...

Carpet
A carpet is
a textile floor
covering consisting of
an upper layer of "pile"
attached to a backing.
The pile is generally
either made from wool
or a man made fibre
such

aspolypropylene, nylon
or polyester and usually
consists of twisted tufts
which are often heattreated to maintain their
structure.
Etymology and usage

The widespread
popularity of carpets
has inspired stories of
the magic carpet, a
legendary carpet that

can be used to transport

people who are on it
instantaneously or
quickly to their
destination.
The term carpet comes
from Old
French carpite, from Ol
d Italian carpita,
"carpire" meaning to
[1][2]
pluck.
The term
"carpet" is often used

interchangeably with the

term "rug".
...

Some define a carpet as

stretching from wall to
[3]
wall. Another
definition treats rugs as
of lower quality or of
smaller size, with

carpets quite often

having finished ends.
A third common
definition is that a carpet
is permanently fixed in
place while a rug is
simply laid out on the
floor.
Historically the term
was also applied to table
and wall coverings, as
carpets were not

commonly used on the

floor in European
interiors until the 18th
century, with the
opening of trade routes
between Persia and
Western Europe.
Carpet types

Swatches of carpet
of tufted construction

Drying carpets in a
village factory (Ourika
Valley, Morocco)
Woven
The carpet is produced
on a loom quite similar
to woven fabric. The
pile can
be plush or Berber.
Plush carpet is a
cut pile and Berber
carpet is a loop pile.

There are new styles of

carpet combining the
two styles called cut and
loop carpeting.
Normally many colored
yarns are used and this
process is capable of
producing intricate
patterns from
predetermined designs
(although some
limitations apply to

certain weaving methods

with regard to accuracy
of pattern within the
carpet). These carpets
are usually the most
expensive due to the
relatively slow speed of
the manufacturing
process. These are very
famous in India,
Pakistan and Arabia.

Needle felt
These carpets are more
technologically
advanced.
Needle felts are
produced by
intermingling and felting
individual synthetic
fibers using barbed and
forked needles forming
an extremely durable
carpet. These carpets are

normally found in
commercial settings
such as hotels and
restaurants where there
is frequent traffic.
Knotted
On a knotted pile carpet
(formally,
a supplementary weft
cut-loop pile carpet),
the
structural weft threads

alternate with a
supplementary weft that
rises at right angles to
the surface of the weave.
This supplementary weft
is attached to
the warp by one of three
knot types (see below),
such as shag
carpet which was
popular in the 1970s, to
form the pile or nap of

the carpet. Knotting by

hand is most prevalent
in oriental rugs and
carpets. Kashmir carpets
are also hand-knotted.
Tufted
These are carpets that
have their pile injected
into a backing material,
which is itself then
bonded to a secondary
backing made of a

woven hessian weave or

a man made alternative
to provide stability. The
pile is often sheared in
order to achieve
different textures. This is
the most common
method of
manufacturing of
domestic carpets for
floor covering purposes
in the world.

Others
A flatweave carpet is
created by interlocking
warp (vertical) and weft
(horizontal) threads.
Types of oriental
flatwoven carpet
include kilim, soumak, p
lain weave, and tapestry
weave. Types of
European flatwoven
carpets include Venetian,

Dutch, damask,
list, haircloth,
and ingrain (aka double
cloth, two-ply, triple
cloth, or three-ply).
A hooked rug is a
simple type of rug
handmade by pulling
strips of cloth such as
wool or cotton through
the meshes of a sturdy
fabric such as burlap.

This type of rug is now

generally made as
a handicraft.
Embroidery
Unlike woven
carpets, embroidery carp
ets are not formed on a
loom. Their pattern is
established by the
application of stitches to
a cloth (often linen)
base. The tent stitch and

the cross stitch are two

of the most common.
Embroidered carpets
were traditionally made
by royal and aristocratic
women in the home, but
there has been some
commercial manufacture
since steel needles were
introduced (earlier
needles were made of
bone) and linen weaving

improved in the 16th

century. Mary, Queen of
Scots, is known to have
been an avid
embroiderer. 16th
century designs usually
involve scrolling vines
and regional flowers (for
example, the Bradford
carpet). They often
incorporate animal
heraldry and the coat of

arms of the maker.

Production continued
through the 19th
century. Victorian embro
idered carpet
compositions include
highly illusionistic, 3dimensional flowers.
Patterns for tiled carpets
made of a number of
squares, called Berlin
wool work, were

introduced
in Germany in 1804, and
became extremely
popular in England in
the 1830s. Embroidered
carpets can also include
other features such as a
pattern of shapes, or
they can even tell a
story.

Production of knotted
pile carpet

A traditional carpet/rug
design in preparation
on a carpet loom.

A carpet seller
in Jaipur, India
Both flat and pile
carpets are woven on a
loom. Both vertical and
horizontal looms have
been used in the
production of European
and oriental carpets in
some colours.
The warp threads are set
up on the frame of the

loom before weaving

begins. A number of
weavers may work
together on the same
carpet. A row of knots is
completed and cut. The
knots are secured with
(usually one to four)
rows of weft. The warp
in woven carpet is
usually cotton and the
[citation needed]
weft is jute.

There are several styles

of knotting, but the two
main types of knot are
the symmetrical (also
called Turkish or
Ghiordes)
and asymmetrical (also
called Persian or Senna).

Flag of Turkmenistan
Contemporary centres of
carpet production
are: Lahore and Peshawa
r (Pakistan), Kashmir (In
dia / Pakistan), Bhadohi,
[4]
Tabriz (Iran), Afghani
stan, Armenia, Azerbaija
n, Turkey, Northern
Africa, Nepal,Spain, Tur
kmenistan, and Tibet.

The importance of
carpets in the culture of
Turkmenistan is such
that the national
flag features a vertical
red stripe near the hoist
side, containing five
carpet guls (designs used
in producing rugs).
Kashmir (India) is
known for handknotted
carpets. These are

usually of silk and some

woolen carpets are also
woven.
Child labour has often
been used in Asia.
The GoodWeave labellin
g scheme used
throughout Europe and
North America assures
that child labour has not
been used: importers pay
for the labels, and the

revenue collected is used

to monitor centres of
production and educate
previously exploited
[5]
children.

...

