5/9/2016 CARPETSiii.

Knottedpilecarpets:TechniqueEncyclopaediaIranica

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CARPETSiii.Knottedpilecarpets:
Techniquesandstructures
Thetechniquesofcarpetmakingaretheprocessesofweaving,knotting,andfinishingstructureisthe
complexofinterrelationsamongtheelementsofthefinishedcarpet.

CARPETS

iii.KnottedPileCarpets.TechniquesandStructures

Thetechniquesofcarpetmakingaretheprocessesofweaving,knotting,andfinishingstructureisthe
complexofinterrelationsamongtheelementsofthefinishedcarpet.Oneofthemajorproblemsincarpet
studiesisthelackofastandardterminologytodescribespecifictechniques,structures,anddesigns.The
nomenclaturemostwidelyusedinscholarlypublicationshasbeenadoptedhere.(Foranextensivelisting
ofcolloquialterms,seeVarz,pp.28999).

Technique.Whetherthecarpetisflatwoven(seev,below)orpiled,thebasiccomponentsarethewarps
(tr,tn,tn,ellaFigure64a),whichrunfromendtoendoftherug,andthewefts(pd,ptFigure
64b),whicharepassedfromsidetosidealternatelyoverandunderthewarps,thusbindingthemtogether
toproducethefoundationofthecarpet.Eachdrawingofaweftacrossthewarpsiscalledashoot,or
pass.Inpilerugssupplementaryweftyarns,orknots(eft,gereh,ond),arewrappedaroundthe
warpsbetweenthefoundationwefts,thencutthecutendsprojectonthesurfacetoformthepile(porz
Figure65ac)andcreatethedesign.Knotsaregenerallytiedtopairsofwarps.Thetwobasictypesof
knotsfoundinPersiancarpetsarethesymmetrical(Figure65a)andtheasymmetricalbothofwhichmay
beopeneithertotheright(Figure65b)or,morecommonly,totheleft(Figure65c).Inearliercarpet
literaturethesymmetricalknotwasgenerallycalledtheTurkishorGhiordesknot:amongPersiansinthe
tradethetechniqueofknottingcarpetsinthisfashioniscommonlyknownastorkbf.Thecorresponding
termsfortheasymmetricalknotarePersianorSennaandfrsbf.Thisolderterminologyisproblematic,
however,asbothtypesofknotareusedthroughouttheNearandMiddleEast,withoutrespectto
geopoliticalboundariesorthelinguisticorethnicaffiliationsoftheweavers.Knotsofeithertypetied
overmorethantwowarpsareknowncolloquiallyasjoftdoubled,paired.Althoughthejofttechnique
requireslesstimeandmaterialthantyingknotsontoeverytwowarpsandthusreducesproductioncosts,
theresultingdecreaseinknotdensityleadstolessdetaileddesignsandsometimestocarpetsoflower
quality.

DespiteofficialadoptionofthemetricsysteminPersia(1314./1935),preexistingsystemsofcarpet
measurement,whichvaryfromregiontoregion,arestillinuse.Thestandardmeasureoflengthisthe
a(cubit),subdividedinto16units,alsocalledgerehs,orknotstheavariesinlengthfrom100to
111.25cm(4044.5inches).Knotdensityismeasuredbyraj,thatis,thenumberofrowsofknotsper
longitudinalgereh(6.256.95cm/2.52.78inches).IntheWest,bycontrast,densityisdeterminedbythe
numberofknotspersquaredecimeterorsquareinch.

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Theloom(dastgh,lit.equipment,dr,lit.poleFigure66istheframeuponwhichcarpetsare
woven).Thewarps(Figure66a)arestretchedbetweentwoparallelbeams(navard),whichmaybefixed
orrotating.Whenthebeamsarefixedthelengthofthecarpetislimitedtothedistancebetweenthem.
Withrotatingbeams,ontheotherhand,thecarpetcanbewoundaroundthelowerbeamasweaving
progresses,sothatthefinishedcarpetcanbelongerthantheloom.Tofacilitateweaving,alternatewarps
areusuallyseparatedandraisedtomakeashedthroughwhichweftyarnscanbepassed.Theshedis
createdbymeansofaflatshedstick(potegla,potekj,baagordFigure66b),whichisinserted
underalternatewarpstheremainingwarpsareattachedbymeansofloops,calledleashes,toaheddle
rod(ema,vard,gla,gord,gurt,kjFigure66c),abarsupportedorsuspendedateachendand
extendingthefullwidthoftheloom.Duringweavingtheshedstickisfirstturnedonitsedge,separating
andforcingupalternatewarps,andtheweftispassedthroughtheresultingshed(pderFigure66d).
Forthereturnpassthewarpsmustbereversed:Theshedstickisturnedflat,closingtheshed,andthe
heddlerodismanipulatedtoraisethesecondsetofwarps,creatingthecountershed(pdezr),through
whichtheweftisreturned.

