|
Located on the plateaus
of Zagros ,Persia (Now modern day Iran) was an ancient and powerful
empire which stretched from Africa to India. The time period between
1500 and 1736 A.D. was considered by many to be its artistic
pinnacle similar to the European renaissance. The ruling class at
the time, referred to as the Safavid Dynasty, encouraged arts of
many kinds, including painting, calligraphy and intricate waving.
During this period, the modern day Conventional and modern designs
and the combination of them is the reason that through centuries,
Persian carpet comes on the top of the art of rug weaving .cities of
Tabriz, Kerman, Herat and Isfahan became the pioneer source for rug
weaving. Hand-made rugs with intricate designs inspired by Persian
culture were so well crafted that many have survived for hundreds of
years. Passed down from generation to generation, they have become a
living history. Evidence of a rich heritage and culture, each
antique Persian rug has its own story. During the 16th century these
carpets were exported all over the world, and in the 1850's,
especially to European countries like England and Germany. These
Europeans encouraged the development of additional rug producing
factories in the major cities of Tabriz, Kerman, Mashed and
Sultanabad. The ruler at the time, Reza Shah Pahlavi, built royal
carpet and rug factories to produce the highest quality rugs in the
region. Persian rugs are an important part of the modern Iranian
culture. Passed down from ancestors, and representing a dying art
form, they are priceless heirlooms cherished more than any other
possession. Today the Persian rug industry is currently experiencing
a rebirth, with production rivaling that of any time it its history.
Although, the craft has moved from large industrial factories to
small work-shops and homes, some believe this method of production
is much more detail-oriented and adds to the uniqueness of each
hand-made rug. This uniqueness is what separates Persian rugs and
carpets from all others. The intricate designs and colors a are
exotic to say the least, representing the rich history and origins
this art form has evolved from over the past two thousand years. Not
only is each rug unique, but each region has its own color palette,
recurring themes, and weave pattern stemming from a mixture of its
indigenous and nomadic ancestry.
There are 3 different
styles weaved as follow:
Tribal Weavings
(Shiraz, Gabbeh, Belouche, etc.)
These rugs are usually of primitive design, and possess a limited
colour range: reds and blues predominating. Such rugs are still
obtainable in reasonable quantities, and are therefore relatively
inexpensive. Tribal weavings are made on a horizontal loom, and
usually made of coarse, (although not necessarily poor quality)
yarn. Tribal rugs are made by nomadic tribes-people, who weave a
wool pile onto a wool warp and weft, on a ground (horizontal),
loom. As these wandering tribes move from pasture to pasture, the
loom is collapsed then re-pitched at the new camp. Because the wool
is inclined to "recover", having been under tension, it is difficult
to re-create the same loom settings, so the rugs made on such
primitive looms often feature an irregular shape. Many buyers view
this imperfection as a pleasing change in our modern Western World
with its perfect symmetry and accurate angles.
Village Weavings (Hamadan,
Afshar, etc.)
Village-made rugs are usually of finer quality than nomadic pieces,
and because they are made on a permanently rigged loom they tend to
be of a more consistent shape. These rugs often employ a cotton warp
and weft, which add stability and resistance to shrinkage. The
ground colours are often blue and red, but with easier access to
modern dyestuffs village weavings now often incorporate lighter and
brighter colours such as beiges, golds, and yellows. This category
includes some very prestigious and expensive rug types. Persian rug
collectors know well that heavy rugs such as Heriz, Bijar, and Sarab
are some of the toughest of all hand-made rugs. Although initially
expensive, these wonderful rugs will provide several generations of
use and pleasure, and they therefore offer the best value of all.
Town Weavings (Tabriz,
Nain, Isfahan, etc.)
The finest Persian rugs are all town-woven in workshops under the
guidance and skill of a ‘master weaver’. They are made on a fixed
vertical loom which allows far greater knot density, and a much more
consistent weave. These rugs are usually very detailed in their
design, and often incorporate complex multiple borders. The colours
of town-woven rugs are much more diverse than the coarser rug types.
Most Persian rugs mellow with exposure to sunlight, and look much
more attractive as they age.
Rug Foundation (Warps &
Wefts):
The strings used for warps and wefts are made of wool, cotton or
silk and are prepared through the spinning process. (Tribal weavers
usually use goat hair as their base material for weaving). For
better firmness, two or more spun strings will be twisted together.
