Old Bijar | 486 x 340 cm | Nr. 17663

All-over patterned old Bijar, dark blue with border and motif

Origin	Persia
Dimensions	486 cm x 340 cm (= 16.52 m²)
Construction	hand-knotted
Material	Pile: wool Weft & Warp: cotton
knots per m²2	300.000
Pile height	15mm
Year of manufacture	1920
Colour	Dark blue, blue-grey
Edition	one-of-a-kind piece

Origin

This rug was knotted in Bijar, in the province of Kermanshah in north-western Iran. Bijar rugs are among the sturdiest and finest Oriental rugs. The majority of the population in Bijar are Kurds.

In the Kurdish Bijar, a particularly thick and extremely hard weft yarn is beaten in. The result is a board-stiff, exceptionally hard-wearing rug. The more recent Bijars in particular are adorned with the typical Herati pattern, also known as the fish pattern. This old Bijar is around 100 years old and a true collector's piece.

Pattern

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

The repeating elements of this Bijar rug have no particular centre. The recurring repeat pattern feels calming, yet never dull. Rugs with a repeat pattern are also described as all-over patterned.

The background of this Bijar is dark blue. The border is worked in dark blue, blue-grey and rust red.

Condition

This Bijar has a story to tell. It was hand-knotted around 1920. It has been thoroughly cleaned and is in good, though only partly restored, condition. One corner of this substantial Bijar had a hole, which has been painstakingly reworked. Otherwise the rug is in good condition. We have not fully restored this Bijar, because we feel it has a special charm just as it is. If you would like us to, we will of course be happy to restore the rug further for you. We can bring almost any rug back to near-perfect condition.

Material

The pile of this Bijar was hand-knotted from high-quality new wool. New wool is obtained by gently shearing sheep. New wool is a renewable, natural raw material with a number of impressive properties: thanks to the natural lanolin content of the wool, the surface repels droplets of water and is therefore naturally protected against dirt. Wool also offers excellent thermal insulation, helps to regulate the indoor climate and dampens sound. The weft and warp threads of this Bijar are made of cotton. This versatile material is tear-resistant and elastic, which makes it particularly well suited to a hard-wearing foundation.