Bakhtiari

Drawn against a pure ivory ground, this Bakhtiari carpet melds elements from Persia’s ancient past with a distinctly village sensibility. The Bakhtiari of the turn of the century were semi-nomadic pastoralists who would annually move their flocks from winter to summer pastures. Their livelihood and wealth was based on their livestock and with a surplus of wool many turned to carpet weaving to earn hard currency. Village workshops were setup by the Bakhtiari in western Persia outside of Isfahan where these weavers answered an increasing demand for carpets. This piece combines traditional medallion forms with a crown design incorporating stylized wings and ribbons of the type worn by the Sasanian kings of late antiquity. With an increase in both Persian national identity and knowledge of the archaeology of the region, ancient civilizations of the pre-Islamic past became a favorite pictorial theme for weavers throughout the empire. Here, however, the weaver has improvised and substituted the elaborate ribbons and wings of certain Sasanian crowns with a more immediate vocabulary of vegetal scroll known to her. The result is both novel and highly successful.