Antique Tabriz | 189 x 131 cm | Nr. Z-537

Floral antique Tabriz, golden beige with border and medallion

Origin

Thanks to its position at the crossroads of countless caravan routes, the city of Tabriz (also written Tabris or Täbriz) on the northern border of Persia has always been a melting pot of different ethnic and religious groups. Although the city lies on the border with Azerbaijan, the dialect spoken in Tabriz is related to Turkish. The bazaars of Tabriz traded, and still trade, in craftwork and above all in rugs from the surrounding villages. This antique Tabriz is a collector's piece. It is around 110 years old, and that alone makes it a truly special piece. Antique rugs like this Tabriz are as sought after as ever and fetch top prices at renowned auction houses.

Pattern

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

The lavish floral motifs of this Tabriz are elegant and full of variety. The graceful plant symbols, depicting blossoms, leaves and branches, are artfully intertwined.

In the middle of the central field of this Tabriz lies the symmetrical centre, also known as the medallion. The design of the field is subordinate to the medallion, so that the medallion seems to float on the field.

The overall impression is dominated by golden beige and dark red. The border is worked in golden beige, dark red and dark blue. In the dark red centre, dark blue and beige are combined.

Condition

You are not the first to take a liking to this Tabriz. It has had owners before you who valued and used it. The pile has grown a little thinner over the years. It was hand-knotted around 1910. We have cleaned it thoroughly and restored it with care. Despite its age, it is therefore in very good condition.

Material

The technique used to make the materials for the pile of this Tabriz is over 200 years old. The wool was dyed with natural colours and spun by hand. Dyeing with natural or plant 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 a dyestuff per kilo of wool. For a strong yellow that is not too pale you even need two kilograms of weld per kilo of wool. Spinning the wool is time-consuming and labour-intensive too. What is more, 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 oils. Wool dyed with natural colours and spun by hand creates fascinating, shimmering patterns. The charm of hand-spun wool, with its slight irregularities and natural shades, unfolds as a contrast in modern interiors, but equally in rooms furnished in a more traditional or country style. The weft and warp threads of this Tabriz are made of cotton. This versatile material is tear-resistant and elastic, which makes it especially well suited to a hard-wearing foundation.