Indian Bijar | 246 x 80 cm | Nr. Z-3592

Indian Bijar runner, dark red with border and all-over pattern (delicate)

Origin	India
Dimensions	246 cm x 80 cm (= 1.968 m²)
Construction	hand-knotted
Material	Pile: wool with pure silk Weft & Warp: cotton
knots per m²2	300.000
Pile height	10mm
Year of manufacture	2015
Colour	Dark red
Edition	one-of-a-kind piece

Origin

The pattern of this rug is inspired by that of classic Bijar rugs. This one, however, was knotted in India.

Exactly when rug production began in India is not known. The first rugs there were probably made during the cultural flowering of the Mughal dynasty, in the middle of the 16th century. In the middle of the 19th century, with the decline of the Mughal dynasty, Indian rug production fell into crisis. European companies whose only aim was export to the West took the place of the traditional court manufactories. Very similar rugs were produced in different towns and standardisation set in. Today the designs of hand-knotted Indian rugs can hardly be attributed to individual regions any more. Instead, the workshops have specialised in interpreting European and traditional Iranian designs adapted to Western taste. In terms of quality, rugs from India benefit from the long tradition of craftsmanship and the high quality of Indian materials. 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. Most of the people living 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 edge of the rug is framed by a decorative border. The border forms a beautiful contrast with the centre.

This Bijar has enormous character. The labyrinthine background is hypnotic and incredibly detailed. The repeating elements in the central field of this Bijar rug have no specific centre (what is known as a repeat pattern). The recurring 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 red. The border is worked in dark red and beige.

Condition

You are not the first to take a liking to this Bijar. It has had owners before you who valued and used it. It was hand-knotted around 2015. We have cleaned it thoroughly and restored it with care. Despite its age, it is therefore in very good condition.

Material

The pile of this Bijar was hand-knotted from high-quality new wool. New wool is obtained by gently shearing sheep. The pattern has been picked out in pure silk, so the colours of this Bijar's pattern glow in different nuances depending on how the light falls. New wool is a renewable, natural raw material with a whole range of impressive qualities: thanks to the wool's natural grease content, the surface repels droplets of water and is naturally protected against dirt. Wool also offers excellent thermal insulation, helps regulate the indoor climate and dampens sound. Silk is obtained by hand from the cocoons of the silk moth. Because the individual silk filaments are extremely long, very fine yarns can be spun that are light in weight yet still tear-resistant. This fine yarn makes it possible to tie smaller rug knots and so to create more delicate patterns. That is why the finest rugs in the world are hand-knotted from pure silk. The weft and warp threads of this Bijar are made of cotton. This versatile material is tear-resistant and elastic, which makes it especially well suited to a hard-wearing foundation.