Three generations of dealers in oriental carpets and textiles. Every piece is chosen by hand, carries a numbered Certificate of Origin, and can be brought to your home before you decide.
That was our grandfather's rule, and it is still the reason the business continues. Kohimaran began in Kashmir in 1942 under Mr Ali Shah. It came to Kuala Lumpur in 1994, and is run today by the third generation.
A carpet looks different in your own light. We bring pieces to your home and leave them with you, so you live with a rug before you commit to it.
Every carpet we sell carries a certificate that entitles you to trade it back at the price you originally paid, against a larger piece. There is no expiry date.
We keep our own restorer, and work with specialists in Iran and Kashmir. Pieces are sent back to their country of origin when the work calls for it — including carpets you did not buy from us.
Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkey, India, China and Kashmir — sourced directly, on buying trips the family has made for eighty years.
Every carpet leaves our gallery with a numbered Certificate of Origin recording its material, knot type, knot density, dimensions, origin and the year it was woven.
The certificate belongs to the carpet, not to the buyer. It passes with the piece by gift, sale or inheritance — and whoever holds it holds the trade-in right.
We name materials in full. Where a piece is art silk we write art silk (viscose); where it is silk we write pure mulberry silk. We do not abbreviate one into the other.
Founded in Kashmir in 1942. Trading in Malaysia since 1994. Now in the hands of the third generation.
Mr Ali Shah opened the business in Kashmir in 1942, dealing in the hand-knotted carpets and embroidered shawls the valley had been producing for centuries. The trade was already old when he entered it; what he added was a rule about quality that the family has not moved from since.
The Malaysian gallery opened in 1994 and is run by Mr Sultan Ali Shah, a third-generation dealer whose great-grandparents came from the Middle East, and whose own specialism is new silk carpets.
Two dates, kept apart deliberately. 1942 is when the house was founded. 1994 is when it came to Malaysia. Neither number stands in for the other.
We buy direct, on trips the family has been making for eighty years, from Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkey, India, China and Kashmir. Buying direct is what makes the trade-in policy affordable and the provenance on the certificate real.
We sell hand-knotted carpets alongside machine-made ones, and we say which is which. We do not tell customers a carpet is an investment that will rise in value. A good carpet, properly cared for, tends to hold its worth — that is a different and more honest statement, and it is the one we make.
Eight divisions under one roof at Great Eastern Mall. Pieces move constantly — what is on the floor this week may not be here next.
Hand-embroidered kurtas, suits and kaftans, alongside shawls and scarves. Each is worked by hand, so no two are identical — the piece you see is the piece you take. Below are two currently in the gallery, photographed as they are.
The full range is on the floor at Great Eastern Mall and changes weekly — far more than we can show here. Tell us on WhatsApp what you are looking for and we will photograph what we have and send it to you the same day.
The three things that separate a gallery from a shop.
Showroom lighting flatters everything. Your living room does not. We bring pieces to your home and leave them there so you can see the carpet at breakfast, at night, against your own floor and furniture. Only then do you decide.
We keep our own restorer on staff and draw on specialists in Iran and Kashmir. Where a piece needs work that can only be done at its source, we send it back to the country it came from.
We restore carpets you did not buy from us. Bring the piece in and we will tell you honestly whether it is worth the work.
Any Kohimaran carpet can be traded back against a larger one, credited at the price you actually paid, with no expiry date. In 2025 we took back carpets bought from us in 1996 and credited them at their 1996 price.
These terms are printed on every Certificate of Origin we issue. They are reproduced here in full.
Lost your certificate? Every piece is recorded against its stock number with a photograph in our system. Bring the carpet in and we will trace it.
Written for Malaysian conditions — humidity, air-conditioning and tropical sun are harder on a carpet than cold climates are.
Malaysia's humidity is the single biggest threat to a hand-knotted carpet. Wool holds moisture, and moisture held against a foundation for long enough becomes rot. Keep air moving in the room. If a room is closed up for weeks at a time, lift the carpet occasionally and let it breathe.
Direct tropical sun will fade natural dyes unevenly — you will see it first as a pale band where the light falls. Rotate the carpet end-for-end twice a year so any fading happens evenly across the field.
Vacuum in the direction of the pile, not against it. Avoid beater bars on hand-knotted pieces. Never vacuum the fringes; they will be pulled out. Brush fringes straight by hand instead.
Heavy furniture crushes pile permanently if it never moves. Shift furniture slightly every few months, or use cups under the legs. Crushed pile can often be raised again with a damp cloth and gentle brushing.
Act immediately. Blot — never rub, which drives the spill into the foundation. Work from the outside of the spill inwards so you do not spread it. Use cold water; heat sets most stains permanently.
A hand-knotted carpet should be properly washed every three to five years in normal domestic use. We wash carpets in-house. Do not send an oriental carpet to a general commercial cleaner.
Roll, never fold — folds become permanent creases and eventually cracks in the foundation. Roll with the pile facing inward, and store off the floor in a dry, ventilated place. Do not seal a carpet in plastic in this climate; trapped moisture will rot it.
Moths attack wool in undisturbed dark places — under furniture, in storage. Regular use and regular vacuuming are the best protection. If you see fine sand-like debris or bare patches in the pile, bring the piece to us quickly.
Bring it in. Damage caught early is usually a small repair; the same damage left for two years may not be repairable at all. We will tell you honestly which of the two you have.
Great Eastern Mall, Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur. Come and walk on them — that is what they are for.
Message us on WhatsApp before travelling. We will confirm we are open, and if you tell us what you are looking for we will have pieces out and ready when you arrive.