The directions of twisting rotations and spinning rotations are vice
versa. Strings made of wool, cotton or silk that are horizontally
woven which go through the warps to make a steady foundation.
Strings made of wool, cotton or silk that are vertically woven and
wefts go through them and make a steady foundation. Short strings
made of wool or silk which are knotted to warps (in some areas
cotton is also used, for example in the area of “Torkumans” in
north-eastern parts of Iran). Knots are the main function to make
the design and formation of a rug, and they guarantee the steadiness
and firmness of the whole foundation.
|
There are 2 different technique of weave
as follow: |
|
Turk Knot: A short string is twisted
around a couple of warps and its both ends should be remained
out of the warps. This type of knot has a symmetrical structure. |
Fars Knot: The short string here is also
twisted around a couple of warps, but a full spin around one and
a half spin around the other. If the curl of the knot is a right
hand one, it is called asymmetrical knot |
 |
 |
KPSI (Raj)
The fine weave of a rug
can be examined by counting the number of its knots in a particular
area of it. Depending on the country, the unit for measuring the
area differs. For example, in United States, Canada and England the
area is measured in square-inch, so they count the number of knots
in one square-inch of area (KPSI=Knots Per Square Inch) but in Iran
this would be the number of knots in one square-decimeters. The
counting of the knots in the units of area is difficult so there’s
another way to count the knots and to recognize the fine weave of a
rug. This new unit is called “Raj”. The number of knots in a length
of 7 centimeters would be counted and the rug would be a 30 “Raj”
rug or 40 Raj or more. For instance, a rug with the Raj of 50 or 60
is a full fine weaves rug and a 30 Raj rug is a common one. So it
can be concluded that the replacements of the warps in weaving a rug
help in the fine weave of it. And also it can be seen that the
number of knots in a flat rug is approximately half of the number of
knots in a pipe-like rug and also two-third of the number of knots
in a half-pipe rug in a same length. There’s another way to increase
the number of knots (Raj or KPSI), and that is the pounding of the
rug. Pounding would be done with an iron comb. There are two reasons
to pound a rug. One is to make warps tight together and the other is
to increase the number of knots and consequently the KPSI as told
before, and so give a harmony in weaving a rug in its length and
width. Condition of pounding depends on the rug fine, meaning that
the weaver tries to equalize the number of knots in length and width
of a rug, (there’s an exception in the style of “Gabbeh”). There’s
another parameter that has effect on the witness and elegance of a
rug, and that’s the “pile level”. According to the usage of a rug
the level of its pile on the surface differs. For instance, tribal
weavers and villagers weave rugs of high pile for their daily usage.
Both ends of a finished
rug will be woven in a special way that is called “Gelim Bafi”. This
type of weaving is applied for better tightness and better
protection of the rug so the warps won’t come out of the rug or get
loose in case of sweeping the rug. This “Gelim Bafi” can help in
quality and the identity of a rug and has three different types:
Sometimes in the middle of “Gelim Bafi” the
weavers use some trimming designs. These designs are usually woven
with strings of dyed wool, but the other parts of the “Gelim”
endings remain just white. The strings go through warps in different
ways and with different knots.
In pictorial carpets or rugs there are two different designs for
“Gelim Bafi”; one is the design of “Honnaghi” and the other is the
“simple” design with a twin-weft texture. The simple one is usually
used between nomadic tribal weavers.
after the endings of the rug, the “fringes”
come. Actually, fringes are the both ends of warps in a rug. Fringes
also would be woven in different ways. Sometimes they would be left
simply the way they come out of the main rug, or sometimes maybe
they would be twisted together.
To make the rug tight and
firm, weavers always twist the both side margins of the rug (both
ends of the warps). This traditional way makes the rug tight and
firm, and is called “Binder” weaving (Shirazeh). This may be done
after the completion of the rug somewhere else. Binders may be
single colored or mix colored. In addition, the number of warps to
be bound together is optional. The weaver would twist the binder
textile around the chosen warps, after weaving one, two or more
“Raj”s. if they twist it parallel it would be a “parallel binder”.