Fibres and yarns used

in carpet

Pitcher and mug on the

background of a carpet

Carpet can be made

from many single or
blended natural and synt
hetic fibres. Fibres are
chosen for durability,
appearance, ease of
manufacture, and cost.
In terms of scale of
production, the
dominant yarn
constructions are
polyamides (nylons) and

polypropylene with an
estimated 90% of the
[6]
commercial market.
Nylon
Nylon is the most
common material for
construction of carpets.
Both nylon 6 and nylon
6-6 are used. Nylon can
be dyed topically or
dyed in a molten state

(solution dying). Nylon

can be printed easily and
has excellent wear
characteristics. In
carpets nylon tends to
stain easily because it
possesses dye sites on
the fibre. These dye sites
need to be filled in order
to give nylon any type of
stain resistance. As
nylon is petroleum-

based it varies in price

with the price of oil.
Polypropylene
Polypropylene is used to
produce carpet yarns
because it is
inexpensive. It is
difficult to dye and does
not wear as well as wool
or nylon. Polypropylene
is commonly used to

construct berber carpets.

In this case,
polypropylene is
commonly referred to as
olefin. Large looped
olefin berber carpets are
usually only suited for
light domestic use and
tend to mat down
quickly. Berber carpets
with smaller loops tend
to be more resilient and

retain their new

appearance longer than
large looped berber
styles. Commercial
grade level-loop carpets
have very small loops,
and commercial grade
cut-pile styles are well
constructed. When made
with polypropylene
these styles wear very
well, making them very

suitable for areas with

heavy foot traffic such
as offices.
Polypropylene carpets
are known to have good
stain resistance but not
against oil based agents.
If a stain does set, it can
be difficult to clean.
Commercial grade
carpets can be glued
directly to the floor or

installed over a 1/4"

thick, 8-pound density
padding. Outdoor grass
carpets are usually made
[7]
from polypropylene.
Wool and wool-blends

Sausage carpet (wool)

Wool has excellent
durability, can be dyed

easily and is fairly

abundant. When blended
with synthetic fibres
such as nylon the
durability of wool is
increased.
Blended wool yarns are
extensively used in
production of modern
carpet, with the most
common blend being

80% wool to 20%

synthetic fibre, giving
rise to the term "80/20".
Wool is relatively
expensive and
consequently a small
portion of the market.
Polyester
The polyester known as
"PET" (polyethylene
terephthalate) is used in

carpet manufacturing in
both spun and filament
constructions. After the
price of raw materials
for many types of carpet
rose in the early 2000s,
polyester became more
competitive. Polyester
has good physical
properties and is
inherently stain-resistant
because it is

hydrophobic, and, unlike

nylon, does not have dye
sites. Colour is infused
in a molten state
(solution dyeing).
Polyester has the
disadvantage that it
tends to crush or mat
down easily. It is
typically used in mid- to
low-priced carpeting.

Another polyester,
"PTT"
(Polytrimethylene
terephthalate), also
called Sorona or 3GT
(Dupont) or Corterra
(Shell), is a variant of
PET. Lurgi Zimmer PTT
was first patented in
1941, but it was not
produced until the
1990s, when Shell

Chemicals developed
the low-cost method of
producing high-quality
1,3 propanediol (PDO),
the starting raw material
for PTT Corterra
Polymers.
Acrylic
Acrylic is a synthetic
material first created by
the Dupont Corporation

in 1941 but has gone

through various changes
since it was first
introduced. In the past
acrylic used to fuzz or
pill easily. This
happened when the
fibres degraded over
time and short strands
broke away with contact
or friction. Over the
years acrylics have been

developed to alleviate
some of these problems
although the issues have
not been completely
removed. Acrylic is
fairly difficult to dye but
is colourfast, washable,
and has the feel and
appearance of wool,
making it an ideal rug
fabric.

Carpet binding
Carpet binding is a term
used for any material
being applied to the
edge of a carpet to make
a rug. Carpet binding is
usually cotton or nylon,
but also comes in many
other materials such as
leather. Non-synthetic
binding is frequently
used with bamboo, grass

and wool rugs, but is

often used with carpet
made from other
materials.
History

The Pazyryk Carpet,

of Armenian origin, is
the oldest known
surviving carpet in the
world, 5th century BC.

Carpet, made cotton

(warp), silk (weft and
pile), metal wrapped
thread, 17th century,
Iran, probably Isfahan.
History details
The knotted pile carpet
probably originated in
the 3rd or 2nd
millennium BC in West

Asia, perhaps the

[8]
Caspian Sea area or
theArmenian Highland,
[9]
although there is
evidence of goats and
sheep being sheared for
wool and hair which was
spun and woven as far
back at the 7th
millennium.
The earliest surviving
pile carpet is the

"Pazyryk carpet", which

dates from the 5th-4th
century BC. It was
excavated by Sergei
Ivanovich Rudenko in
1949 from a Pazyryk
burial mound in
the Altai
Mountains in Siberia.
This richly coloured
carpet is 200 x 183 cm
(6'6" x 6'0") and framed

by a border of griffins.
[10]
Many experts in
oriental carpets
hypothesize that it is
of Urartian workmanshi
[9][11]
p.
Afghan carpets
Main article: Afghan
rug
There has recently been
a surge in demand for

Afghan carpets,
although many Afghan
carpet manufacturers
market their products
under the name of a
[12]
different country. The
carpets are made in
Afghanistan, as well as
by Afghan refugees who
reside in Pakistan and
[13]
Iran. Afghan rugs are
usually inexpensive.

Famous Afghan rugs

include
the Shindand or Adraska
n (named after local
Afghan villages), woven
in the Herat area, in
western Afghanistan.
Armenian carpets
Main article: Armenian
carpet

Armenian carpets were

renowned by foreigners
who travelled to
Artsakh; the Arab
geographer and
historian Al-Masudi not
ed that, among other
works of art, he had
never seen such carpets
[14]
elsewhere in his life.
Art historian Hravard
Hakobyan notes that

"Artsakh carpets occupy

a special place in the
history of Armenian
[15]
carpet-making." Com
mon themes and patterns
found on Armenian
carpets were the
depiction of dragons
and eagles. They were
diverse in style, rich in
colour and ornamental
motifs, and were even

separated in categories
depending on what sort
of animals were depicted
on them, such
as artsvagorgs (eaglecarpets),vishapagorgs (
dragon-carpets)
and otsagorgs (serpent[15]
carpets). The rug
mentioned in the
Kaptavan inscriptions is
composed of three

arches, "covered with

vegatative ornaments",
and bears an artistic
resemblance to
the illuminated
manuscripts produced in
[15]
Artsakh.
The art of carpet
weaving was in addition
intimately connected to
the making of curtains
as evidenced in a

passage by Kirakos
Gandzaketsi, a 13thcentury Armenian
historian from Artsakh,
who praised ArzuKhatun, the wife of
regional prince Vakhtang
Khachenatsi, and her
daughters for their
expertise and skill in
[16]
weaving.

