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33
Northwestern Iran, Bijar area
Sampler (vagireh),
late 19th century
A sampler or vagireh functioned primarily as
a weaving or promotional aid for the rug
trade. Some were practice pieces for
beginning weavers. Others were woven by
masters experimenting with new color and design combinations.
Another variety demonstrated weaving quality,
color, and texture for the benefit of perspective
buyers, or presented the repertoire of a particular
weaver or village. Still others preserved a popular
design and served as a guide to weavers unfamiliar with the
pattern.
This piece is probably of the last variety. It
is essentially the lower left quadrant of the field
of a rug, from which a weaver could produce the
entire field design. The folk-like animals, fish and
plants in the middle sector, however, appear to
be a whimsical addition.
Popular with collectors, the vagireh was
made mainly in northwestern and southern Iran,
and less frequently in Anatolia. Some of the
designs in this piece, especially the blue-ground
variant of the "Herati" pattern at the upper right,
appear in room-sized Bijar carpets of the same
period.
M.H..
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| SIZE:
56 x 39 in. (142.2 x 99 cm.) |
| WARP:
cotton, Z3S; ivory; wool, Z3S, depressed, 2 levels; brown,
brown and ivory plied |
| WEFT: wool, Z2S x
2-3; brown-ivory |
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PILE: wool, Z2S, symmetrical knots pulled to
the right, h. 7, v. 10, 70 k/sq. in.; ivory, tan, dark brown (abrash),
brown-red, red, pink, yellow, light yellow-green, blue-green,
blue, light blue |
| ENDS: top: 4 rows
of red wool countered sumak, ivory
and brown weft twining; 4-5 rows of red wool
countered sumak, braided warps; bottom: 4 rows of
red wool countered sumak, ivory and brown wool weft
twining; 6 rows of red wool countered sumak, bottom
warp loops |
| SIDES: traces of
red wool selvedge of i cord of 4
warps, modern overcast |
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THROUGH THE COLLECTOR'S EYE |
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Oriental Rugs from New England Private Collections |
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