 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
Carpet -Material & processes Parts of a Carpet The four main parts, portions, elements, or components of a Persian carpet are discussed below. Warp - It is the main backbone of a carpet and it consists of yarn strands that stretch from top to bottom (height-wise, vertically). These strands are stretched on the loom before weaving begins. Once the rug is completed and cut from the loom, the ends of the warp make up the fringe. The warp is normally made of wool, cotton or silk. Pile - It is referred to as the collection of knots of yarn that are twisted between the warp strands. The knots are weaved in either the Turkish (Traditional, Ghiordes, Symmetrical) knot, or the Persian (Commercial, Senneh, Asymmetrical) knot. Weft - These are yarn strands that are inserted perpendicular (width-wise, horizontally) to the warp strands, and woven in and out of the warp strands during weaving. It is normally made up of the same material as the warp, but is only visible from the back of the rug. The number of weft strands that pass between the rows of knots are referred to as shoots, and sometimes the weft strands are dyed. Edge Finish - Both edges of a woven rug are covered with overcast (a simple running stitch) or selvedge (finished with a woven band) in order to reinforce the edges, as they are particularly susceptible to wear.
THE RAW MATERIALS Wool Needless to say, sheep wool is one of the basic elements in the carpet industry; it is usually used to weave the pile of a carpet. Many years ago some of the Hamedan and Baluch rugs were woven with camel wool. Iranian sheep have thick wool and more than 60-70% of the wool is the hetro type species. Due to this fact, it is a very suitable material for carpets as the warp is thick, coarse and strong. The quality of wool obtained from sheep raised in mild and mountainous areas is much better than that from sheep that are pastured in humid and low-lying grazing land. Moreover, the quality of wool sheared from sheep in the spring is always better than that sheared in the autumn. Sheep's wool contains many external substances and these should be carefully separated before spinning. These substances consist of the fat in the wool (lanolin), the sweat and the urine. The dried wool also contains potassium and sodium salts, water and ointments applied to the body of the animal to heal its wounds. To remove these substances, it is necessary to completely wash the wool. Then the water is thoroughly wrung out and the wool is spread on a clean area to dry. This operation can be carried out manually or at wool-washing factories that are equipped with mechanical apparatus. After the drying process, the spun and skinned wool is dyed in the preferred colours at the special dyeing factories. The spinning can be accomplished either by hand or by machinery, In the latter case, the large quantity of wool is uniformly spun and twisted. Hand-spun wool is mostly used in the villages and in the quarters of the tribal carpet weavers. Down (Kork) The term refers to the soft wool that grows close to the skin of sheep, goats and camels. A comb is used to extract this fine wool which clings to the teeth of the comb. It is one of the principal elements from which fine and fairly expensive rugs are made. Cotton Cotton fiber has an important role in the carpet weaving industry and it has seen increased use for weaving the warp and weft of the carpet. Moths are not attracted to cotton, if the warp and weft of carpets are made of cotton; they only damage the pile without causing any holes. It is much easier to create a new layer of pile on the lattice of the warp and weft that has been left intact. Cotton fiber is not good for making the pile of a rug; instead due to its strength and inflexibility it is suitable for making the warp and weft. Silk Produced by the larva of a species of moth commonly called the silkworm, silk has been successfully cultivated in Iran. The finest silk for rug making traditionally comes from an area around the Caspian Sea. This region produces a type referred to as Rasht Silk, which is regarded as the best in the world. Because of the high price of the raw material, the production of silk rugs has sharply decreased. Silk fibers can also be used to make the warp, weft and the pile of a carpet. When compared with wool fibers of equal diameter, they are much stronger. Generally speaking, of the 100% weight of the carpet nearly 16-20% is the warp, another 10-18% the weft and the balance, 50-70% is the weight of the pile of the carpet.