If the binders go through each other and two colors are used, it
would be called ”hostile binder”. Sometimes the weaver twists the
binder around the warps, two or three times or more and in an
inverse direction, like a multiplying cross. This is called “cross
binder” or “intersecting binder”. Usually, city woven rug binders
are single colored and parallel, where tribal woven binders are
multi-colored and intersecting. Sometimes the weaver uses more than
one group of multiple warps and twists the binder around two, three
or more groups of multiple warps. This is called multi-row binder.
In some rugs the weaver does not weave binders but he/she, instead,
twists the wefts around the warps on the margins of the rug, so the
rug would be tight and they call it a “non-binder” rug. These are
mostly high-pile rugs that the tribal weavers make them for their
own usages and usually these rugs are thick but very soft rugs. In
comparison, “Khersak” is almost very much like “Gabbeh”, but the
quality of gabbeh rugs are better. Also, gabbeh rugs have tiny and
little knots but the knots in khersak rugs are mostly bigger and of
less quality. Somehow, the weavers compare the knots of gabbeh rugs
to the rugs in Kerman and Kashan styles. Gabbeh is a modern style
that nowadays has a good popularity between rug users and
collectioners. Some designers believe that gabbeh rugs have two
different styles; first group contains common gabbeh with simple
designs and without pictures or flowers and leaves on them. Second
group includes lactic gabbeh that has some specifications as below:
1. Warp: the main common characteristic between all gabbeh rugs
(simple or lactic) is the number of the wefts, which sometimes goes
up to 12 rajs between every two knots. These wefts are hidden under
the rugs high pile.
2. Knot: in gabbeh rugs the tail of the knots, that is called
“pile”, is a bit longer. After a knot is done the wool string will
be cut. This is called “finishing”. In gabbeh rugs the weavers do
the finishing less than other styles. So the style of gabbeh is a
high-pile style. Finishing is the process of cutting the wool string
remaining on the surface of a rug so it would be smooth and flat. In
gabbeh style the wool strings (rug pile) have the height of about 4
cm that would cover all the wefts all around the surface of the
rug.“Loom” is a wooden tool to make warps fixed and immovable while
the process of weaving. There was at first horizontal loom (ground
looms) and it is still being used in some areas in Iran. Nowadays,
weavers usually use vertical looms that are separated to these three
groups: Tribal (village) looms, Tabriz looms and rotating looms.
Looms have very simple structure that helps weaver to separate every
other warp into two groups so he/she can pull the warps and pass a
weft through them and reach the next weft. Usually, looms are made
of the wood of aspen trees. The reason is that they are not
expensive trees and mostly are straight and stiff. If curved woods
are used the rugs may get distorted.
1. Horizontal (ground) looms
The first and most important benefit in using these looms is that
they are not heavy and can be moved so easily, so that the tribal
weavers usually use this type of looms. Also, in some parts of the
districts of Kerman and Fars weavers still use them. Horizontal
looms are constructed of two wooden beams that are separated by two
rolling pins stuck to the ground. While weaving, a weaver tightens
the knots by pounding on them between these two groups of wooden
beams and rolling pins, and when they want to move out, they pull
out the rolling pins out of the ground and wrap up the rug around
the beams and again when resuming weaving they open the wrapped rug
and stick the pin to the ground.
2. Vertical looms
a. Tribal (village) looms
b. This is the first and most simple loom ever used. It is made of
two beams, one is the immovable upper beam (“Sardar”) and the other
is the movable downer beam (“Zirdar”). Both ends of the two beams
are fixed in the splits that are made inside beams (“Bahoo”).
Usually, end of the warps are connected to a string at the downer
part, and this string is twisted around the downer part. The other
end of the string is connected to the upper part. Warps would be
fixed and tight by pounding a wedge into the splits (“bahoo”). The
weaver sits on a flat board that its both ends are placed on the
last steps of a ladder, and as the work goes on, he/she places the
board on the next downer step. Sometimes his distance to the ground
is more than a meter, at this time he/she pulls out the wedges and
opens the upper skeins, and then he/she releases the rug and pulls
the woven part down, and wraps it in width to a string in downer
part of the loom and sews it. Then the weaver wraps the free end of
the warps in shape of skeins to the upper beam and fixes it by
pounding the wedges into the splits (bahoo), and he/she would sit on
the first step of the ladder.
