Bakhtiari | 277 x 53 cm | Nr. Z-1592

Mottled Bakhtiari runner, cream white with stripes and diamonds

Origin	Persia
Dimensions	277 cm x 53 cm (= 1.47 m²)
Construction	hand-knotted
Material	Pile: wool Weft & Warp: cotton
knots per m²2	-
Pile height	6mm
Year of manufacture	1960
Colour	Cream White, Dark Blue
Edition	one-of-a-kind piece

Origin

The Bakhtiari (also Bachtiari) are an ancient, widely branching people living in south-western Iran. The collective name for their rugs is Bakhtiar or Bakhtiari, where the ‘i’ corresponds to our preposition ‘of’. Bakhtiari rugs – the rugs of the Bakhtiari – take in numerous sub-provenances with a range of pattern types. For all this breadth, Bakhtiar rugs resemble one another in their colour compositions, in their various handcrafted techniques and in their line, which is always floral.

Bakhtiari rugs are made mainly with natural dyes, which feel pleasant despite their intensity and take on a beautiful patina over the years. Frequently used colours are brown for the outlines, plus red, bottle green, yellow and white as a highlight that gives the rug its likeable character.

Pattern

The surface of this Bakhtiari has a mottled look. The shifts in hue and the light-and-dark shading of the pile yarn make the colours shimmer and help the rug hide everyday dirt. These so-called colour shifts, known as abrash, make the rug look livelier. The mottling occurs because the wool of this Bakhtiari was hand-spun. During dyeing, the natural dyes are absorbed to differing degrees.

The straight stripes of this Bakhtiari order and structure the pattern.

In the pattern of this Bakhtiari it is above all the diamonds that stand out. A diamond is a rhombus standing on one of its points, and in an Oriental rug its four equal sides can be serrated, outlined or set with hooks. The diamond is one of the oldest basic forms in the Oriental rug. In the Islamic world it carries a symbolic meaning: it stands for the immortality of the soul. That is why it is very often found as a filler motif.

The overall impression is dominated by cream white and dark blue.

Condition

This Bakhtiari has a story to tell. It was hand-knotted around 1960. It has been thoroughly cleaned and is in good but unrestored condition. We haven't restored this Bakhtiari because we feel it has a special charm just as it is. If that's what you'd like, we'll of course be happy to restore the rug for you. Either way, this Bakhtiari will bring you joy for decades to come.

Material

The pile of this Bakhtiari 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 qualities: thanks to the natural grease in the wool, the surface repels droplets of water and is therefore naturally protected against dirt. Wool also provides excellent thermal insulation, helps to regulate the indoor climate and dampens sound. The weft and warp threads of this Bakhtiari are made of cotton. This versatile material is both tear-resistant and elastic, which makes it particularly well suited to a hard-wearing foundation.