DYEING In the carpet industry, dyeing plays an extremely important role as without colours no design can be created. The dyer is a central figure, and often somewhat mysterious, since the secrets of dyeing are closely held and passed on from one generation to another. This mystique is today less pronounced in urban centers but the dyer is nevertheless a figure of considerable importance and prestige. Persian dyers, over centuries, have created a wide range of colours by combining various basic colours. With the analysis of light in a crystal prism, seven colours like those in a rainbow, i.e., violet, indigo, blue, green, orange and red are formed. In this collection of colours, yellow, red and blue are called the principal colours while violet, green and orange are the complementary ones. With a combination of these colours in different proportions, an exciting world of colours is formed. For instance, various shades of green are obtained from a mixture of yellow and blue. Various kinds of orange colours are obtained from the combination of yellow and red. Thus a variety of colours can be obtained. The colours can be basically divided into two broad categories: Natural dyes and artificial dyes. Natural Dyes Often referred to as vegetable dyes, though many of these were obtained from animal and mineral sources. Despite the introduction of good quality synthetic dyes, which are reasonably cheap and plentiful the master dyers in Iran prefer the use of natural dyes. Natural dyes produce a subtle beauty of tone that has never been equaled by use of even the finest synthetic dyes. The natural dyes come from roots, flowers, leaves, fruits and barks of plants, or from animal sources such as cochineal and or mineral sources such as red soils. The natural dyes had the advantage of being found in abundance in the natural environments. Red is obtained from the roots of the madder plant (Rubia tinctorum) and also from the crushed bodies of female insects of the coccus cacti genus. Yellow is made from the Reseda plant, vine leaves and pomegranate skins. Blue is derived from Indigo plants. Iranians are reputed to have had a long history of developing these natural dyes that were fast and attractive. Plutorch, the famous historian, while describing the victories of Alexander of Macedonia talks of the purple coloured fabrics which were looted by his soldiers and writes: "the fastness of the colours and the durability of the fabrics woven in Iran are due to the fact that they made use a mixture of honey and wax..." About 120 different kind of coloured plants have been identified in Iran. From the leaves, bark, roots, flowers and fruits of this plant, various colours are obtained. Additionally some natural dyes are extracted from lichens and alga. These lichens grow in the damp soil near the sea, in forests and on the rocks. These are collected and then dried, before being used as dyes. With a combination of substances derived from these lichens and various mordants, different shades of colours like brown, yellow and orange are obtained. Mordants In the dyeing terminology mordants are substances used to improve the absorption of colours by the outer surface of the wool and ensure fastness of the colours, when exposed to sunlight or water. The outer surface of the wool has a characteristic of being waterproof and thus resistance to colour absorption. Use of special chemical substance considerably reduces and even eliminates this colour resistance layer and improves the darkness and lightness of the dye. Therefore, as a first step, the wool is treated with mordants, before it is immersed in the dyeing tanks. The principal sources of natural colours are: Safflower (Golrangh)
In Iran it is popularly known as golrangh. The plant grows up to the height of one meter. Its leaves are thorny and shiny. The flowers of this plant are initially Saffron colour, which later turn red. The Iranian dyers use the petals to dye the silk fiber to a golden red. Madder (Ronas) The variety of this plant that grows in Iran called Rubia Peregrina. The plant is cultivated in areas of Azerbaijan, Mazandaran, Kerman and in some central parts of Iran. It produces natural red colours. The root of this plant grows a depth of two meters or so in sandy soil, from which one gets a better colour essence. The plant root has a substance named "Rabitric acid" composed of sugar and colour essence called Alizarin. To produce the red colour, the root is taken out in late autumn and dried in the sun or in special furnaces (60 Degree Centigrade). However, the best colour is obtained, if it is dried in the shade. In the dyeing process Iranian dyers generally use sour milk which contains lactic acid. By use of this process they obtain fast and shiny colour. Cochineal (Ghermez Daneh) The existence and use of this insect has been known for a long time for preparing natural red colours. The red substance which is a compound of "carminic acid”, oozes out of the body of this insect. The insect developed on the shores of the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman and in parts of Baluchistan. The various species of Cochineal live on the Oak and cactus trees and they increase with such rapidity that they cover all the branches. Saffron (Zaferan) It is cultivated in Ghaenat and Birjand area of Khorasan province of Iran. Highly valued for its taste and flavor it is used to improve the quality of food. On account of its world wide demand, the price had a phenomenal increase; therefore, it is no longer used as dye. Logwood (Bagham) It is a thorny tree. Its bark is boiled and the sap obtained from it is transformed into powder or crystallized form. It is then used for dyeing natural black and grey colours. Exposure to sunlight does not affect the colours produced from logwood. Together with different mordants logwood produced light purple, violet, grey and black colours. For obtaining pure black colour, Iranian dyers use a mixture of a logwood and Esparak. Indigo (Nil) Originally the plant was found in India from where it had been taken to different parts of the world. Mankind has known the Indigo bush for a long time. It was cultivated to produce blue and green colours. In Iran it was cultivated in Khuzestan and in the Souther Regions. With the development of artificial Indigo, the cultivation of Indigo plant has been reduced. There are the several varieties of indigo plant but these all contain one or two colour substances. When the leaves of this plant are crush& a green substance oozes out and as soon as it gets in contact with air, the colours transferred to blue. Indigo is one of the best natural dyes. It resists washing as well as rubbing and the colour stays solid and fast. Dyer's Weed (Esparak) It is a biennale plant. It produces yellow colour. It grows wild and in abundance in Iran. Due to continuous exposure to light the dye from this p gives fast yellow colour for many years. This dye has been extensively used in Iran. Despite easy availability of chemical dyes, Reseda has not lost its place with the dyer Iran and continues to be extensively used. The Esparak plant is also cultivated. All parts of the plant contain coloring substances the root and upper sections of the bush especially the flower give the best colour. Turmeric (Zardchubeh) From the rootstalk, ordinary turmeric is obtained. Is it m ostly used in cooking and grows in plenty in Iran. Turmeric, when used with different mordants in the dyeing process produces several varieties of brown, dark, grey, greenish yellow and orange.