3. Tabriz looms
For the first time this type of loom was used in the district of
Tabriz, that’s where its name came from. Because of its simplicity
and cheap cost in most areas of north-west Iran, weavers use this
type of loom. The benefit of using this type of looms in comparison
to tribal looms is that in Tabriz looms there’s no need to do
exhausting work such as making skeins and wrapping or twisting them
around the upper beam. In case of releasing the rug and pulling it
down, just by pulling out the wedges out of the splits (Bahoo), the
warps would be released. So the rug is released and simply the woven
parts can be observed and checked.
4. Rotating looms
This is the most improved type of looms. In this type, both beams
rotate in holes prepared for them. An iron bar would be passed
through the warps and then it would be connected to the downer beam,
and the other end of the warps would be connected to the upper beam
and then the bar would be rotated with a lever so the warps would be
all tight enough. As the weaving process goes on the woven parts of
the rug would be wrapped over the downer part of the loom and the
warps would be smoothly released from the upper parts.
The benefits of this type of looms are as follow:
a. The weavers can weave any rugs of any size. There’s no limit to
the size of the rug.
b. The warps can be moved tightly with the help of the lever that
rotates the bars.
c. The margins of the rug will be very straight.
Besides loom, there are
other weaving tools that are so simple in structure but very much
necessary to use. There are types of knives to cut the excess
strings after knotting, types of combs (“Dafteh” or “Daftin”) to
comb the wefts to decrease the size of knots and tide them, and
scissors (“Meghraz”) to cut the strings. According to the area that
the weaver lives in, these tools differ in shape and size.
For example, comb is a simple tool that the weaver draws it through
warps so that the wefts sit between them. It has a heavy wooden body
and its teeth are made of metal. Wool, cotton and silk are the three
basic materials used in weaving rugs. Some tribal weavers also use
goat hair in form of warps and sometimes they use camel wool. Hemp
is also used in some Indian rugs.
In Iran the dyes used for
rugs and carpets are separated in two groups:
1) Artificial dyes.
2) Natural dyes.
1) Artificial dyes: these are divided in two groups. The first is
the inky dye that is mostly called “Ateline”. The second group is
the combined dye that is of better quality comparing the other, and
the chemical solution “Potassium Bicarbonate” is added into it that
makes it stable, and these are commonly called “Chrome dyes”. The
first group of dyes (inky dyes) is cheaper in price and easy to use
but they would fade in front of the sun. The second group (Chrome
dyes) is more expensive and using them needs much experience but
their stability on the rug is extraordinary. In the last years of
the king “Naser Aldin Shah” artificial dyes came to Iran (that’s why
sometimes they are called imported dyes), but after a few years it
was forbidden to use them because of their poor quality. In the ages
of the king “Mozaffar Aldin Shah” all these dyes were expired, and
again after 1302 A.H. artificial dyes were allowed under cover of
taxes. In most dyes, that are mostly the red colors, the major
element is “Ateline”. The most important element of these dyes is “Ronas”,
a rare and expensive natural element that is the basic part of
natural dyes. Dyeing the strings is a work done by a dyeing master
and it needs years of experience to make smooth and congenial dyes.
2) Natural Dyes: the most important element used in natural dyes is
“Ronas” that is the base material to make red dyes. “Ronas” or
“Rubin Tinctorium” is a wild plant grows in most parts of Iran
specially in districts of “Yazd” and “Kerman” but is cultivated in “Mazandaran”.
It has a green-yellow flower and stable and tough root that is full
of a liquid which can absorb oxygen from the air and change itself
into a red colored liquid. To use ronas as a dye for strings, dyers
follow these rules: at first, they wash the strings in hot water for
about half an hour, and if it was too greasy or oily they add about
3% its weight of alkali soda or alkali soap to it. Then they put
them in a solution of water and ”white vitriol” for about 12 hours,
then for the second time they prepare the same solution and they
boil them in the solution for about an hour. Now the strings have
the potential to take and absorb dyes. At this time, they need a
“Ronas” solution as the major dye. To prepare such a solution, at
first, they boil the soft and sifted Ronas due to the weight of the
strings to be dyed, so that the dyeing material gets off the root
and be dissolved completely. Then, they separate the refusing and
due to the darkness or brightness of the color they want, they add
water into it. Now, they put the strings in the dye barrel, and heat
it again. After half an hour of boiling, a little sour grape juice
will be added to it. And again for the third time they boil it for
about an hour. Then, the strings will be left in the cooling dye for
about 12 hours, and at last they put the strings in a carrier of
dyes and rinse it. There’s a strange way for dyeing the strings with
“Ronas” that is used by the people of “Mehraban” village, near the
city of “Hamedan” and the people of “Bidjar” in “Hamedan” neighbor.
