Qashqai Rug

Qashqai Rug
Design of Qashqai Rug (Rugman)
General information
Name	Qashqai Rug
Original name	قالی قشقایی
Alternative name(s)	Qashqai Carpet
Origin	Iran: Fars
Category	Tribal, Villege
Technical information
Common designs	Moharamat, Herati (Fish), Afshan, Boteh, Geometric
Common colors	Crimson, Blue, Navy Blue, Green, Yellow, Brown, White, Cream
Dyeing method	Natural, Synthetic
Pile material	Wool
Foundation material	Cotton, Wool
Knot type	Asyemmetrical (Persian), Syemmetrical (Turkish)

The early history of the Qashqai people remains obscure. They speak a Turkic dialect similar to that of Azerbaijan, and may have migrated to the Fars province from the north during the thirteenth century, possibly driven by the Mongol invasion. Karim Khan Zand appointed the chief of the Chahilu clan as the first Il-Khan of the Qashqai.[26] The most important subtribes are the Qashguli, Shishbuluki, Darashuri, Farsimadan, and Amaleh. The Gallanzan, Rahimi, and Ikdir produce rugs of intermediate quality. The rugs woven by the Safi Khani and Bulli subtribes are considered among the highest quality rugs.[55] The rugs are all wool, usually with ivory warps, which distinguishes Qashqai from Khamseh rugs. Qashqai rugs use asymmetric knots, while Gabbeh rugs woven by Qashqai more often use symmetric knots. Alternate warps are deeply depressed. Wefts are in natural colours or dyed red. The selvedges are overcast in wool of different colours, creating a "barber pole" pattern, and are sometimes adorned with woolen tassels. Both ends of the rug have narrow, striped flat-woven kilims. Workshops were established in the nineteenth century already around the town of Firuzabad. Rugs with repeating boteh and the Herati pattern, medallion, as well as prayer rug designs resembling the millefleurs patterns of Indian rugs were woven in these manufactures. The Herati design may sometimes appear to be disjointed and fragmented. The Qashqai are also known for their flatweaves, and for their production of smaller, pile-woven saddle bags, flat-woven larger bags (mafrash), and their Gabbeh rugs.

History

The Qashqai are a large and important tribe living in southwestern Iran along the Zagros Mountains mostly in the Fars and Khuzestan Provinces. Much of the Qashqai tribe has settled ir cities, towns, and villages, though some still live as seminomads, moving in summer to the highlands and returning in winter to the valleys because of the climate. The Qashqai raise farm animals for a living.
In the beginning of the second millennium, the Qashqai tribe moved from northern Persia to the Fars region in the south. The tribe has spoken a Turkic dialect for centuries, up to the present day. The Qashqai tribe is divided by location into many subtribes, notably the Baseri, Bolli, Darreh-Shuri, Farsimadan, KASHKULI, Safi-Khani, SHEKARLU, and Shishbuluki, all of whom make Qashqai rugs. The weaving subtribes that are most well known are the Kashkuli and Shekarlu, who have mostly settled in towns and villages such as Farashid, Firuzabad, and Kazerun, in the Fars Province. Qashqai rugs are known in the antique market from the mid-nineteenth century.

Materials

Foundation and Pile

The foundations are made of wool or, at times, a mixture of wool and goat hair. Sheep wool is used for the pile.

Bibliography

• Abraham Levi Moheban, (2015), The Encyclopedia of Antique Carpets: Twenty-Five Centuries of Weaving, NewYork: Princeton Architectural Press.