Plants containing Tannin Pomegranate (Anar) It was first grown in Iran and is today found in various parts of the world. The skin of its fruit is used for dyeing and grey and dark colours are obtained. It is used more than other plants containing tannin. The quantity of Tannin substance in Pomegranate is up to 40%. Oak-Tree (Balut) From the trunk, branches, bark of this tree are extracted large quantities of tannin substance which are used for medicinal, tannery and dyeing purposes. The tannin substances contained in the bark of the Oak-tree with different mordants produce yellow-orange and brown colours.
Walnut (Gherdu) Walnut trees are found in abundance in areas of Iran having a moderate climate. The nutshell of this plant contains tannin 35-40%. With use of different mordants the tannin in the shell produces brown and dark colours. Mirabalan (Halileh) It resembles a plum and is dried before it matures. It has around 45% of tannin. Apart from dyeing, it is also used for medicinal purposes. Two varieties of this plant are in existence. "Yellow Myrabolan", from which yellow colours is obtained and “black Myrabolan”, from which black and green colours are obtained by use of different mordants.
Other colour plants The leaves of mulberry, vine, henna and plane trees are commonly used for the development of natural dyes, white mulberry gives yellow; black mulberry and its fruit, violet; red and grayish colours are obtained with use of different mordants. The leaves of the vine when brought in contact with galvanized iron olive green and when treated with alkaline salts give almost orange. Light and dark green colours are produced from plane tree leaves. Wool when boiled with corn straw gives light beige; if boiled with onion skin, it becomes pink; and with henna leaves, it gives a jasper green colour.
Synthetic Dyes With the expansion of textile and carpet weaving industries, a need was felt for producing chemical dyes, which would be cheaper, readily available and could give a variety of colours. These synthetic dyes were introduced in Persia and Anatolia in the later half of t he 19th century. The first dye discovered by Perkins, appeared in the market in 1856. Following this, in 1869, two German scientists Graebe and Liebermann, produced the compound of Alizarin (a coloring substance present in the root of madder plant). In 1897, artificial Indigo, was discovered by German chemist Bayer and offered commercially, in the market. These synthetic dyes proved unsuitable for carpet yarns as these produced crude colours that were given to rapid fading. The fading of some chemical dyes when in contact with light or water created an unfavorable impression and made some believe that all synthetic dyes react similarly when faced with these unfavorable elements. In reality except for Aniline colours other synthetic dyes when compared with the natural dyes, often show a stronger reaction to light and water. In 1903 the Persian government enforced strict laws, prohibiting use of these dyes. These measures proved effective, and Persian weavers went back to using natural dyes until the more reliable chrome dyes appeared on the market around 1920. Over the period of the last 50 years or so, dyes there are of reliable colour-fast and made in a wide range of colours and shades have appeared on the world market. Assured of the permanence and fastness of these dyes, the Persian rug weavers are now using extensively these chrome-based dyes, along with the natural dyes.
WEAVING LOOMS Weaving looms vary considerably in size and sophistication but the basic principals remain unchanged. A secure frame is required to which the wrap strands are tied. It is either fixed or adjustable. On adjustable looms, the vertical beams are fixed but one or both of the horizontal beams that hold the warp strands in place can be moved up or down the frame. The loom is a crucial factor in the structural quality of the carpet. The carpets are generally divided into two types: Horizontal looms (flat); Vertical looms (upright). Horizontal Looms As the name suggest these are used exclusively by nomad weavers. The fact that the loom is horizontal means the weavers have to do much of their weaving from the sides, which becomes very difficult if the rug is too wide. Thus the nomadic rugs tend to be small, narrow and long. Despite the limitation of the nomadic loom; it is perfectly suited to the nomad's way of life, being easy to assemble and take down, and not too large or too heavy to be carries by donkey or mule. Vertical Looms These looms can only be used in cities and villages. The structure of these, to some extent, is more complicated than that of the horizontal ones. The design and the measurement of the carpets woven on these looms are more precise than those woven on horizontal looms. The different forms of the vertical looms are as follows: One kind has the shape of a frame and is composed of two wooden horizontal beams joined from both upper and lower sides and two other beams connected vertically which run across the horizontal beams. The warp is stretched between the two horizontal beams. The village loom, which is rather more upright than horizontal, is almost primitive and resembles the nomad loom a lot. The weaver sits on a plank facing the loom and as the weaving advances; the plank is gradually raised higher. In this kind of loom, the length of the carpet is usually shorter than the length of the loom.
