Twenty years have passed since Mohammad Zavvar opened Hazara Gallery in the charming Rockridge district of Oakland, California. Ten years ago the gallery moved a short block to it's current location at 6042 College Ave.

Mohammad's heritage is Hazara, an ancient Central Asian people. His grandfather was a rug merchant as was his father who, as a young man, journeyed to the holy city of Meshed, in Northeastern Iran. There he settled to establish his business and raise his family.

Mohammad began working for his family while still a school boy, traveling with his father to tribal weaving villages and camps keeping the books for the family carpet business. It was while traveling, encountering older pieces, that his interest in antique tribal textiles blossomed. He began buying pieces, and working with international collectors in the late 1960's. As a result, Mohammad has supplied a number of very important collections around the globe. Partly through the help of these foreign collectors and international friends, Mohammad was able to move from Iran to Europe in 1982, and finally to the U.S. where his business now thrives.