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 |
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.
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.
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.
VINTAGE CARPETS |
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 |
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment