Persian Tribal Rugs
Filed Under Antique Persian Rugs, Bird Design Rugs, Persian Rugs History, Persian Tribal Rugs |
The broad term “tribal rugs” can refer to rugs created by tribes both of traveling nomads and village-dwelling weavers. While designs largely influenced by urban patterns produced commercially are largely sought after, the unusual bird designs of southern Iran should be desired more because of their deep roots in the past, not traced to an outside source. They are also found in the most popular of Antique Persian Rugs.
The most pure tribal rugs are those woven by either nomads or village weavers for their own use, with their own designs, not copied from other tribes. Less pure are the tribal rugs borrowing others’ designs, but least pure are the rugs made in commercial shops in the towns and villages. While they may be excellent specimens of village work with beautiful designs and colors, they are not on the same level of pure “tribal” rugs as these bird designs, which mostly originate from the formerly important southern Persian tribe known as the Khamseh Confederacy.
Qashqa’i tribal rugs are more popular, but if more people would appreciate pure tribal designs without outside influence, the name Khamseh would gain popularity–not only for their tribal purity but also for their significance as works of art. Formerly known as the “chicken” design because of their resemblance to this common sight in village life, the term “bird rugs” is gaining use because of evidence linking them to themes in western Asia, including Persian artwork and sculptures, in which two birds face each other with some type of divider in between like a tree, bush, or person. These “bird rugs” and particularly the Qashqa’i tribal rugs make some of today’s most popular Persian Rugs as well.
Arab and Turkish influences came later to Iran and some of the Persian tribes were absorbed by these invaders, but some small groups continued to function separately, speaking their old dialects and keeping their original culture, like the Luri. A few of their rugs have bird designs as well as other indigenous weaving designs, even a two-headed animal found in both Khamseh rugs and bronze work from ancient Persia. Because southern Iran was not a major trade route, even today some very old Persian Tribal Rugs have survived.
The old Persian bird design managed to stand up against Arab and Turkish influences while Qashqa’i designs are usually from Luri influence or based on urban weaving. Depending on the person, a deeper understanding of this history can bring a deeper appreciation of the artwork. The book “Tribal Rugs of Southern Persia” mistakenly attributed the bird design to mainly the Arab tribe in the confederacy and has even influenced several other authors.
Versions of the design may have been woven by the Arab, Turkish, and Luri alike, but the strongest links are still to early Persia. While some Qashqa’i rugs may have birds on them, leading to the mislabeling of some Khamseh rugs as Qashqa’i, they’re not the same classic Khamseh bird designs. Hopefully, such mislabeling will eventually disappear.
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