Quarterly Scientific-Research Goljaam

Books and topics of traditional arts (especially hand-made carpet) have not been compiled based on scientific methods. For years, the literature of carpet design and motif is strangely non-structural and full of deficiencies; even the major writers of the field follow in others’ footsteps. This article tries to prepare the ground for a different viewpoint: a better understanding and classification of “design” and “motif” in Iranian carpets requires solid and reliable bases. Review of those books which have mentioned designs and motifs and have introduced a classification for them reveals that the definitions are heterogenic, references and structures are unknown and there are many sharp and tremendous differences among them, as if there is no cognitive and conceptual objective to be drawn from such classifications. None of such categories can be regarded as scientific, therefore design and motif shall be defined using comprehensive methods but not merely descriptive ones. Ultimately this paper proposes that “design” can be considered as the architecture and overall image of those motifs included in a text, while “motif” can be regarded as the element which portrays the design by means of its capabilities.

Despite the fact that many branches of art and craft were affected by the ideas of Western modernity in the Qajar era including painting, architecture, poetry, literature and handicrafts, carpet-weaving art preserved its cultural traditions and mainly represented its traditional motifs and designs. The present paper aims to study the economics and the situation of carpet-weaving in the Qajar era, to understand how production relationships and the presence of foreign companies affected the development of the traditional carpet weaving of Qajar era, and also to know what the role of consumer markets of the West was in the preservation of traditional design and motifs of carpets in this epoch. This research is a historical-descriptive- analytical research in terms of nature and method, where desk study method has been used for data collection. The research reveals some results which show that an increase in the exports of Qajari carpets as well as the presence of foreign investments in the carpet-weaving areas of Iran, resulted from the impact of the Western consumers markets, were decisive factors in maintaining and the preservation of traditional designs and motifs of Qajari carpets.