About the Owner and the Origins of Woven Treasures
Parviz Yathrebi was born in Kurdistan in 1949. In 1977, at the age of 27, he came to the US to continue his education in Civil Engineering. In 1979 he returned to Iran in the hope of helping his country progress technologically. It was shortly after the overthrow of the Shah by the Ayatollah Khomeni and Parviz soon realized there were far fewer opportunities for him in his native country than back in the US.

In the Beginning
Parviz soon returned to the US and decided to follow his lifelong dream and go into the Oriental rug business. To Parviz, Oriental rugs had always been a symbol of cultural harmony and happiness within the home. From his earliest memories Oriental rugs were always a part of Parviz' life in Kurdistan. Parviz' grandfather collected Oriental rugs and was a happy and prosperous man. Parviz associated this happiness with the beautiful hand woven carpets that decorated every room in his grandfathers house. One of Parviz' favorite childhood memories is sitting on his aunt's porch watching her weave carpets in the hot afternoon sun. Going into the rug business proved to be a perfect marriage between the past and the present, returning Parviz to his roots in Kurdistan and at the same time thrusting him into a new profession in new country.

Woven Treasures Becomes Center for Restoration
Woven Treasures began as a small business. Parviz bought on consignment and on credit all the while studying and learning as much as he could on the history and culture of rug weaving centers across the Near and Mid East. He soon earned the trust of many others in the rug industry and began to build the business, buying and selling at auction and from other dealers. As Parviz' knowledge of rugs grew so did his interest and he developed a specialty in antique rugs woven in Persia, Turkey and the Caucuses. Specializing in antique rugs led Parviz into further exploration in the field of restoration. He now employs a group of weavers that can replicate every knot that identifies a rug's county, city, village, or tribe. Woven Treasures became known for its museum quality restoration of antique rugs and is considered one of the top centers for restoration and information in the field.

Woven Treasures Thrives as Center for Antique Reproductions
Today Woven Treasures has been in business for over 15 years. Parviz continues to collect damaged rugs and restore them to their original glory. In addition, dealers and collectors from all over the world send their rugs to Woven Treasures to be restored. There are now over 1000 antique and semi-antique, as well some vary rare, rugs in a variety of sizes from Turkey, Persia, and the Caucuses in the Woven Treasures collection. Woven Treasures also now reproduces many of the unique antique rugs featured in the gallery catalogues of both Sotheby's and Christie's. Workshops in Turkey and India are currently hand weaving reproductions of many of these wonderful antique rugs using hand-spun, vegetable dyed wool for the Woven Treasures collection. Customers can now select from the designs of one of a kind antique rugs and have them reproduced in the specific dimensions and colors of their choice. Unlike most new rugs produced today, these rugs are woven by master weavers using age-old weaving techniques. The results are rugs of exceptional quality and unequaled beauty.

The Gallery Today
The hand woven pieces at Woven Treasures are all personally selected by Parviz on the basis of their beauty, age, condition, and representation of traditional artistic statement. It is not uncommon for customers to spend an afternoon with Parviz enjoying a cup of tea or a game of Backgammon all the while observing the shop in action; restorations in progress, customers browsing and exchanging information. A trip to Woven Treasures is an entire experience in the history, culture, and traditions of rug weaving centers across the world and the magnificent works of woven art that they produce.