Description
Title: Old Qashqai Kilim Rug
Size: 2.30×1.60m / 7’7″x5’3″ Thickness: 7mm on edge, 4mm remainder
Origin: Vicinity of Shiraz, Fars Province, S.W. Persia.
Technique: Handwoven. Kilim of slit-weave construction.
Material: Wool, woven onto wool warps.
Colours and Design: Mature red field colour with multi-colour design; colours include: cream, blue, midnight, orange and green. Geometric all over pattern.
Condition/Age: This is an excellent quality Qashqai Kilim however there is some small areas of historic colour-run (see images 6 & 7). It is in the region of 30 years old.
Additional Information:
This Qashqai Kilim consists of wool and is a handmade flat-weave, i.e. a rug without pile. The weft coloured weft threads are woven in blocks which creates the pattern, and where two colours meet there is a tiny gap – hence the term slit weave.
One of the many benefits of this type of kilim is that because of the way it is constructed it is the same on both sides, meaning that it can be used either way up.
The Qashqai are a large confederation of tribes and are the second largest Turkic group in Persia. The Qashqai are located in the Fars province close to Shiraz and Persepolis in South-West Persia.
It has been suggested that the name Qashqai is derived from the Turkic word which means horse with a white blaze: a symbol of good fortune to the Qashqai.
The Qashqai traditionally are pastoral nomads who migrate with their livestock on a seasonal basis. Although with the change from pastoral nomadism to more settled agriculture and other urban occupations many of the Qashqai have settled into villages and towns.
As with numerous other nomadic tribes, the Qashqai rugs and Qashqai carpets are woven by women. Qashqai rugs have a woollen pile, with a woollen warp and weft, and are woven on a horizontal loom pegged out on the floor. The weft thread is usually distinctive in that it is usually a shade of red.
Although the rugs of the Qashqai are similar in style to those of Shiraz, the Qashqai product is of a higher quality. The weave is usually fine, heavier in weight and more importantly consistent in weave. The Qashqai also make Kilims (flat-weaves) and all sorts of tribal bags, amongst other weavings.
These Rugs are typically geometric in style. They often contain motifs of stylised birds, animals, and flowers surrounding a diamond shaped central lozenge. The traditional colours are terracotta, red, madder, cream and blue.
For use on a hard floor (wood, tiles, etc) or on carpet Underlay is recommended to prevent slippage.
The Oriental Rug Merchant, 11 High Street, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN1 1UL, UK
01892 533080
The Oriental Rug Merchant Ltd
The Oriental Rug Merchant Ltd
The Oriental Rug Merchant Ltd
The Oriental Rug Merchant Ltd
The Oriental Rug Merchant Ltd