Bakhtiar Rugs
Bachtiari carpets are knotted by the nomadic tribe of Bachtiar (also Bakhtiar) in the southwest of Iran. Various motifs like medallion, fields, tree of life and paradise garden are typical. The colors are often of mineral or vegetable origin, sometimes carpets are found with a combination of natural and chemical dyes. The knotting density begins at approx. 90,000 per m², finer pieces can have up to 500,000 per m². Antique Bachtiari carpets often have a basic fabric (warp and weft) of wool and a pile of wool, newer pieces usually have a warp thread of cotton, a weft of either cotton or wool, the pile is made of wool. Old Bachtiari carpets impress with enormous luminosity of the colors and attractive design language of the design. The production area of the Bachtiari carpets includes many small localities with regional characteristics in the motif and the production method of the carpets. The main cities are Shah-Cord, Chahar Mahal and nearby Isfahan. Usually Bachtiari carpets are knotted in the formats 5 x 3 ft, 7 x 5 ft, 10 x 5 ft, 10 x 7 ft. Rare are large Bachtiari carpets between 14 x 10 ft and 20 x 16 ft. These oversizes are commercially traded as Khan carpets.
