VINTAGE CARPETS

VINTAGE CARPETS

  PART THREE OF THREE.

 Sehna

Most rugs from Kurdistan are stout and heavy but Sehna produces some of the lightest, thinnest rugs in all Persia. The workmanship is superb. Unlike most weavers, those of Sehna only use one shoot of weft between every two rows of knots and this shows up on the back with a quincunx appearance, and also leads to a very characteristic feel of roughness when the hand is rubbed over the back of a Sehna rug.

VINTAGE CARPETS

Designs are mostly small all-over diaper patterns, using the boteh or cone design, small floral designs, and the Herati pattern. Some of the older pieces have a medallion on which a further small medallion is superimposed, both covered with small repeated motifs. Borders of only three stripes and occasionally just two are the rule, the main strips mostly being of the 'turtle' type on a yellow ground. Knotting is finev varying between 20.25 and 74.5 to the sq cm (130 and 480 sq in), and is almost invariably in the Turkish knot. Warps are generally cotton and the overcasting in wool, but sometimes the warps are of linen or silk and the overcasting at the sides silk, usually in a purple shade.

Tabriz

This is one of the greatest weaving areas of Persia and has produced many fine pieces. This area, like most of Western Persia, used the Turkish knot, and knotting varies from medium, at 18.5 to the sq cm (120 sq in), to very fine at 68.25 (740).

There are no really typical designs of this area, for the weavers copied anything, but the workmanship is good. Many of the patterns are of the medallion and corner type, and the drawing is good. In both wool and silk products the red has a typical brick tone which helps to distinguish this type, the other main colours being blue and ivory, though a great number of subsidiary colours are employed.

Heriz

Rugs from this area are noted for their stout construction, the Turkish knotting varying from a mere 4.5 to the sq cm (30 sq in) to as many as 18.5 (120). Designs are extremely geometric, hard and angular, with no suggestion of softening. All are carried out in light blue, red, yellow, reddish-brown, green and ivory, and usually a little black. Both warp and weft is white cotton, with two shoots between every two rows of knots, the weft showing at the back of the rug. Heriz rugs are rather more square than most Persian carpets.

Kirman

Unlike many of the modern products, antique Kirmans are attractive pieces, beautifully made and designed, with lovely soft colourings, in­cluding characteristic rose red and rose pink. Designs are very varied, covering such styles as floral designs, medallions and corner hunting carpets and figured rugs, all depicted with charm and delicacy.

The weavers of Kirman used more colours in their rugs than almost any other type, as many as 15 appearing in one rug. In addition to rose red and rose pink there may also be green, yellow, brown, ash grey, ivory and shades of blue. The Sehna knot is used, with anything from 18.5 to 62 to sq cm (120 to 400 sq in), giving a very fine texture. Warps are cotton, while the fine wefts are usually wool, often dyed blue. The main border stripe is always floral in character.

 

Shiraz

VINTAGE CARPETS

Rugs from this area were and are made from a soft flocky wool which is semi-translucent and imparts a brilliance to the colours that enriches the appearance of the whole rug. Unfortunately the wool was not very hard wearing, and antiques from this area are usually well worn. Most of the pieces on the market today are from the latter half of the 19th century.

Designs vary, owing mainly to tribal differences, for they are the pro­duct of nomads, and the motifs are the usual disjointed agglomeration typical of nomads. In the finer qualities the arrangement of the motifs is more regular and also more balanced. Typically there is an extra chequered border at either end of the rug. Sometimes the field design may consist of vertical or diagonal rows of hot eh in differing colours. Sides of the rugs are invariably overcast with a two colour effect or in short lengths of different colours. Warps are of wool or of goat hair, and the weft is wool, usually dyed red. Texture is loose. Both Persian and Turkish knotting occurs, according to the sub-tribe producing the rug, and there are from 8.75 to 22.25 knots to the sq cm (56 to 144 sq in).

 Joshaghan

The Joshaghan area has produced many fine pieces in the past, and the most common design covers the field with small diamond-shaped panels in a diaper pattern, each panel being enlivened with small floral motifs, the main colours being dark indigo blue and red with the addition of green, yellow, brown and ivory. There is usually a small diamond-shaped medallion in the centre bearing a similar design to the field, while the corners are cut off with narrow saw-toothed lines. The main border stripe is usually floral, often arranged in a rather quadrangular form.

VINTAGE CARPETS

Knotting varies between 8.75 to 21.75 Turkish knots to the sq cm (56 to 140 sq in). The back is slightly ribbed, and the texture on the firm side. The warp is cotton, and the weft is wool usually of natural colour but sometimes dyed red or brown.

 

Bidjar

These rugs are noted for their stoutness, both in substance and in wearing qualities. They have stout wool warps and the weavers pull the knots so tightly when knotting that one warp thread encircled by the pile is pulled behind the other, doubling the thickness of the back. This gives a fabric feeling as firm as a board which should never be folded, only rolled. Wefts, too, are of wool, which is fairly coarse and usually dyed red.

Designs vary, often consisting of a central medallion and corners set on a plain field, or a field covered with a lattice bearing small floral forms. The field may be covered with sprays of roses, or may be a hotchpotch of flowers, and animal and human forms. Colours are a rosy red, light and dark blue, ivory, yellow, green and brown.

Meshed

These have a medallion set in a field of floral traceries. A characteristic is the peculiar red with a slight purple tinge that local dyers produce. There are two types of Meshed: those tied with the Persian knot called Farsibaff and the finer Turkbuff pieces tied with the Turkish knot.

Texture is fairly firm, and the weave is medium, the knotting varying from between 15 and 31 to the sq cm (96 and 200 sq in). Apart from the purplish red, there are also blues, green, yellow and ivory.