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Looking at the pieces submitted for this
exhibition, the “South Persian” group is the largest, and it is
probably a reasonable commentary on how important weaving was to the
area’s nomads as well as how important the whole Iranian textile
tradition is.
The dense knotting and complex design suggest this bagface was woven
in an urban area. Whether it was for sale, for a very special
person, or for a dowry is up for debate. It is most likely Kashguli,
one of the tribes that comprise the Qashqa’i Confederation, and has
many of the characteristics of Kashguli pile rugs, including warps
on two levels and knots packed down tightly.
It speaks to a mingling of traditions that the diamond-shaped red
medallion, with its hooked outline, right out of Oghuz art, is
superimposed on a “Herati” field from workshop Iran, and is
surrounded by a palmette border taken from Safavid court carpets.
Now and again there appear very sophisticated “South Persian” pile
weavings stylistically akin to this bagface. Some of the best are
kellegi format rugs. Two joined fragments of just such a rug were
exhibited at the most recent ICOC1, with the best feature being a
border, also on red, similar to the one surrounding this khorjin
face.
RET
1)Eiland, M., (ed.),
A World Of Oriental Carpets & Textiles, Washington, D.C., 2003,
figure 53 Published:
Oriental Rug
Review, Vol. 11, No. 1, Oct/Nov 1990, pg. 58. |
