Bijar
- Scope note
- Style of textiles, particularly carpets, handwoven by Kurds in the vicinity of the village of Bijar in western Iran, and characterized by their weight, sturdiness, and remarkable stiffness and resistance to folding. Woven on a woolen foundation in the symmetrical knot, these carpets are said to be double-warped. This refers to the way the warps are strung closely together, and alternate weft shoots are pulled so tight that the warp lies on two levels, one almost precisely behind the other. The structure is unusual in that the weft is passed three times between rows of knots. This is also a Kerman characteristic. Many Bijar carpets have clumsy medallion decorative schemes in which the medallion and corners are ornamented but the balance of the field remains a solid red or yellow. Other examples show repeat patterns, including the herati, in which a diamond lattice peeps through a tangle of stylized flowers. From Bijar come a remarkable number of vagirehs, or weavers' samples used as models for large carpets, that show portions of several patterns and borders.
- Date of creation: 18-Nov-2024
Accepted term: 18-Nov-2024