Old Belutsch | 130 x 86 cm | Nr. Z-3434

Old Belutsch, light brown with border

Origin	Persia
Dimensions	130 cm x 86 cm (= 1.118 m²)
Construction	hand-knotted
Material	Pile: wool (hand-spun, natural dyes) Weft & Warp: wool
knots per m²2	240.000
Pile height	5mm
Year of manufacture	1940
Colour	Light brown
Edition	one-of-a-kind piece

 

Origin

Belutsch is a rug provenance spanning Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan. Belutsch rugs (also Belutsch, Beloutch, Beluch, Baluch, Belutch, Balouch, Baloutche or Balúchi) are made by semi-nomads and nomads. Originally, Belutsch rugs were knotted exclusively by the Baluch nomads. Today, however, several other tribes knot Belutsch rugs as well. The patterns tend to be geometric and the palette stays within reds and browns. Mostly small rugs and mats are produced, as these are used by the nomads themselves and are easier to transport. This old Belutsch is around 80 years old and a real collector's piece.

 

Pattern

The ornate border forms a wonderful contrast with the centre and shapes the transition at the edge of the rug.

This Belutsch is graced by the so-called Mehrab or Mihrab motif. Mehrab refers to the Islamic prayer niche found in mosques, which marks the qibla, the direction of prayer towards Mecca. Rugs bearing the Mehrab motif have traditionally been used by Muslims for prayer, which makes them especially precious.

The background of this Belutsch is light brown. The border is worked in light brown, beige and dark red.

 

Condition

You aren't the first to take a liking to this Belutsch. It has had owners before you who valued it and put it to use. It was hand-knotted in around 1940. It has been thoroughly cleaned and is in good condition. 

 

Material

The technique used to produce the materials for the pile of this Belutsch is over 200 years old. The wool was dyed with natural dyes and spun by hand. Dyeing with natural or plant-based dyes is more complicated, more expensive and more time-consuming than dyeing with chemical colours. For a luminous red, for example, you need around one kilo of ground madder root as dyestuff per kilo of wool. For a strong yellow that isn't too pale, you even need two kilograms of the dyestuff weld per kilo of wool. Spinning the wool is labour-intensive and time-consuming too. On top of that, fewer and fewer people still know how to spin wool by hand.

But the effort is worth it: dyeing with natural colours lets the high-quality wool keep its natural lanolin content. Wool that is naturally dyed and hand-spun creates fascinating, shifting patterns. The charm of hand-spun wool, with its slight irregularities and natural shades, comes into its own as a contrast in modern interiors, but equally in rooms furnished in a more traditional or country-house style. The foundation (weft and warp threads) of this Belutsch is made of new wool.