Chinese carpets
See also: Oriental rug
As opposed to most
antique rug manufactory
practices, Chinese
carpets were woven
almost exclusively for
internal consumption.
China has a long history
of exporting traditional
goods; however, it was
not until the first half of

the 19th century that the

Chinese began to export
their rugs. Once in
contact with western
influences, there was a
large change in
production: Chinese
manufactories began to
produce art-deco rugs
with commercial look
and price point.

The centuries old

Chinese textile industry
is rich in history. While
most antique carpets are
classified according to a
specific region or
manufactory, scholars
attribute the age of any
specific Chinese rug to
the ruling emperor of the
time. The earliest
surviving examples of

the craft were produced

during the time
of Ch'ung Chen, the last
emperor of the Chen
Dynasty.
Indian carpets

Antique Amritsar
Rug From India - Part
of The Nazmiyal's
Antique Rug Collection
in New York City
Carpet weaving may
have been introduced
into the area as far back
as the eleventh century
with the coming of the
first Muslim conquerors,

the Ghaznavids and

the Ghauris, from the
West. It can with more
certainty be traced to the
beginning of the Mughal
Dynasty in the early
sixteenth century, when
the last successor of
Timur, Babar, extended
his rule from Kabul to
India to found the
Mughal Empire. Under

the patronage of the

Mughals, Indian
craftsmen adopted
Persian techniques and
designs. Carpets woven
in the Punjab made use
of motifs and decorative
styles found in Mughal
architecture.
Akbar, a Mogul
emperor, is accredited to
introducing the art of

carpet weaving to India

during his reign. The
Mughal emperors
patronized Persian
carpets for their royal
courts and palaces.
During this period, he
brought Persian
craftsmen from their
homeland and
established them in
India. Initially, the

carpets woven showed

the classic Persian style
of fine knotting.
Gradually it blended
with Indian art. Thus the
carpets produced
became typical of the
Indian origin and
gradually the industry
began to diversify and
spread all over the
subcontinent.

During the Mughal

period, the carpets made
on the Indian
subcontinent became so
famous that demand for
them spread abroad.
These carpets had
distinctive designs and
boasted a high density
of knots. Carpets made
for the Mughal
emperors, including

Jahangir and Shah

Jahan, were of the
finest quality. Under
Shah Jahan's reign,
Mughal carpet
weaving took on a new
aesthetic and entered
its classical phase.
The Indian carpets are
well known for their
designs with attention to

detail and presentation

of realistic attributes.
The carpet industry in
India flourished more in
its northern part with
major centres found in
Kashmir,
Jaipur, Agra and
Bhadohi.
Indian carpets are
known for their high
density of knotting.

Hand-knotted carpets
are a speciality and
widely in demand in the
West. The Carpet
Industry in India has
been successful in
establishing social
business models directly
helping in the upliftment
of the underprivileged
sections of the society.
[17]
Few notable

examples of such social

entrepreneurship
ventures are Jaipur rugs,
[18]
[19]
Fabindia.
Another category of
Indian rugs which,
though quite popular in
most of the western
countries, have not
received much press is
hand-woven rugs of
Khairabad (Citapore

rugs). Khairabad small

town in Citapore (now
spelled as "Sitapur")
district of India had been
ruled by
Raja Mehmoodabad.
Khairabad
(Mehmoodabad Estate)
was part
of Oudh province which
had been ruled
by shi'i Muslims having

Persian linkages.
Citapore rugs made in
Khairabad and
neighbouring areas are
all hand-woven and
distinct from tufted and
knotted rugs. Flat weave
is the basic weaving
technique of Citapore
rugs and generally
cotton is the main
weaving material here

but jute, rayon and

chenille are also
popular. Ikea and Agoch
a have been major
buyers of rugs from this
area.
Pakistani carpets
Main article: Pakistani
rug

The art of weaving

developed in South Asia
at a time when few other
civilizations employed
it. Excavations
at Harappa and Mohenjo
-Daro ancient cities of
the Indus Valley
Civilization have
established that the
inhabitants used spindles
and spun a wide variety

of weaving materials.
Some historians
consider that the Indus
Valley civilization first
developed the use of
woven textiles.
At present, hand-knotted
carpets are among
Pakistan's leading export
products and their
manufacture is the
second largest cottage

and small industry.

Pakistani craftsmen have
the capacity to produce
any type of carpet using
all the popular motifs of
gulls, medallions,
paisleys, traceries, and
geometric designs in
[20]
various combinations.
Recently, at the time of
independence,
manufacturing of carpets

was set up in Sangla

Hill, a small Town of
District Sheikhupura.
Chaudary Mukhtar
Ahmad Member son of
Maher Janda introduced
and taught this art to
locals and immigrants.
He is considered founder
of this industry in
Pakistan. Sangla Hill is
now a focal point in

Carpet Industry in
Pakistan. Almost all the
exporters and
manufacturers who are
running their business at
Lahore, Faisalabad and
Karachi have their area
offices in Sangla Hill.
Persian carpets

Main article: Persian

carpet

The Carpet
Seller (Giulio Rosati)
Una
The Persian
carpet is a part parte
of Persian
della
(Iranian) art and cultura
culture. Carpetpersian
weaving in
a
(una
Persia dates back
buona
to the Bronze
parte
Age.

di
questa)
si basa
The earliest
surviving corpus sulla
of Persian
tessitur
carpets come
a dei
from
tappeti
the Safavid dyna
sty (15011736) . Si
pu far
in the 16th
century.
risalire
However,
la

painted
depictions prove
a longer history
of production.
There is much
variety among
classical Persian
carpets of the
16th and 17th
century.
Common motifs
include scrolling

prima
attivita
di
tessitur
a
combi
nata
addiritt
ura
allEta
del

vine
networks, arabes
ques, palmettes,
cloud bands,
medallions, and
overlapping
geometric
compartments
rather than
animals and
humans.

Bronz
o.
Il pi
antico
reperto
di
tappet
o
persian
o,
sicura

mente
attribui
to,
This is
apparti
because Islam, ene
the dominant
alla
religion in that
dinasti
part of the
a
world, forbids
.
Savafi
their depiction
Still, some show de
figures engaged (1501-

either in the hunt

or feasting
scenes. The
majority of these
carpets are wool,
but
several silk exa
mples produced
in Kashan
[21]
survive.

