158185 RZA Hovedkatalog 2021 Modern WEB Spread - Flipbook - Side 63
T R A D I T I O N A L PAT T E R N S
GABBEH RUGS
During the late 19th century, gabbeh rugs were woven by
tribal weavers who live in the majestic Zagros Mountains. This
mountain range (the largest in Iran) rises up to nearly 15,000ft
and is often covered in snow. The Qashqai, who are the tribe
most associated with weaving gabbehs, are centered in
southern Iran near the historic city of Shiraz. But other tribes,
such as the Lurs, the Kurds and the Bahktiari also weave
these rugs.
The word gabbeh translates closely to unfinished or unclipped. As such, it was more of a descriptive term. Originally
these rugs were woven for the weaver’s own use with the pile
left much longer than normal rugs. The 19th century gabbeh rugs were very coarsely knotted with long pile. They were
woven relatively quickly without the need for large looms. In
addition, most of these rugs had wider rows of multiple wefts
which rendered the rugs rather floppy and a pliable. This allowed for them to be used not only as floor coverings but also
as wraps or bedding to help insulate against the bitter cold of
the mountains.
These rugs were purely indigenous and utilitarian tribal textiles that were not intended for the carpet trade. The earlier examples had rich saturated natural dye colors and bold
graphic designs. Often a chain of several diamond motifs was
depicted in bright primary colors. Or, more complex designs
were often abstracted to their basic elements in these rugs.
During the early and mid-20th century gabbeh rugs became
more plain in design. Often a field of natural un-dyed wool
and stylized zoomorphic designs; goats, camels, dogs, horses and donkeys and other animals were featured on these
simple rugs.
Most of the recent Gabbehs are bursting with colour. The
weaver’s creativity is given free rein. There is nothing subtle
or understated about them. The beauty of these rugs is their
unmistakable uniqueness.
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