InPersialoomsmaybesetupeitherhorizontallyorvertically.Theendsofhorizontallooms(rzamn)
areusuallypeggedtotheground,andsometimesthesidesarealsosupported.Theycanbequickly
dismantledandeasilytransportedandarethusfavoredbynomadicpeoples.Morecommonlyusedisthe
vertical(dvr)loom,theupperandlowerbeamsofwhichareeitherlinkedbytwouprightpolesorposts
orarefittedintoholesinthesidewallsoftheworkroom(krgh).

Thecompleteweavingprocessconsistsofseveralstages,eachdemandingdifferentskills.Inthe
commercialsettingahighlyspecializedhierarchyofcraftsmenislinkedcontractuallytothe
manufacturer,orloomowner.Generallyweaversinsupervisedworkshopsreceivewagesaccordingtothe
hoursworkedandthecarpetunitswovencottageweaversusuallyreceiveanadvanceagainstthepriceof
thecompletedcarpet(Bonine,pp.16768Costello,pp.12526Ehlers,pp.29192English,pp.9294,
pl.8aandAppendixBGleadoweNewcomen,pp.9394Ittig,1985,pp.11821andfigs.1,5,8
Parhm,n.p.).Thefirstprocedureistolaythewarpsontheloom,whichmaybeaccomplishedeitherby
aprofessionalwarpwinder(trbanda,ellaka)orbytheweavers(qlbfn)themselves.Whena
specificknottingdensityisrequired,theupperandlowerbeamsaredividedintogerehstoensure
uniformplacementandnumberofwarpsineachunitacrosstheloom.Afterpreparationofthewarp
severalshootsofweftareinsertedtocreateaprotectivestripofplainweave(gelm).Balls(gork)of
yarn(ma)inthecolorsrequiredforthepilearesuspendedfromtheupperbeam.Thefirstrowofknots
isthentiedtothewarpsacrossthewidthofthecarpet.Insomeregionsaknifewithahookedpoint
(gollb)isusedfortyingknots.Aftereachrowofknotsoneormoreshootsofweftarepassedtohold
theminplace.Thesuccessiverowsofknotsandweftsarecompactedwithacombbeater(na,dastak,
daft,daftn).Inthecommercialworkshopaheadweaver(ostd),whomayalsobetheloomowner,is
assistedintheactualweavingbyoneormoreapprentices(gerd).

Thesides(kenr),theedgesofacarpetparalleltothewarps,maybefinishedeitherbyovercasting(sar
dz)asinglecordofwarpyarn(Figure67a)orbywrappingtwoormorecordsorwarpsinacircular
fashiontoproduceaselvedge(kenrapseeFigure67b).Theyarnsusedinovercastingorselvedges
maybeofwooloranotherfiber.Theupperandlowerendsofarug(sarefartahefar),thatis,the
edgesrunningparalleltotheweft,areusuallyfinishedinplainweave(Figure67)theymayhavea
simplewarpfringe,orthewarpendsmaybebraided,knotted,netted,orotherwiseembellished.Fringes
(raa)mayalsobeadded.

Manycarpets,notablythoseofvillageornomadicoriginwithtraditionaldesigns,arewovenwithouta
particularpatternguide.Theweavermayalsoworkfromacartoon(naqa),inwhichthedesignis
executedonapapergrid,eachsquare(na)representingoneknot(seeiv,below).Alternatively,a
knottedsampler(vgra),inwhichasectionorsectionsofthefieldandborderaredepicted,maybe
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usedasamodel(seeiv,below).

Althoughpreliminarytrimming(dan)ofthepileoccursduringtheweavingprocess,thefinalclipping
(pardt)isundertakenbyanexperiencedfinisher(pard).Bothoffsetscissors(qey)andasharp
trimmingknife(krdak)areusedtoreducethepile.Afterthecompletedcarpetisremovedfromtheloom
itiswashed.Inadditiontodetergent,avarietyofchemicalsmaybeaddedtothebathinordertoalterthe
rugscolorsaccordingtomarketdemands(Edwards,p.30,140n.2,142).