1736)
ed di
met
500.
Ci
sono
comun
que
docum
entazio
ni

Iranian carpets
are the finest in
the world and
their designs are
copied by
weavers from
other countries
as well.
Iran is also the
world's largest
producer and

certe
(illustr
azioni,
disegni
,
modell
i che
ne
docum
entano
una

grande
exporter of
handmade
storia
carpets,
preced
producing three ente.
quarters of the
Gi
tra
world's total
il 16
output and
having a share of ed il
30% of world's 17
export markets. secolo
[22][23]
Iran is also cera
the maker of the
una

largest
handmade carpet
in history,
measuring
60,546 square
[24]
feet.

grande
variet
di
tappeti
in
Persia.
I
motivi
tradizi
onali
present

ano
reti di
giunch
i
intrecc
iati,
arabes
chi,
palmet
te,
strisce

con
nuvole
,
medag
lioni e
costruz
ioni a
compa
rti
geome
trici

piuttos
to che
rappre
sentazi
oni di
uomini
o
animal
i. Tali
scelte
di

fondo
dipend
evano
dalle
prescri
zioni
dellIsl
am
che,
come
noto,

vieta le
immag
ini
antrop
omorfe
. Solo
ad un
certo
punto
comin
cerann

oa
compa
rire
scene
di
caccia
o di
banche
tti. La
maggi
oranza

delle
opere
tessili
in
lana
anche
se vi
sono (e
vi
erano
gi nel

1600)
esempi
di
annoda
ture in
seta,
concen
trati
sopratt
utto a
Kasha

n.
I
tappeti
iranian
i sono
i pi
fini, i
pi
ricerca
ti ed i
miglio

ri del
mondo
e i loro
disegni
sono (e
sono
stati
copiati
) dai
laborat
ori di

tutto il
mondo
.
LIran

anche
il pi
grande
produtt
ore ed
esporta

tore a
livello
mondi
ale di
tappeti
fatti a
mano,
mante
nendo
una
produz

ione di
circa
tre
quarti
di tutta
la
produtt
ivit
specifi
ca
mondi

ale.
Sempr
e la
Persia
eccelle
in
alcuni
primati
relativi
al
settore.

Per
esempi
o suo
il
record
di
15.000
metri
quadri
di
tessuto

unico.

[25]

Scandinavian carpets

Main
article: Scandinavian
rugs

Vintage Scandinavian
Rug
Scandinavian Flat
Weave Rug
by Nazmiyal
Scandinavian rugs are
among the most popular
of all weaves in modern
design. Preferred by
influential modernist
thinkers, designers, and

advocates for a new

aesthetic in the midtwentieth century,
Scandinavian rugs have
become very widespread
in many different
avenues of
contemporary interior
design. With a long
history of adaptation and
evolution, the tradition
of Scandinavian rug-

making is among the

most storied of all
European rug-making
traditions.
Turkish carpets
Main article: Turkish
carpet

Antique Oushak (Usak)

carpet, late 19th
Century
Turkish carpets (also
known as Anatolian),
whether hand knotted or
flat woven, are among
the most well known
and established hand
crafted art works in the
[26]
world. Historically:
religious, cultural,

environmental,
sociopolitical and
socioeconomic
conditions created
widespread utilitarian
need and have provided
artistic inspiration
among the many tribal
peoples and ethnic
groups in Central
Asia and Turkey.
[27]
Turks; nomadic or

pastoral, agrarian or
town dwellers, living in
tents or in sumptuous
houses in large cities,
have protected
themselves from the
extremes of the cold
weather by covering
the floors, and
sometimes walls and
doorways, with carpets
and rugs. The carpets

are always hand made of

wool or sometimes
cotton, with occasional
additions of silk. These
carpets are natural
barriers against the cold.
Turkish pile rugs and
kilims are also
frequently used as tent
decorations, grain
bags, camel and
donkey bags, ground

cushions, oven covers,

sofa covers, bed and
cushion covers,
blankets, curtains,
eating blankets, table
top spreads, prayer
rugs, and for
ceremonial occasions.

The oldest records

of flat woven kilims
come

from atalhyk Ne
olithic pottery, circa
7000 B.C. One of the
oldest settlements
ever to have been
discovered,
atalhyk is
located south east of
Konya in the middle
of the Anatolian
[28]
region. The

excavations to date
(only 3% of the
town) not only found
carbonized fabric
but also fragments
of kilims painted on
the walls of some of
the dwellings. The
majority of them
represent geometric
and stylized forms

that are similar or

identical to other
historical and
contemporary
[29]
designs.
The knotted rug is
believed to have reached
Asia Minor and the
Middle East with the
expansion of various
nomadic tribes peoples

during the latter period

of the great Turkic
migration of the 8th and
9th centuries.
Famously depicted in
European paintings
of The Renaissance,
beautiful Anatolian rugs
were often used from
then until modern times,
to indicate the high

economic and social

status of the owner.
Women learn their
weaving skills at an
early age, taking months
or even years to
complete the beautiful
pile rugs and flat woven
kilims that were created
for their use in every
aspect of daily life. As is
true in most weaving

cultures, traditionally
and nearly exclusively, it
is women and girls who
are both artisan and
[30] [31] [32]
weaver.
Turkmen ("Bukhara")
carpet
Main article: Turkmen
carpet

The large carpet

in Turkmenistan
Trkmen carpet is a type
of handmade floorcovering textile
traditionally originating
in Central Asia. It is
useful to distinguish
between the original
Turkmen tribal rugs and
the rugs produced in

large numbers for export

mainly in Pakistan and
Iran today. The original
Turkmen rugs were
produced by
the Turkmen tribes who
are the main ethnic
group
in Turkmenistan and are
also found in
Afghanistan and Iran.
They are used for

various purposes,
including tent rugs, door
hangings and bags of
[33]
various sizes.
Azerbaijani rug
Main
article: Azerbaijani rug
In November 2010 the
Azerbaijani carpet was
proclaimed

a Masterpiece of
Intangible
Heritage by UNESCO.
[34][35]

Oriental carpets in
Europe

Oriental carpets
began to appear in
Europe after
the Crusades in the

11th century. Until

the mid-18th
century they were
mostly used on walls
and tables. Except in
royal or
ecclesiastical settings
they were
considered too
precious to cover the
floor.

