Baluch Rug

Baluch Rug
Design of Baluch Rug (Rugman)
General information
Name	Baluch Rug
Original name	قالی بلوچ
Alternative name(s)	Baluch Carpet
Origin	Iran: Sistan and Baluchestan, khorasan
Category	Village, Tribal
Technical information
Common designs	Trabil, Prayer (Mihrab), Buteh
Common colors	Red, Blue, Red-Brown, Camel, Ceram, Black, White
Dyeing method	Natural, Synthetic
Pile material	Wool, Camel Hair
Foundation material	Wool, Cotton, Camel Wool
Knot type	Asymmetrical (Persian)

Baluch rugs are tribal, hand-woven in the eastern part of Iran by nomadic Baluchi tribes. The majority of them are made in the province Sistan and Baluchistan, which sits on the extreme south east border. A lot of Baluch rugs also come out of Iran's vast province of Khorassan which is just to the north near Afghanistan, and tend to be marketed in Mashad. Colors of Baluch rugs are usually predominantly a rich burgundy with some very dark navy blue and accents of beige. They frequently have either an overall pattern, tree-of-life, etc., or a prayer rug design.

History

Baluch (Baluchi) The Baluch, also known as Baluchi, is a population largely living scattered throughout three neighboring countries. They inhabit the provinces of KHORASAN and SISTAN AND BALUCHESTAN in eastern Iran, western and central areas of AFGHANISTAN, and western PAKISTAN. While some Baluch people reside in villages and cities, there are those that still live a transient nomadic lifestyle in these three regions.
The Baluch population was scattered in eastern Iran and the neighboring countries either by enforced occupation or by traditional nomadic travels. Some of the Baluch people have an Arab heritage that can be traced back to the Arab invasion of Persia during the mid-seventeenth century CE. Another branch of the Baluch population originates fr nomadic tribes who moved from eastern Turkestan south to Khorasan. A third Baluch group has a background in eastern Anatolia (Turkey) and Azerband The Baluch people have kept their heritage alive continuing to follow the Sunni Islamic faith and by speaking the original languages of Turkic, Farsi, and Arabic. Generally, the Baluch tribes work in agriculture, raising livestock and herding sheep. The women traditionally weave tribal items, along with rugs and carpets.
Baluch rugs are known in the market from the carly nineteenth century.

Materials

Foundation and Pile

The rugs have a foundation of wool or a mixture of wool and goat hair. Sheep wool is used for the pile, with the rare exception of some bridal weavers using silk accents for the pile. Many Baluch rugs have a natural camel-hair field as well. After World War II some Baluch weavers, mainly from the Khorasan and Sistan and Baluchestan Provinces, began using cotton foundations. In western Afghanistan Baluch weavers keep the tradition and continue to use a wool foundation and a wool pile.

Techniques and structures

Weaving techniques

The Persian (asymmetric) knot is usually employed, although a small percentage of weavers use the Turkish (symmetric) knot.

References

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