Structure.Structuremustbetakenintoaccount,alongwithstylisticfeatures,documentedinscriptions,
andarchivalandhistoricalsources,inclassifyingPersiancarpets.Thetype,spin,ply,anddiameterofthe
fibersthenumberofweftshootsanddegreeofwefttensionandtheknottypeandknottingdensityare
allfactorsthatinfluencecarpetstructure.Forexample,quitedifferentstructurescanbeproducedby
varyingwefttensionbecausethedegreeofwefttensiondeterminestheextenttowhichalternatewarps
willbedisplaced.Ifnoneoftheweftsispulledtaut,thewarpswilllieonthelevel(tat),andbothnodes
ofeachknotwillbevisibleonthebackoftherug.Ifthewarpsarecloselylaidandthetensionofone
weftisgreaterthanthatofthenext,alternatewarpswillbedisplaced,ordepressed,creatingtwodifferent
levelsofwarpsonthebackoftherugonenodeofeachknotwillbeatleastpartiallyconcealed.Inthe
formerstructurethewarpsarecommonlyreferredtoaslevelorflatandinthelatterasdepressed.

ThestructuresofPersiancarpetsareextremelyvariedingeneraleachisassociatedwithaspecific
carpetproducingregionorgroup.Onedistinctivestructurethathasbeendescribedintheliteraturewas
originallyassociatedwithvariousdesignsinwhichvasesfigureandisthereforeoftencalledthevase
technique.Itconsistsofaparticulartypeoftripleweftedweavewithasymmetricalknotsopentothe
leftandisfoundincertainpiecesattributedtoSafavidproduction(Beattie,pp.1415Martin,1908,p.
76seeix,below).TodaytripleweftedcarpetsareproducedinboththeKermnandBjrareas,but,
becauseofvariationsinothercomponentsoftheirweaves,quitedifferentstructuresresult(Azadi,nos.
2931Edwards,p.205Ittig,1981,tableI1985,tableI).

Bibliography:

S.zd,Farern/PersianCarpets,Hamburg,1978.

M.H.Beattie,TheCarpetsofCentralPersia,London,1976.

M.E.Bonine,YazdandItsHinterland,Marburg,1980.

D.K.Burnham,WarpandWeft.ATextileTerminology,Toronto,1980.

S.Churchill,ThePresentStateoftheCarpetIndustryinPersia,inC.PurdonClarke,ed.,Oriental
CarpetsI,Vienna,1892,pp.16.

V.F.Costello,Kashan.ACityandRegionofIran,LondonandNewYork,1976.

A.C.Edwards,ThePersianCarpet.ASurveyoftheCarpetWeavingIndustryofPersia,London,1953.

E.Ehlers,CityandHinterlandinIran.TheExampleofTabas/Khorassan,Tijdschriftvooreconomische
ensocialegeografie68,1977,pp.28496.

I.Emery,ThePrimaryStructuresofFabrics,Washington,D.C.,1966.

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P.W.English,CityandVillageinIran.SettlementandEconomyintheKirmanBasin,Madison,Wisc.,
1966.

A.H.GleadoweNewcomen,ReportontheCommercialMissiontoSouthEasternPersiafor190405,
Calcutta,1905(UnitedKingdom,ForeignOffice368.38,file3938).

A.Ittig,AGroupofInscribedCarpetsfromPersianKurdistan,Hal4/2,1981,pp.12427.

Idem,TheKirmaniBoom.AStudyinCarpetEntrepreneurship,OrientalCarpetandTextileStudies1,
1985,pp.11123.

F.R.Martin,AHistoryofOrientalCarpetsbefore1800,Vienna,1908.S

.Parhm,NmyeghenaqayeqleKermn,Tehran,1356./1977.

A.U.Pope,TheArtofCarpetMaking.C.TheTechniqueofPersianCarpetWeaving,inSurveyof
PersianArt,pp.243755.

M.Varz,Honaroaateqldarrn,Tehran,1350./1971.

(AnnetteIttig)

Thisarticleisavailableinprint.
Vol.IV,Fasc.7,pp.843845

CARPETSiii.Knottedpilecarpets:Techniquesandstructures
0COMMENTSADDCOMMENT
3TAGSADDATAG

Sectionsinthisentry
1.CARPETS
2.CARPETSi.Introductorysurvey
3.CARPETSii.Rawmaterialsanddyes
4.CARPETSiii.Knottedpilecarpets:Techniquesandstructures
5.CARPETSiv.Knottedpilecarpets:Designs,motifs,andpatterns
6.CARPETSv.Flatwovencarpets:Techniquesandstructures
7.CARPETSvi.PreIslamicCarpets
8.CARPETSvii.IslamicPersiatotheMongols
9.CARPETSviii.TheIlkhanidandTimuridPeriods
10.CARPETSix.SafavidPeriod
11.CARPETSx.AfsharidandZandPeriods
12.CARPETSxi.QajarPeriod
13.CARPETSxii.PahlaviPeriod
14.CARPETSxiii.PostPahlaviPeriod
15.CARPETSxiv.TribalCarpets
16.CARPETSxv.CaucasianCarpets
17.CARPETSxvi.CentralAsianCarpets
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finishing
knotting
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