RUG #3

This is the third rug presented in this salon.This is a dated bag face from the South West Persian Khamseh Confederation with a medallion design typically related with the Basseri tribes.

Normally assymetrical knots in Kamseh Federation's rugs are open to the left. Here we find asymmetrical knots open to the "right" which is an Afshar characteristic.

James Opie in Tribal rugs, page 208 & 209, commenting South West Persian rugs of uncertain origins rules out a Kamseh and an a Qashqa'i attribution using the type of knots among his indicators.

This bag face presents also what Marla Mallett labels an "offsett twill". We would be very pleased to know if somebody else has noticed this feature in other bag faces from this area?.

Dated: 1212 HD = 1797 AD if it was an Islamic calendar date. It seems too much early and the date was probably based on a solar year, which would than be 1836 AD. It's nevertheless a very early piece.

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Front:

    Knot: asymmetrical open to the "right"

    Wefts: Light blue wool

    Warps: natural cotton

    Colours: corroded dark indigo blue, navy blue, ivory, gold, madder red, azur

Back: balanced plain weave, warps are paired

Sides: thick cord - bands of colours (4 inch)

Colors: Yellow, light blue, madder red, light green

Bottom: "offset twill"

Closure: 15 slits

 

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Dated: 1212

 

 Direct scan: design typically related with the Basseri tribes.
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At the bottom and the along the closure there is "a kind of complementary weft weave in a twill pattern" . I say "a kind of " because there is an uncommon feature in this bag face.

What's uncommon are the white paired warps dots seen between the complementary wefts. As this feature is uncommon  I asked to Marla Mallett to comment it.

Here are her comments:

The weave would be called an "offset twill." These are not weft-faced weaves, since with the construction there must be exposed warps; thus it is very unusual on tribal pieces.

My guess is that the weaver who devised this variation was attempting to do a complementary weft weave in a twill pattern, but couldn't quite figure out how to do it correctly. Anyway, it is closely related to those, and quite distinct from the similar-looking details on south Persia pieces that have a ground weft (weaves that we should call reciprocal brocading).