TECHNIQUES AND WEAVING PROCESSES In all the main carpet weaving centers of Iran, the fundamentals of carpets weaving are the same. The warp and the weft are often referred to as "Foundation". The warps are the strands of the material that run length ways from top to the bottom of the rug and form fringes at the ends. The weft runs width wise. Normally both the warp and the weft are made from cotton material and white colour but some nomads such as Qashqai, Baluchi, Lori, Bakhtiari, etc. use wool as a foundation. In the early stages of carpet weaving, the first two centimeters (maximum 4 cm.) were woven as ordinary textile and in Persian terminology was called "Kilim-baft". After this phase the basic part of carpet weaving begins. According to the design selected, the fibers that could be the wool, silk or cotton and composed of coloured and numbered skeins are laid adjacent or hung from the pile. After the first row of knotting is executed every other line, one or two weft threads are passed through the warps. As a hook has separated the warps from each other, it is therefore easier to pass the weft through the warps. The function of the weft is to press together and firmly unite the knotted parts to the body of the carpet. The knots are combed downwards by means of a special metal comb, to press the knots into the carpet Most of the Persian carpets are usually two wefted and the tribal carpets are one wefted After weaving a few rows, the senior artisan carefully cuts the head fringes with special scissors. When the knotting of the carpet is completed, again a few centimeters of the carpet are woven as "Kilim-baft" as was done at the beginning. Then the wraps are cu just a little. Following this, the carpet is laid on the ground or on a flat cylinder where the surface is sheared and smoothed. Machines do the shearing at some of the modern weaving centers of Tehran and Kerman. The height of the pile, the width of the selvage, number of wefts, length of the fringes, etc. is variable depending upon the local custom and traditions. After some wear the pile of the carpet gets gradually reduced, leading to a better view c the carpet design and pattern. Consequently the high-pile carpets are woven by tribesmen. Knots (Gereh) In Persian Carpets, tying a short length of yarn around two adjacent warp strands so that the ends of the yarn protrude upwards and form the surface (pile) of the carpet creates the pile. This process is referred to as knotting. The proximity and density of the knots contribute to the fineness and the long wear of the carpet. With more knots, the pattern and design of the carpet are highlighted. In the Persian Carpet weaving two main types of knots are used, the Ghiordes Knot or (Turkish) and the Senneh (Persian) Knot. Each has it own advantages and disadvantages and in practice both are considered equally good and the choice of the knot does affect the overall quality of the carpet. Ghiordes or Turkish knot (symmetric) The knot is formed by looping the pile yarn across two warp strands and then drawing each end back through the inside of both the warps. This type of knotting produces extremely compact carpets. The Turkish knot is used in north-western parts of Iran, mostly by the tribes and in the provinces of Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, Kermanshahan, Hamedan and Zanjan. Senneh or Persian knot (asymmetric) The knot is formed by looping the pile yarn through warp strands and then drawing back through one. It's also referred to as "asymmetrical" knot, because the pile yarn may be drawn to either the right or left of the warp strands. The Persian knot is mostly used in Eastern, South Eastern and the Central Provinces of Iran and in the cities of Mashhad, Yazd, Kerman, Arak, Ghom, Isfahan, Kashan and Tehran. Jufti knot It's a fraudulent knot used by some dishonest weavers. The knot is produced by tying the pile yarn around four or six warps strands rather than the customary two. It improves the speed at which the carpet is woven but result in poor structure and is less compact and durable. Finesses of knotting This refers to the number of knots in length is referred to as (Raj) viz a 50 (Raj) carpet has in length 50 knots in every seven centimeters.
Rural and urban carpets The vast majority of Persian Carpets are made in the rural and urban centers where looms are positioned permanently. The carpets woven in the village workshops are generally hick and those woven in the urban centers are very fine. Skilled artisans produce several beautiful carpets and designs in their private workshops; and sometimes in government run carpet centers.
Subdivision according to size Persian carpets are generally woven in the following standard size.
Back Next  |
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
P.O. Box: 19585-798, Tehran, Iran |
|
