The town of Bidjar in Northwest Persia and the many surrounding villages are famed for producing some of the finest and most well made of all Oriental carpets. Populated largely by Kurds, Bidjar weavers drew upon a long tradition of tribal and urban Persian rug weaving and technology. No particular type of design is typically ‘Bidjar.’ Bidjar weavings utilize various medallion compositions as well as allover designs, all derived from the classical Persian repertoire. What distinguishes Bidjar weaving is its fantastic use of color and lustrous wool, and above all its very special, exacting weaving technique. Bidjars are perhaps the most tightly woven of all Oriental rugs and carpets. The various warps which terminate in the fringe are staggered in two levels, making the foundation thicker and firmer, which causes the rugs to lie perfectly flat without wrinkling. The density of the pile in Bidjars is also enhanced by vertically compressing the rows of knots in the weaving process. The makes the pile of Bidjars rather thick, but also tight, standing up almost vertically, so that the precision and sharpness of the design is always maintained despite the thickness of the pile. For these reasons, Bidjars are considered the most durable of antique rugs, often preserving a virtually original condition despite being more than one hundred twenty years old.
The present example is a classic allover Bidjar. The field consists of a tessellated design of floral, four-armed ‘quatrefoils’ alternating with lace-like, starry rosettes, all set against a deep blue ground. The quatrefoils and rosettes are arranged in alternating rows in which they repeat both horizontally and vertically. But they also form diagonal rows in which the quatrefoils and rosettes alternate. At the same time the vertical and horizontal rows of quatrefoils vary the pattern through the use of alternating color. As a result the viewer is dazzled by complex, simultaneous symmetries all operating together. Rather unusually, the main border consists of a trellised vinescroll or mina khani pattern that is much more often used as a field design. The surrounding minor borders provide a nice contrast with simpler running vine scrolls. The use of color here is simply superb. The color variations within the quatrefoils alone – dark blue, light blue, ivory, and burnt orange – impart a subtle yet effective dynamism to the design, as do the more small-scale and detailed color variations within the rosettes. The use of abrash or color variegation so typical of antique weavings using natural vegetable dyes is also outstanding here, providing vet another level of subtle yet effective unpredictability. The fine detail and delicacy of the design along with the technical virtuosity of the weave on a carpet of this substantial size makes it a worthy heir to the great Persian tradition of Safavid court carpet weaving.