Bijar | 85 x 81 cm | Nr. Z-2061

Bijar, light red with border, diamonds and medallion

Origin	Persia
Dimensions	85 cm x 81 cm (= 0.6885 m²)
Construction	hand-knotted
Material	Pile: wool Weft & Warp: cotton
knots per m²2	490.000
Pile height	10mm
Year of manufacture	1980
Colour	Light red, golden beige
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 into the weave. The result is a board-stiff rug that is exceptionally hard-wearing. The younger Bijars in particular are decorated with the typical Herati pattern, also known as the fish pattern.

Pattern

The decorated surround (border) forms a wonderful contrast to the centre and shapes the transition at the edge of the rug.

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

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

The background of this Bijar is beige. Light red and golden beige also dominate the overall impression. The border is worked in dark blue, light red and beige. In the dark blue centre, light red and beige are combined.

Condition

You aren't the first to take a liking to this Bijar. It has had owners before you who valued it and used it. It was hand-knotted around 1980. It has been thoroughly cleaned and is in good but unrestored condition. The edges are damaged in places. The fringes could do with a repair. We have left this Bijar unrestored because we feel it has a special charm just as it is. If that's what you'd like, we'll gladly restore the rug for you. Either way, this Bijar will give you pleasure for decades to come.

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.