Starting in the 13th

century oriental carpets
begin to appear in
paintings (notably from
Italy, Flanders, England,
France, and the
Netherlands). Carpets of
Indo-Persian design
were introduced to
Europe via the Dutch,
British, and French East

India Companies of the

[36]
17th and 18th century.
Spanish carpets

16th Century Alcaraz

Rug From Spain
Part of The Nazmiyal's
Antique Rug Collection
in New York City
Although isolated
instances of carpet
production pre-date the
Muslim invasion of
Spain, the Hispano-

Moresque examples
are the earliest
significant body of
European-made
carpets. Documentary
evidence shows
production beginning
in Spain as early as the
10th century AD. The
earliest extant Spanish
carpet, the socalled Synagogue

carpet in the Museum

of Islamic Art, Berlin, is
a unique survival dated
to the 14th century. The
earliest group of
Hispano-Moresque
carpets, Admiral
carpets (also known
as armorial carpets), has
an all-over geometric,
repeat pattern
punctuated by blazons of

noble, Christian Spanish

families. The variety of
this design was analyzed
most thoroughly by May
Beattie. Many of the
15th-century, Spanish
carpets rely heavily on
designs originally
developed on the
Anatolian Peninsula.
Carpet production
continued after the

Reconquest of Spain
and eventual expulsion
of the Muslim
population in the 15th
century. 16th-century
Renaissance Spanish
carpet design is a
derivative of silk textile
design. Two of the most
popular motifs are
wreaths and
pomegranates. During

the Moorish (Muslim)

period production took
place in Alcaraz in the
province of Murcia, as
well as being recorded
in other towns. Carpet
production after the
Christian reconquest
continued in Alcaraz
while Cuenca, first
recorded as a weaving
centre in the 12th

century, became
increasingly important,
and was dominant in the
17th and early 18th
century. Carpets of
completely different
French based designs
began to be woven in a
royal workshop,
the Royal Tapestry
Factory (Real Fbrica
de Tapices de Santa

Brbara) in Madrid in
the 18th century.
Cuenca was closed
down by royal degree
of Carlos IV in the late
18th century to stop it
competing with the
new workshop. Madrid
continued as a weaving
centre through to the
20th century, producing
brightly coloured carpets

most of whose designs

are strongly influenced
by French carpet design,
and which are frequently
signed (on occasions
with the monogram MD;
also sometimes with the
name Stuyck) and dated
in the outer stripe. After
the Spanish civil
war General
Franco revived the

carpet weaving industry

in workshops named
after him, weaving
designs that are
influenced by earlier
Spanish carpets, usually
in a very limited range
[37]
of colours.
Bulgarian carpets
Main article: Chiprovtsi
carpet

The Chiprovtsi
carpet (
) is a type of
handmade carpet with
two absolutely identical
sides, part of Bulgarian
national heritage,
traditions, arts and
crafts. Its name is
derived from the town
of Chiprovtsi where
their production started

in the 17th century. The

carpet weaving industry
played a key role in the
revival of Chiprovtsi in
the 1720s after the
devastation of the failed
1688 Chiprovtsi
Uprising against
Ottoman rule. The
western traveller Ami
Bou, who visited
Chiprovtsi in 1836

1838, reported that

"mainly young girls,
under shelters or in
corridors, engage in
carpet weaving. They
earn only five francs a
month and the payment
was even lower before".
By 1868, the annual
production of carpets in
Chiprovtsi had
surpassed 14,000 square

[38]

metres. In 1896,
almost 1,400 women
from Chiprovtsi and the
region were engaged in
carpet weaving. In 1920,
the locals founded
the Manual
Labour carpet-weaving
cooperative society, the
first of its kind in the
[39]
country. At present.
the carpet (kilim)

industry remains
dominant in the town.
[40]
Carpets have been
crafted according to
traditional designs, but
in recent years it is up to
the customers to decide
the pattern of the carpet
they have ordered. The
production of a single 3
by 4 m (9.8 by 13.1 ft)
carpet takes about 50

days; primarily women

engage in carpet
weaving. Work is
entirely manual and all
used materials are
natural; the primary
material is wool,
coloured using plant or
mineral dyes. The local
carpets have been prized
at exhibitions
in London, Paris, Lige

and Brussels. In recent

decades, however, the
Chiprovtsi carpet
industry has been in
decline as it had lost its
firm foreign markets. As
a result, the town and
the municipality have
been experiencing a
demographic crisis.

French carpets
Main
article: Savonnerie
manufactory

Savonnerie tapisserie
18th centuryPalace of
Versailles, France
In 1608 Henry
IV initiated the French
production of "Turkish
style" carpets under the
direction of Pierre
DuPont. This production
was soon moved to the

Savonnerie factory in
Chaillot just west of
Paris. The earliest, wellknown group produced
by the Savonnerie, then
under the direction
of Simon Lourdet, are
the carpets that were
produced in the early
years of Louis XIV's
reign. They are densely
ornamented with

flowers, sometimes in
vases or baskets, against
dark blue or brown
grounds in deep borders.
The designs are based
on Netherlandish and
Flemish textiles and
paintings. The most
famous Savonnerie
carpets are the series
made for the Grande
Galerie and the Galerie

d'Apollon in the Palais

du Louvre between c.
1665-1685. These 105
masterpieces, made
under the artistic
direction of Charles Le
Brun, were never
installed, as Louis XIV
moved the court
to Versailles in 1688.
Their design combines
rich acanthus leaves,

architectural framing,
and mythological scenes
(inspired by Cesare
Ripa's Iconologie) with
emblems of Louis XIV's
royal power.
Pierre-Josse Perrot is the
best-known of the mideighteenth-century
carpet designers. His
many surviving works

and drawings display

graceful rococo sscrolls, central rosettes,
shells, acanthus leaves,
and floral swags. The
Savonnerie manufactory
was moved to
theGobelins in Paris in
[41]
1826.
The Beauvais
manufactory, better
known for their tapestry,

also made knotted pile

carpets from 1780 to
1792. Carpet production
in small, privately
owned workshops in the
town of Aubusson began
in 1743. Carpets
produced in France
employ the symmetrical
[37]
knot.
English carpets

Knotted pile carpet

weaving technology
probably came to
England in the early
16th century
with Flemish Calvinists
fleeing religious
persecution. Because
many of these weavers
settled in Southeastern England in

Norwich the 14 extant

16th and 17th century
carpets are sometimes
referred to as "Norwich
carpets." These works
are either adaptations of
Anatolian or IndoPersian designs or
employ ElizabethanJacobean scrolling vines
and blossoms. All but
one are dated or bear a

coat of arms. Like the

French, English weavers
used the symmetrical
knot. There are
documented and
surviving examples of
carpets from three 18thcentury manufactories:
Exeter (17561761,
owned by Claude
Passavant, 3 extant
carpets), Moorfields

