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The structure of this khorjin face is typical
for pile weaving from East Azarbayjan, with its multi-ply cotton
warp and single wool wefting. Most export carpets from villages in
the area have the following additional characteristics in common
with this bagface: fairly coarse symmetrical knotting in high-gloss,
straight wool, long pile, strong clear colors, and geometric
(Turkic) designs. It would not be a surprise if this bagface were
revealed to be from Sarab, Mehreban, Gorevan or Heriz, all
productive weaving villages some 100 km east of Tabriz. Technique,
material, and design make it an unlikely nomad product.
However, this bagface is something of an anomaly. Village pile-woven
khorjin are comparatively rare in East Azarbayjan, and only Qarajeh
seems to have much more than a wisp of a recognizable tradition. It
is possible that based on what can be seen in present-day village
houses, most village khorjin before about 1920 were made up from
warp-faced material used for jajim.
The central medallion of this piece looks like it is derived from a
sumakh carpet design. Such designs might well have come to East
Azarbayjan along a regular caravan route from Yerevan to Tabriz,
then out to the villages. The star forms in the field corners appear
to have been lifted right off a Qashqa’i pile khorjin, and speak to
the commonality of design between Azarbayjan and Fars weaving.
The field of this piece has small forms in red, blue, and yellow
scattered throughout, sometimes upside down, looking like horned
beasts. They may be rudimentary calyxes, or they may have some other
meaning. In any case, they are “hallmarks” of village pile weaving
in East Azarbayjan.
While many pile rugs woven for local use employed the plentiful,
undyed local beige wool, most pile-woven village-sourced bags
(including this one, plus gilim and jajim) from East Azarbayjan have
no beige wool content at all.
Although villagers have their own herds of sheep – which to a large
degree are brown and beige - much of the ivory wool used in
sedentary weaving cultures in East Azarbayjan was in former times
apparently traded from nomads living seasonally in the mountains
above the weaving villages. Wool sales would have been only one of
many exchanges between settled and nomadic peoples in this high and
mountainous area.
RET
Note: For more information on village weaving in East Azarbayjan,
see Tschebull, Raoul, “Sarab”, Hali 79, pp 89-97 and Tschebull,
Raoul, “Heriz, A Historical Perspective”, Hali 90, pp 64-73
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