Persian rugs: The Complete Guide to Persian Rugs

Bakhtiari Rugs and Carpets Guide - Persian Rugs

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Map of the Bakhtiari Region

The Bakhtiari weaving area `begins South of Borugerd east and south of the Zagros Mountains, and west of the Isfahan plain. These rugs fit into my Persian Rugs the O'Connell Guides section grouped with the rugs of the Chahar Mahal and surrounding area. I split them from the closely related Guide to Lori Rugs

Semi-Antique Chahar Mahal/Bahktiarri

Bakhtiari rugs and carpets

I am curious if the way I have divided these will stand up. On this page I am putting the rugs that seem to be for lack of a better term Village Bakhtiari rugs and carpets. This group is I suspect not ethnically Luri and or Bakhtiari and is most likely Turkic and Kurdish. The rugs that I suspect are by Luri/Bakhtiari are in a separate group. See Luri/Bahktiarri.

Related Examples

Bahktiarri

Chahal Shotur
Chahal Shotur is an area in the Chahar Mahal known for excellent quality carpets primarily in compartment designs.
- Bahktiari Rugs: Bahktiari Chahal Shotur Carpet
Chahar Mahal
- Bahktiari Rugs: Semi-Antique Chahar Mahal/Bahktiarri Carpet
- Bahktiari Rugs: Bakhtiari long rug, C. 1900 Chahar Mahal
Shalamzar
Shahr Kurd
Shahre Kurd is the capital of the province of Chahar Mahal. Formerly it was called "Deh Kurd" or Kurdish village but as it's importance increased it was called "Shahr-e-Kurd" or Kurdish town. It is a collection point for the rugs from many villages in the Chahar Mahal.
Bahktiari Rugs: Older Bahktiari Panel Carpet
Bahktiari Rugs: Bahktiarri Rose Medallion Rug
Bahktiari Rugs: Bahktiari Village Rug
Bahktiari Rugs: Bakhtiari carpet, possibly 18th C.
Bahktiari Rugs: Baktiari Carpet C.1910 Sotheby's
Bakhtiari Rugs: Floral Medallion Bakhtiari Carpet
Bakhtiari Rugs: Garden Pattern Bakhtiari Carpet

Bahktiari Rugs: Shooshtar (Shoshtar) Kelim

Similar rugs

Bahktiari Chahal Shotur Carpet

Bakhtiari Rug, Shalamzar, Chahar Mahal C. 1930

Detail of Back -

Village Weave?

Symmetrical Knots Single or Doubled Wefted

Bakhtiari rugs and carpets have symmetrical knots may be single or doubled wefted. The single wefted rugs are similar to Hamadan rugs so from structure we turn to borders and color to make an attribution. One clue is that Bakhtiari rugs generally seem to have larger wefting. I recall one Bakhtiari that had 9 cotton singles in one shot.

Peter Stone suggests in his Lexicon that cotton foundation and single wefts are village rugs and that double wefted and are "tribal". I am not sure where that puts double wefted cotton foundation rugs but Pete Stone is one of the great experts on structure so his comments are worth considering.

Tribal Weave?

Bakhtiari Shahr Kord, carpet 1920-30

Articles and Links:

www.jozan.com Bakhtiari

Photos from The Colour of Bakhtiari Exhibition

Similar Rugs

Guide to Hamadan Rugs

LURI (LUR, LOR, LORI) [LRI] 4,280,000 in Iran (1993) including 680,000 Bakhtiari (1989). Southwestern Iran, Lorestan and Ilam; Borujerd is center. Bakhtiari migrate mainly from Bakhtiari and Esfahan provinces (summer) to Khuzestan (winter). Mamasani and Kurdshuli in Fars Province; Bovir-Ahmadi in Boyer-Ahmadi Kohgiluyeh Province. Also in Iraq, USA. Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Iranian, Western, Southwestern, Luri. Dialects: LURI, FEYLI, LEKI (LAKI, ALAKI), BAKHTIARI, KELHURI. Closely related to Kumzari. Ethnic groups: Lor, Bakhtiari (Haftlang, Chaharlang), Mamasani (perhaps 75,000 in 1982), Bovir-Ahmadi and Kuhgiluyeh (200,000 in 1982). Posht-Kuh: nomadic, Pish-Kuh: agriculturalists, Bakhtiari Haft-Lang: nomadic pastoralists: sheep, Bakhtiari Cahr-Lang: settled. Shi'a Muslim. Ethnologue: Iran