Difference between revisions of "Qashqai Rug"
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| − | + | Qashqai rugs are hand woven in southwestern Iran along the Zagros Mountains mostly in the Fars and Khuzestan Provinces. The Qashqai people lived in central Asia and the Caucasus region for many centuries before moving to their current home region. Because of this diverse history, influences from many regions similarities to Turkmen people, Caucasians, and other tribes are apparent in their carpets.<ref> Nazmiyal antique rugs, 2019</ref><br> | |
== History == | == History == | ||
Revision as of 11:17, 31 December 2019
| 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) |
Qashqai rugs are hand woven in southwestern Iran along the Zagros Mountains mostly in the Fars and Khuzestan Provinces. The Qashqai people lived in central Asia and the Caucasus region for many centuries before moving to their current home region. Because of this diverse history, influences from many regions similarities to Turkmen people, Caucasians, and other tribes are apparent in their carpets.[1]
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.
Some Qashqai rugs were finely woven with a silk weft during the nineteenth century. Also, young Qashqai women customarily wove JAHAZ rugs before marriage. The jahaz rug is part of the bride's dowry, symbolizing the new family life ahead. These two Qashqai rug types are rare and are in demand by collectors in the antique market.
In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the Qashqai standard of living was greatly improved by weaving rugs and carpets. The formats range from tribal bags to small room-size rugs. Qashqai weavings are generally produced from medium to fine in grade quality.[2]
During the carpet market boom of the last quarter of the twentieth century, Qashqai weavers produced finely woven rugs, some with a silk foundation and a silk pile. Most of these rugs were commissioned by dealers for the domestic and foreign export markets. Qashqai pile rugs, flatweaves, and tribal items can be found in the SHIRAZ Vakily bazaar.[3]
Materials
Foundation and Pile
The foundations Qashqai Rug are made of wool or, at times, a mixture of wool and goat hair. Sheep wool is used for the pile.[4]
Techniques and structures
Color and dyeing
Antique Qashqai rugs will typically feature dark reds, saffron golds, and rich blues. These jewel tone rug colors were available to the ancient tribes with vegetable-based dyes, and today they are still often incorporated into the design despite the availability of a wider range of dyes.[5]
The field coloration used by the Qashqai tribe is reds, ivory, blues, and greens. In addition, different shades of brown, cinnamon, and gold are used for the borders, medallion, corners, flower heads, and design elements. Dark brown or black is utilized for the design outlines.[6]
Motifs and Designs
Qashqai rugs have geometric designs and often have mostly a center medallion and medallion quadrants in the corners of the field. At times, two or three medallions decorate the background. The design motifs feature small flowers, leaves, tribal, ornaments, animals, and birds strongly reminiscent of weavings from Asia Minor. Qashqai weavers also replicated famous traditional Persian Boteh (paisley), Herati (fish), and Minakhani (rosette-linked trellis) designs in the background and medallions of rugs. Occasionally, the Turkmen Gul (flower) surrounded with Hook motifs was used as the medallion and in the corners of the field. Another Qashqai field design has horizontal, vertical, or diagonal stripes featuring flowers and leaves. Qashqai weavers also made fine rugs with a silk weft in the famous Persepolis historical design.
One particularly famous rug style by the Kashkuli features a Millefleurs geometric design. This pattern was inspired by Mughal-period KASHMIR designs. This allover style has a Mihrab (prayer arch) that is supported by a cypress tree woven on each side of the field. The Shekarlu Qashqai design characteristics have dense allover patterns. The rugs feature tribal elements, leaves, *Shrub motifs, and ornaments edged by * Hook motifs. Animals and birds are also included in some pieces. The border designs mostly have repeated elements of shrubs with lozengeshaped Turkmen guls. The Shekarlu field coloration has blues, ivory, or reds. These hues are interchangeable with the main border.
Another design characteristic woven by the Qashqai features a lion in four corners of the background. Occasionally, one large lion dominates the entire field of the rug. The lion symbolizes power and the proud nature of the Qashqai tribe. In the past, the Qashqai were known to be strong fighters and protectors of their region.[7]
Weaving techniques
Qashqai Rug The Persian is universally employed (asymmetric) knot. The Qashqais made pile and flatwoven rugs for personal daily use, such as transport bags, shepherd bags, Namakdan (salt) bags, Paneer (cheese) bags, and grain storage bags, among others. Rug formats can range from five feet by three feet to fourteen feet by eight feet gallery sizes. Some pile rugs have a charming flatwoven KILIM finish on both ends.[8]
Family supportive inter-relatedness reaches into the weaving procedure of Qashqai rugs . As many as six women weavers frequently work together to weave a single rug, all the time singing, talking and laughing with one another. It is customary for a woman to work on her own tribal carpet for a while, move on to her neighbor’s rug weaving loom, and then on to another companion, before going back to her own rug. Simultaneously, another band of women combs the countryside accumulating berries, barks and mountain herbs to boil in their communal carpet dye solution. This continuous exchange of inventive energy and the profound mood of mutual connection of the people as they engage in honest physical activities is, no doubt, a primary ingredient of Qashqai carpet weaving.[9]
See also
References
Bibliography
- Abraham Levi Moheban, (2015), The Encyclopedia of Antique Carpets: Twenty-Five Centuries of Weaving, NewYork: Princeton Architectural Press.
- Nazmiyal Antique Rugs, (2019).
- Qashqai rugs, JOZAN: Rug news and antique rugs.