(17521806, owned by
Thomas Moore, 5 extant
carpets), and Axminster
(17551835, owned
by Thomas Whitty,
numerous extant
carpets). Exeter and
Moorfields were both
staffed with renegade
weavers from the French
Savonnerie and,
therefore, employ the

weaving structure of that

factory and Perrotinspired designs.
Neoclassical
designer Robert
Adam supplied designs
for both Moorfields and
Axminster carpets based
on Roman floor mosaics
and coffered ceilings.
Some of the most wellknown rugs of his

design were made

for Syon
House, Osterley
House, Harewood
House, Saltram House,
and Newby Hall.
Axminster carpet was a
unique floor covering
made originally in a
factory founded at
Axminster, Devon,

England, in 1755 by the

cloth weaver Thomas
Whitty. Resembling
somewhat the
Savonnerie carpets
produced in France,
Axminster carpets were
symmetrically knotted
by hand in wool on
woolen warps and had a
weft of flax or hemp.
Like the French carpets,

they often featured

Renaissance
architectural or floral
patterns; others
mimicked oriental
patterns. Similar carpets
were produced at the
same time in Exeter and
in the Moorfields section
of London and, shortly
before, at Fulham in
Middlesex.

The Whitty factory

closed in 1835 with the
advent of machine-made
carpeting. The name
Axminster, however,
survived as a generic
term for machine-made
carpets whose pile is
produced by techniques
similar to those used in
making velvet or
[42]
chenille.

Axminster carpet has

three main types of
broadloom carpet
construction in use today
(machine woven, tufted
& hand knotted).
Machine woven carpet is
an investment that will
last 20 or 30 years and
woven Axminster and
Wilton carpets are still

extremely popular in
areas where longevity
and design flexibility are
a big part of the
purchasing decision.
Hotels and leisure
venues almost always
choose these types and
many homes use woven
Axminsters as design
statements.

Machine used to cut

and re-roll carpet
lengths
Machine woven carpets
like Axminster and
Wilton are made by
massive looms that
weave together
bobbins of carpet yarn
and backing. The

finished result, which

can be intricately
patterned, creates a floor
that provides supreme
underfoot luxury with
high performance.
Tufted carpets are also
popular in the home.
They are relatively
speedy to make - a prewoven backing has
yarns tufted into it.

Needles push the yarn

through the backing and
which is then held in
place with underlying
loopers. Tufted carpets
can be twist pile, velvet,
or loop pile. Twist pile
carpets are produced
when one or more fibres
are twisted in the tufting
process, so that in the
finished carpet they

appear to be bound
together. Velvet pile
carpets tend to have a
shorter pile and a tighter
construction, giving the
finished article a
smooth, velvety
appearance. Loop pile
carpets are renowned for
being hard wearing and
lend carpets great
texture. The traditional

domain of rugs from far

away continents, hand
knotted squares and rugs
use the expertise of
weavers to produce
work of the finest
quality. Traditional rugs
often feature a deliberate
mistake on behalf of
the weaver to guarantee
their authenticity.

Six of Axminster carpets

are known as the
"Lansdowne" group.
These have a tripartite
design with reeded
circles and baskets of
flowers in the central
panel flanked by
diamond lozenges in the
side panels. Axminster
Rococo designs often
have a brown ground

and include birds copied

from popular,
contemporary
engravings. Even now a
large percentage of the
55,000 population town
still seek employment in
this industry. The town
of Wilton, Wiltshire is
also known for its carpet
weaving, which dates

back to the 18th century.

[43]

Modern carpeting and

installation

Macro shot
of Berber carpet.
Berber carpets are
a style of carpet
containing big and
small tufts. It uses a
loop pile
construction type,
and usually
contains small
flecks of dark

colour on lighter
shade background
colours.
Carpet is commonly
made in widths of 12
feet (3.7 m) and 15 feet
(4.6 m) in the USA, 4 m
and 5 m in Europe.
Where necessary
different widths can be
seamed together with a
seaming iron and seam

tape (formerly it
was sewn together) and
it is fixed to a floor over
a
cushioned underlay (pad
) using nails, tack
strips (known in the UK
as gripper rods),
adhesives, or
occasionally decorative
metal stair rods, thus
distinguishing it from

rugs or mats, which are

loose-laid floor
coverings. For
environmental reasons,
the use of wool, natural
bindings, natural
padding, and
formaldehyde-free glues
is becoming more
common. These options
are almost always at a
premium cost, though

with no sacrifice to
performance.
In the UK some carpets
are still manufactured
for pubs and clubs in a
narrow width of 27
inches (0.69 m) and then
sewn to size. Carpeting
which covers an entire
room area is loosely
referred to as 'wall-towall', but carpet can be

installed over any

portion thereof with use
of appropriate transition
moldings where the
carpet meets other types
of floor coverings.
Carpeting is more than
just a single item; it is,
in fact, a system
comprising the carpet
itself, the carpet backing
(often made of latex),

the cushioning underlay,

and a method of
installation.
Carpet tiles are also
available, typically 50
centimetres (20 in)
square. These are
usually only used in
commercial settings and
are affixed using a
special pressuresensitive glue, which

holds them into place

while allowing easy
removal (in an office
environment, for
example) or to allow
rearrangement in order
[44]
to spread wear.
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carpet and
manufacturing of
figured Wilton
carpeting.
Some Of The images
that were used in this
article are from
the Nazmiyal Antique
Rugs Gallery In New
York City

Rugs and carpets

Rugs

Carpets

People

Places

Cleaning
Fabrics

Manufacture and
installation

Manufacturers

Carpets in culture

Notable individual carpets

Turkce
Hal
Vikipedi, zgr
ansiklopedi

Haln dokumacl,
1890 tarihli bir fotoraf

Bugnk Cezayir'den
bir hal dokuma
atlyesinde alan
Marib kadnlar; 1899.
Hal; atklarnn
atlmasndan sonra (arka
iplikleri) zerine desene
gre istenilen hav
yksekliinde iplerin
geirilerek
dmlenmesi ile

yaplan ev iinde ve
genellikle yer rts
olarak kullanlan
eyadr. Baz evlerde de
duvarda grlr.
Halnn kk Anadolu
Seluklu Devleti'nden
gelmitir.
Kilimle hal bir birinden
farkldr: Kilim ince bir
hal tipidir. Dnyada
bilinen ilk hallar Orta

Asya'da Trkler tarafnd

an dokunmutur. Bu
hallarn gnmze
kadar ulaabilmi en
eski rneinin M 6-5.
yzyllarda yaplm
olduu ve
halenLeningrad
Mzesi'nde sakland
[1]
bilinmektedir. Bu
hal Pazrk Hals olarak
bilinmektedir.

