Bulgarian Carpet

Bulgarian Carpet
General information
Name	Bulgarian Carpet
Original name	فرش بلغارستان، قالی بلغارستان
Alternative name(s)	Bulgarian Rug
Technical information

Bulgarian Carpet or Bulgarian Rug is one of the balkan rugs that woven in Bulgaria.
A country of southeast Europe. Bulgaria was a source of nineteenth-century rugs made in imitation of the Gördes prayer rug. Bulgaria is a minor source of contemporary pile rugs with floral designs based on Persian models. These rugs are woven in Kotel and Panagiurishte. Bulgarian kilims are sometimes referred to as "Thracian". The slit-weave tapestry structure is most common. Red is dominant and colors are stronger than those of Turkish kilims. Nineteen-thcentury sources of kilims include these towns: Berekovica, Chiprovtsy, Gabrovo, Kotel, Samokov, S¸arköy, Sliven, Sumen, Teteven, and Zaribrod. There are some antique kilims with Bulgarian inscriptions. West Bulgarian kilims are finely woven and employ curvilinear wefts. East Bulgarian kilims are more coarsely woven, with darker colors than those from the west, and they are more like Anatolian kilims. Contemporary kilims are woven in Chiprovtsi.

History

Bulgaria is a country located in Eastern Europe. In the nineteenth century it was known for making flatwoven mum rugs in the folk art style. Some of the weavings include Anatolian (Turkish) motifs, because Bulgaria was once under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. These rugs were mainly woven on household looms in small sizes for personal use.
Bulgarian pile rugs and carpets are known in the market from the first quarter of the twentieth century. The carpets were woven under government supervision and regulations, and were manufactured in workshops with precise design and color execution. Bulgarian carpets have mainly Persian designs from the cities of Kashan or Tabriz.
Most frequently they have an ivory background; different shades of red, blue, green, gold, brown, and gray are used for the design elements, borders, and, occasionally, the field. The dimensions range from approximately seven feet by four feet to large room sizes. The carpets have a cotton foundation and a wool pile. Most Bulgarian carpets are good in grade quality.
During the last quarter of the twentieth century the carpet industry in Bulgaria was downsized because of the high cost of production.

Bibliography

• Abraham Levi Moheban. 2015. The Encyclopedia of Antique Carpets: Twenty-Five Centuries of Weaving. NewYork: Princeton Architectural Press.
• Peter F. Stone. 2013. Oriental Rugs: An Illustrated Lexicon of Motifs, Materials, and Origins. North Clarendon :Tuttle