Iranian Journal of hand woven carpet

Peacock Motifs on Hand-woven Kilims of Qashqai and Shahsavan Tribes

Afsaneh Ghani

Peacock is one of the most prominent animal motifs which can be seen as abstract or geometric shapes in kilims woven by nomadic tribes, especially Shahsavan and Qashqai. The diversity of this motif in hand-woven kilims of these two tribes led the author to introduce, classify and then analyze it from different viewpoints such as color and shape. This paper tries to answer the question: What are the most important similarities and dissimilarities of peacock motifs woven by Qashqai and Shahsavan tribes? And which tribe shows more ethnic diversity? The hypothesis suggests that peacocks woven by Qashqai tribe enjoy more variety of form and color than those by Shahsavan tribe. The research method is field study (especially by finding of peacock motif) and library-based one, and this is of analytical-descriptive research. Two-heads peacocks of Shahsavan tribe which have been transferred to the kilims of Qashqai tribe and the Khamse Arab tribes such as Arab Jenni tribe via migration and other communications are seen as the most important findings of this study.

Feasibility Assessment of Brokerage Establishment for Quality Control of Handmade Carpets with an Emphasis on Domestic Workrooms

Abbas Johari

In order to study the “feasibility assessment of brokerage establishment for quality control of handmade carpets with an emphasis on domestic workrooms”, indicators and quality control criteria of these carpet have been compiled. These indicators have been prioritized according to the views of producers, exporters, professionals and experts of handmade carpets, and then, the pilot quality control of these carpets has been executed for handmade carpets of Kashan. Finally technical, social and economic feasibility of the brokerage establishment on the quality control have been examined based on the result of the pilot implementation and empirical experiments. It is noted that without the help and support of the government and due to lack of incentive of weavers to pay a fee to use the brokerage services, this is not economically feasible.

Effective Factors on Hand-made and Machine-made Carpet Selling in Iran Market

seyed mohammad mehdi mirzaamini

Handmade carpet is considered to be one of most important exporting commodities which enjoys a special place in international markets. However, it has not found such importance in domestic markets and, as a result, today handmade carpets are found much less than machine-made ones in Iranian homes. It comes to mind that such weak usage of handmade carpet can be mainly attributed to its high cost. In this survey research, different affluent and middle class districts of four cities, i.e. Tabriz, Ghom, Tehran and Isfahan, have been studied via four steps. The findings show that high cost of handmade carpets is not the only major factor of low usage of these carpet by the affluent classes of the society, but there are other factors which refer to the unawareness of these classes regarding the special properties of handmade carpets compared with the machine-made ones

Symbolical Study of Tree-Pillar and Bird Motif on Turkmens' Namazligh

Bahar Mokhtarian

The hand-woven items of Iranian clans and tribes include various motifs that have been formed according to their life-style, customs, myths and rituals and is the expression of values and beliefs of their culture. So these motifs have various symbolic meanings that they have used for expressing their needs and relationships. The present research aims at introducing one of most important hand-woven items of Turkmen tribe, namely "Namazligh" that is an applied and identity-making item used for prayer, to analyze the status of symbol in one of the main motifs of Namazligh, i.e. Kabe Naghesh which is the repetition of tree-pillar and bird motif on the top of minarets. Understanding the origin of these symbolical elements and finding their concepts and meaning in different cultures and also in shamanism, which has been what Turkmens believed in before embracing Islam, can help to understand these symbolic elements in Turkmens' Namazligh.

A Study on the Status of Borders in Pictorial Carpets of Qajar Era

Hojatolah Rashadi

The extensive developments of Iranian arts in Qajar era eventually led to pictorial representation in almost all forms of art. Carpet weaving was no exception too and during this era the so-called pictorial carpets emerged. Although the images of these carpets mostly appeared in the central field, the borders of the carpets also underwent drastic developments. The findings of this essay indicate that despite weakening of the borders, they have never been removed and were always as an indispensible part of such carpets. In some of the carpets, one can see that the proportions of borders are not right but their provenance is identifiable. The methodology of this research is descriptive-analytical one. The statistical population consists of 79 pictorial carpets of Qajar era and the data have been collected using both desk and field studies.

An Analysis of the Mohammad Hossein Mosavver Al-Molki’s Hunting Carpet Designs Based on the Safavid Hunting Carpets

Ali Asghar Shirazi

In the late of the Qajar era, a Persianized Iranian royal family of Azerbaijani Turkic origin which ruled Persia from 1785 to 1925, the Isfahan carpet design was revived by some of the artists such as Mirza Aqa Emami and Mohammad Hossein Mosavver Al-Molki. One of the leading artists in the late of the Qajar period and the early of the next period, Mohammad Hossein Mosavver Al-Molki, known as Haj Mossaver, was an innovator whether in painting or carpet design. However, the traditions of the Safavid painting and design are dominant in his works. He revived the hunting design which belonged to the previous periods specially Safavid era in the Isfahan carpet. In this paper, the Mosavver Al-Molki’s hunting designs is studied with a descriptive-analytical method and the paper’s data is collected through an observational and library-based research. The study revealed that his works were not a mere imitation. He changed the horizontal composition of the Safavid hunting carpets to the vertical composition. As a result, a high horizon was created in the hunting scene. Haj Mosavver had a realistic perspective in his designs and so, he solved the problem of the separation between the nature of the field and the elements of hunting scene in traditional hunting carpets via converting the vines and palmettos to the small bushes and shrubs. In fact, his work was a logical relationship between the contemporary carpet design and the Safavid’s.