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The town of Bidjar is located within the Kurdish region of north-western Iran in Kermanshah province. Bidjar rugs have become famous for their hard wearing qualities that can last for generations. The key to this is the unique weave that Bidjar rugs possess. Usually with oriental rugs, the finer the weave - the thinner the carpet, however Bidjar rugs are the exception to this rule in that Bidjar rugs are incredibly fine but woven with an extremely thick pile.
Bidjar rugs are woven on a vertical loom, and are Turkish knotted using the top quality, tough, lustrous local Kermanshah wool. Bidjar rugs are also extremely ridged in construction in that there can be up to 5 weft threads after each row of knots and these weft threads are beaten down with tremendous force. Knot counts can be in excess of 300 kpsi. Due to the extreme rigidity great care must be taken when transporting Bidjar rugs. Importantly, Bidjar rugs should be folded with the pile on the outside or rolled into the direction of the pile (i.e. from the dark end), as the foundations of the rug are liable to crack or tear if folded with the pile on the inside or rolled from the wrong end.
Modern Bidjar rugs are particularly conservative in design, employing Herati motifs inside repeating hexagonal medallions getting larger the further they get from the centre of the rug and alternating colours of rose, blue and cream within the fields of the hexagons. Medallion styles are also produced in Bidjar as are all-over floral designs.
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