At first, they soak the strings in a solution of water, yogurt and
white vitriol. This will be done exposed to the sun. They will wash
it carefully and will boil it in a pot of liquid roans. After the
dyeing material (Ronas) was completely absorbed by the strings,
they’ll take the pot away from the fire and add a little cow urine
into it and the strings will remain in it for about 15 hours. Then,
they wash the strings carefully and dry it in the sun. The very
famous red dye of “Arak” or “Sultanabad” that is called “yogurt red”
is produced this way. After the dye is steady on the strings with
the help of white vitriol, they soak the strings in a solution of
water, yogurt and “Ronas” for about two days. When they pull out the
strings from this solution they would have an orange color. Then for
about 24 to 48 hours they put the strings in flowing water. This
will give the strings a little light blue color. There’s another
popular way in “Arak” to give color to strings. After the strings
are ready to accept the dyes, with the help of white vitriol, they
soak them in solution of water, yogurt and “Ronas” for about 5 days,
and after this time they expose the strings into the sun for a few
hours. This is a kind of fermentation that firms the dye on the
strings. The beauty of both these two methods is even more than the
effect of them, because the red dye that has been produced is
unsteady in alkali environment. “Sperk” is a very cute and tiny
plant that grows wildly almost in every part of Iran, and is planted
in “Khorasan”. Its stem and its flower release a yellow colored
substance that can be used in dyeing the wool and strings for rugs.
And if the strings are dyed by “Sperk” and after that by the peacock
feather that gives them an indigo (blue) color, they can gain a
various range of beautiful green colors. The method for dyeing the
strings with “Sperk” would be as follows:
At first they boil the strings in a solution of water, and white
vitriol, so it will be ready to accept dyes. Then they boil the
sperk and then slowly they pour the solution over the strings in a
barrel and again boil them together for about half an hour. The
whole process will slowly cool down in about 12 hour. The amount of
the sperk used is about 5 to 40 percentage of the strings weight,
due to the darkness or brightness of the desired color.
Grapevine leaves are also used to get yellow dyes. This dye is
almost brighter than the dye produced with “Sperk”, but the dyeing
way of the strings is the same in both. Another way to make yellow
dyes is using “pomegranate” peel, since pomegranate is abundant and
not expensive. The dye took from the pomegranate peel is not steady
enough and not attractive as much as the grapevine leaves but much
darker. The dyeing process is the same as the others above. “Walnut
shell” is an extraordinary material to get “camel”, “beige” and
“brown” dyes. Unfortunately, the dyers put and soak the strings in
lime for two or three days before they make the strings ready to
absorb and accept dyes. This would not be necessary if the strings
were completely and carefully washed. Then they wash the strings in
flowing water, and with white vitriol, as was said about “Sperk” and
“grapevine leaves”, they make the dyes firm and steady, and for an
hour and a half they boil the strings in a barrel filled up to one
forth to one third of the strings weight, with walnut shell. The
combination of “roans”, “sperk” and “walnut shell” makes beautiful
and elegant spectrum of colors. In the district of “Lorestan” and
around the cities of “Hamedan” and “Kordestan”, the skin of the oak
tree is used to gain brown dyes. The process of gaining a steady dye
is the same as the process explained before.
There are two natural materials that came to Iran centuries ago. One
of them is named “Peacock feather indigo seed” and the other is the
“red seed”. For years they planted “peacock feather indigo seed” in
the districts of “Kerman” and “Khuzestan”, but today there’s a
chemical exchange for it that is much simple and faster. This
chemical product is “sodium sulfide”.
“Red seed” is mostly used in eastern parts of Iran. This very dark
red colored dye is called “lak” or “burgundy”. “Burgundy” is an
insect that lives in wild areas of Mexico and was used by “Aztec”
tribes. Mexican paid special attention to it, and the usage of this
material was a secret for many years, so this dyeing element never
came to Europe until the 19th century. Because of the great amounts
of “Ronas” that is planted, “red seed” is not used in Iran |
