding Kerman. Despite the spinning factories that exist in this province, the weavers still prefer to use their hand-spun wool. The wool is glossy but sometimes very soft. Kerman rugs are double-weft with Senneh knots. Once in a while, double or false knots can also be found here.

In the Kerman rug, there are many varieties of color. Even fifteen to thirty colors can be seen in one single carpet. The fields of most of them are red. Light green, indigo blue, turquoise, pink, orange, and beige. Until recently, in the dyeing factories, these colors were used to dye shawls and rugs.