Traditional Skills of Carpet Weaving in Fars
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Fars Province is located in the southwest of Iran. Suitable condition and weather in the province led to the popularity of the place among various nomadic tribes such as Qashqai (the largest one), Khamseh, Afshar, and Abade. One of the main income sources of these nomads includes handicraft products and most importantly carpet weaving. Historically, the oldest Fars carpet discovered is over three hundred years old.

However, the oldest document mentioning the Fars carpets refers to the treasury list of Harun al-Rashid (766-809 CE), the fifth Abbasid Caliph. Two books dating back to the 10th century CE also indicate the extent of Fars carpets were spread in the past. One of them is written by Estakhri, the geographer of medieval Islam and the other by an anonymous writer is entitled Hudud Al-Alam Al-Mashregh El Al-Maghreb (the boundaries of the world from the east to the west).

Nowadays, Qashqai tribes weave the carpets that are known as the Fars carpets. This form of carpet weaving, both in terms of style and pattern, is an example of the exquisite nomadic art in Iran.

Qashqai weavers braid the carpet according to symmetrical knots known as Turkish knots, while in some exceptional cases, asymmetric knots are used as well. Fars woofs are mostly in red or blue and are woven on small horizontal looms as in this way, it would be easier to be carried when migrating and then re-setup in another spot. This feature is of salient importance for these tribes that have to migrate frequently.

The most notable feature of a Qashqai carpet is its colors, just like the area they live in their carpets are colorful, while carpets of other Fars tribes like Khamseh consist of darker colors. The main reason behind such difference is that for some tribes like Khamseh, carpet weaving is a serious source of income and so they need to meet the costumers’ wants and demands. In contrast, carpet is an applied tool for the Qashqai tribe; they have not changed their traditional patterns or colors.

Generally, carpets in Iran have a pattern of an octagonal medallion at the center and bergamot in each corner of the carpet. However, the exclusive traditional style of Fars carpets is based on a pattern known as Dastur. This pattern is divided into two major forms, one that follows the traditional patterns or regular motifs including Moharamat, Afshan, Mahi Darham, Botee, and herbal motifs. The other form refers to patterns with imaginary motifs including asymmetrical geometrical structures. In the case of Bakhtiari carpets, the central area is divided into several squares each with a different motif turning the carpets into a collection of motifs and patterns. Qashqai carpets, like Bakhtiari carpet, is a combination of motifs and patterns most of which are imaginary and asymmetrical.

The rug is an outcome of weaving warps and woofs. In mountainous areas of Fars like Darab, Eqlid, Abadeh cotton warps, and woofs are used. Nowadays, Shiraz, Abadeh, and Neyriz cities are the most famous locations to find authentic Fars carpets with traditional motifs and materials and female weavers who know how to apply a mesmerizing amalgam of designs and colors. The traditional skills of carpet weaving in Fars was inscribed in 2010 on the Representative List of the Intangible Heritage by UNESCO.

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Kashan Carpet
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Kashan city is located in the north of Isfahan Province, Iran, with a history dating back to 9,000 years. The ruins of the ancient part of the city have remained at the archeological site of Tepe (hill, mound) Sialk. One of the major arts for which the city is famous for its carpet weaving. Kashan has always been a major center of carpet-makers in Iran, more than two-thirds of whom are women. The objects found from Tepe Sialk bears witness to the advanced skills of fabric making by its prehistoric inhabitants.

The first step of making a carpet is choosing a design elaborated with its special motifs. A design with its motifs/patterns are drawn over a graph paper such that each graph cell represents a knot in the carpet. The patterns in a graph paper are drawn in half or quarter of the original size and the weaver will make the whole carpet based on that. The usual patterns used in Kashan carpets are the same as those used in Isfahan cities, such as Flower Vases, Altar, Hunting, Animals, Arabesque pattern, and Lachak Toranj.

Kashan Carpet
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After choosing a desired design for the carpet, the weaving begins on a loom covered with strands of wool also known as warp. The Kashan carpet is made by asymmetrical knotting, a method of weaving called Farsi weaving style as well.

In this style of weaving the colored wool used for weaving passes behind the first strand of warp and then goes around the second, linking the two strands in a knot. The number of knots, usually made of wool and silk, in a square decimeter accounts for 1600 to 1800. The traditional skills of carpet weaving in Kashan was inscribed in 2010 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.

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