There are few names in the world of oriental carpets whose reputation reaches such mythical reputation as that of 'Mohtashem'.
According to some sources, Mohtashem was a talented designer who lived in the town of Keshan (Persia) at the end of the 19th century and owned a workshop producing pieces of very high quality.
However, there are few documents to support this theory: a small silk prayer rug bearing the inscription "Work of Hajji Mullah Muhammed Hassan Mohtashem" appeared at Sotheby's in London in 1986. Two comparable unsigned samples, one in the Teheran Carpet Museum and the other in the Hermitage, are also attributed to Mohtashem.
Other sources, however, claim that Mohtashem was a governor of the same city who, at the end of the 19th century, did his utmost best to revive the art of carpetmaking in the Keshan region.
It is rather strange that Mohtashem's name is barely mentioned in professional literature. Cecil Edwards, for example, does not mention the name anywhere in his book "The Persian Carpet", when he describes in detail the carpet production of Keshan and the surrounding area.
Today, the name Mohtashem is associated with a group of Keshan carpets that were knotted at the end of the 19th century.
In addition to a particularly high knot density and the use of wool of an extraordinary velvet, these carpets emanate an extraordinary atmosphere. These characteristics can be summed up in three syllables: Mohtashem.