Hal insanlarn rahat ve

scak bir zemin aray
sonucu ortaya kan ve
ev dekorasyonunda
nemli bir yer tutan bir
malzemedir. Tarihi ise
insanlk tarihi kadar
eskidir. nsanlar nce
scak bir zemin
yaratmak amacyla

hayvan postlarn
kullanyorlard.
htiyalar arttka,
ihtiyalarna uygun post
bulamadklar iin, post
taklidi yayglar rettiler.
Zamanla sevdiklerini de
desenletirerek, bugnk
halnn kaba rneklerine
ulatlar. Ksaca hal
insanolunun doaya

kar ve doay kendine

uydurma mcadelesinin
ilk rnlerindendir.
Gnmze kadar gelen
hal, yaantmza
ekonomik, sosyal ve
kltrel olarak nemli
bir yer tutar. Gerek
Trklerdeki, gerekse
dou lkelerindeki ev
dekorasyonundaki

balca unsur hal ve

kilimdir.
Gnmzde modern
teknolojinin snrsz
avantajlarn kullanan
hal sektr kendini
srekli yenilemektedir.
Her yl yeni trendlerin,
kalitelerin ortaya kt
hal sektr yaratcln
snrlarn zorlamaya
devam etmektedir.

Acem hals
Demirci hallar
Grdes hallar
Milas hals
Tapnar Hallar
Yacbedir Hallar
Kafkas hals
Trk Hals

Italiano
Tappeto

Tappeto khamset

Tappeto bukhara
Un tappeto un drappo
di tessuto di materiale
vario, generalmente
di lana o anche
di seta, cotone e altre
fibre vegetali e
artificiali, prodotto in
diverse grandezze, colori
e disegni annodando, a
mano o a macchina, i fili
di catena con quelli di

trama. Usato per

ricoprire pavimenti,
tavoli e superfici simili
generalmente di grosso
spessore.

Cenni storici
In Oriente, il tappeto ha
origini particolarmente
antiche, datate V
secolo o VI secolo, pi
tardi il tappeto annodato

sarebbe stato introdotto

in Persia dai
turchi Selgiuchidi a
partire dall'XI secolo. Il
pi antico tappeto a noi
pervenuto noto come
Tappeto di
Pazyryk (circa 500 a.C.).
L'arte del tappeto
persiano giunse alle pi
alte vette durante la

dinastia dei Safavidi,

ovvero fino al primo
quarto del Settecento.
Nell'Ottocento ha un
ruolo importante la citt
turca di Smirne dietro le
accresciute richieste
della borghesia europea.
I Tappeti egiziani, un
tempo chiamati Tappeti
di Damasco o Tappeti

mammelucchi a motivi
geometrici stilizzati,
furono prodotto di punta
dei mercanti veneziani
gi dal 1500, come
appare ad esempio nei
dipinti dell'epoca
di Tintoretto.
Il periodo migliore della
produzione di tappeti
in India corrisponde

al XVI secolo e XVII

secolo, sotto la
dinastia Moghul e grazie
a lavoratori migrati dalla
Persia. I capolavori di
questa arte raffigurano
spesso scene di caccia
con elementi
naturalistici.
In Europa i tappeti sono
stati fabbricati sin

dal 1200 in Spagna, con

molteplici riferimenti
alla produzione
anatolica; questo tipo di
tappeto venne
massicciamente
esportato nel resto del
continente e
chiamato tappeto
ispano-moresco.

La Francia ebbe maggior

fortuna nella produzione
seicentesca dei
laboratori del Louvre, i
cui motivi sono ispirati
alla pittura francese di
paesaggio. Nel 1800 la
manifattura dei tappeti
venne fusa con quella
dei gobelin.
In altre nazioni europee

nacque una produzione

pi che altro
all'imitazione di disegni
orientali, ma
maggiormente
meccanizzata; infine
nel 1900 l'arte del
tappeto pass
dall'imitazione a motivi
astratti o stilizzati, fino
alla rivalutazione di tipi
rustici regionali.

Le lavorazioni orientali
Il tappeto orientale ha
una individualit
spiccata, che permette
agli esperti del settore di
determinare il luogo
d'origine e, con buona
approssimazione,
persino l'et. Ogni
distretto, persino ogni
famiglia, possiede

disegni e motivi propri

che vengono trasmessi
di generazione in
generazione e che di
solito non vengono
copiati da estranei.
Peraltro la conoscenza
dei costumi permette
anche di stabilire l'uso
che si intendeva fare del
tappeto ed il simbolismo

religioso o poetico in
esso contenuto.
I tappeti orientali sono
classificati in base alle
aree di provenienza, non
necessariamente
coincidenti con confini
politici, e tipicamente
nominati secondo la citt
[1]
di provenienza :
Tappeti persiani,
ornati a disegni floreali

con scene di caccia e,

negli esemplari antichi,
persino di novelle;

Tappeti Anadl o
turchi,
commercializzati nei
mercati principali
di Smirne ed Istanbul,
non hanno solitamente
figure umane o di
animale e sono

asimmetrici, con
prevalenza di colori
come azzurri, verde
Nilo, seppia, giallo ed
avorio;

Tappeti Afgani;

Tappeti Berberi,
caratterizzati da colori
squillanti (rosso,
azzurro, oro), disegni

geometrici asimmetrici
e lane di filato grosso;

Tappeti del Caucaso,

adorni principalmente
di arabeschi e figure
geometriche;

Tappeti indiani;

Tappeti Transcaspio,
i cui tipi migliori vanno
sotto il nome
di Bukhara,
caratterizzati da motivi
geometrici che si
ripetono su uno sfondo
rosso;

Tappeti Turkestan, il
cui motivo dominante
un ottagono reiterato in

colonne verticali o
orizzontali;

Tappeti del Deccan;

Tappeti cinesi, che

riprendono disegni ed
ornamenti tipici delle
ceramiche della
medesima provenienza,
come il drago e
la fenice;

La lana utilizzata nei

tappeti orientali
prevalentemente
di pecora, ma ci non
esclude l'utilizzo di lana
di capra o di cammello.
La finezza del filo ed il
numero dei punti
annodati nell'unit di
superficie dipendono
anch'essi dalla regione di
provenienza, ma anche

dal pascolo e dalla razza

dell'animale da cui si
ricavata la lana.
Sono da considerarsi
tappeti anche
le coperte tessute dagli
indiani Navajo.
Tappeti persiani
Tabriz
Kashan

Isfahan
kirman
Herat

I coloranti
I coloranti utilizzati
dalla tradizione orientale
sono divisi in due
gruppi:

Coloranti naturali,
usati per tutti i tappeti
fino al 1870;
Coloranti sintetici,
giunti dall'Europa nella
seconda met del XIX
secolo;
L'introduzione di
coloranti chimici
all'anilina rischi di
pregiudicare la fama del
Tappeto Orientale in

tutto il mondo. Infatti i

tappeti lavorati con filati
tinti chimicamente
scolorivano e si
deterioravano
rapidamente. Il governo
persiano dopo qualche
decennio proib
l'importazione dei
coloranti all'anilina e
vennero prese severe

misure contro chi

continuava ad utilizzarli.
I nodi

Nodi che formano il

vello di un tappeto.
Due sono i tipi di nodi
utilizzati dalle
popolazioni orientali per
tessere tappeti:
Il nodo
simmetrico Turkibaft,
che in persiano
significa "annodato dai
turchi", anche noto
come ghiordes o

semplicemente nodo
turco. Prende questo
nome perch
effettivamente
utilizzato
prevalentemente dalle
popolazioni turche,
comprese quelle della
Persia;
Il nodo
asimmetrico Farsibaft,
"annodato dai persiani",

prende anche nome

di senneh (o Sehna) o
nodo persiano.

La decorazione
Le categorie decorative
della tradizione orientale
sono:
Tappeti geometrici,
che non necessitano di
un'alta densit di nodi,
sono prevalentemente

utilizzati da
popolazioni nomadi ed
in alcuni villaggi
anatolici, persiani e
caucasici. I motivi sono
generalmente semplici
e spesso formati dalla
ripetizione degli stessi
elementi. Come nelle
altre arti si tratta della
forma pi primitiva di
decorazione ed i suoi

elementi sono
generalmente frutto di
antichi retaggi tribali;

I Tappeti
floreali nacquero agli
inizi del XVI secolo
con l'introduzione di
nuove tecniche e
tecnologie che
permisero l'esecuzione
di motivi curvilinei e

quindi di una maggiore

densit di nodi. Le
decorazioni, a
differenza dei tappeti
geometrici, nascono
dall'artista che disegna
e colora i cartoni:
l'Ustad, il maestro
decoratore che poi
affida il suo progetto
agli artigiani addetti
all'annodatura.

Entrambe le tipologie
annoverano le stesse
strutture decorative del
campo:
A tutto campo, con
una decorazione
uniforme per tutto il
campo del tappeto;

A medaglione centrale,
dove al centro del
tappeto viene posto un

grande elemento
principale. A volte i
medaglioni possono
essere ripetuti pi volte,
solitamente mai pi di
tre volte;

Da preghiera, che
presentano il mihrab
ovvero presentano il
campo composto a
nicchietta;

Ad alberi, motivo
utilizzato anche nei
tappeti da preghiera;
Ad animali, nei tappeti
geometrici solitamente
animali legati alla vita
dei nomadi (cavalli,
ecc.) mentre nei tappeti
floreali l'esotismo delle
specie annoverate
limitato solo dalla
fantasia dell'Ustad

Glossario dei tappeti

Abrash
Asmalyk
Boghce
Bot
Broccato
Cagiarino
Cartone
Cemce
Ch'I-Lin
Cicekli: tipo di kilim

Cufico
Dozar: tappeto da 2
1,4 m di dimensioni
Elmali: motivo a pomo
Giofti
Kenar: tappeto da 1
3, 4 o 5 m di
dimensione
Kilim: tappeto non
annodato a doppia
faccia (turco)

Mazarlik: tappeto da
sepoltura
Medaglione
Medijdi
Mohtasham:
tappeti kashan di fine
ottocento
Parmak: tipo di kilim
Saf: tipo di tappeto da
preghiera

Sileh: tecnica di
tessitura
Sumak
Sabakhi
Verneh: tecnica di
tessitura
Yatak: tipo di tappeto
Zar: unit di misura
superiore al metro
(iraniano)

Zaronim: tappeto da
1,5 1 m di dimensioni
Note
^ I tappeti e il loro
nome - Morandi
Tappeti
Voci
correlate[modifica | mod
ifica wikitesto]

1.

Tappetologia (scienza
che studia i tappeti
orientali annodati)
Serabend (tipo di
tappeto persiano)
Arazzo
Pezzotto (tappeto
valtellinese)
Tappeto di Pazyryk
Farahan (tappeto) (tipo
di tappeto persiano)

Giushegan (tipo di
tappeto persiano)
Kerman (tappeto) (tipo
di tappeto persiano)
Nain (tipo di tappeto
persiano)
Aubusson (decoro)
Botteh (decoro)
Donbakli (decoro)
Farangh o voi (decoro)
Mastufi (decoro)

Mina khani (decoro)

Tappeto di guerra
Tappeto da preghiera
Tappeto rosso
Tappeto volante
Tapetum lucidum
Tappeto in Tesauro del
Nuovo
Soggettario, BNCF,
marzo 2013.

Persian rugs
The Rothschild Small
Silk Medallion Carpet,
mid-16th
century, Museum of
Islamic Art,
Doha (enlarge image to
see detail)
Persian arts

Visual arts
Painting
Miniature
Calligraphy
Decorative arts
Jewelry
Metalworks
Embroidery
Motifs
Tileworks
Handicrafts
Pottery

Literature
Literature
Mythology
Folklore
Philosophy
Performance arts
Dance
Music
Cinema
Theatre
Other
Architecture

Cuisine
Carpets
Gardens
V
T
E

The Persian
carpet or Persian
rug (Middle
[1]
Persian: bb, Persian:
farsh, meaning "to
spread";

[2]

sometimes ql) is
an essential part
of Persian art and
culture. Carpet-weaving
is undoubtedly one of
the most distinguished
manifestations
of Persian
culture and art, and dates
back to ancient Persia.
In 2008, Irans exports
of hand-woven carpets

was $420 million or

30% of the world's
[3][4]
market.
There is an
estimated population of
1.2 million weavers in
Iran producing carpets
for domestic markets
and international export.
[5]
Iran exports carpets to
more than 100 countries,
as hand-woven rugs are
one of its main non-oil

export items. The

country produces about
five million square
metres of carpets
annually80 percent of
which are sold in
international markets.
[6]
In recent times Iranian
carpets have come under
fierce competition from
other countries
producing reproductions

of the original Iranian

designs as well as
[6]
cheaper substitutes.
The designs of Persian
carpets are copied by
weavers from other
countries as well. Iran is
also the world's largest
producer and exporter of
handmade carpets,
producing three quarters

of the world's total

[7][8][9]
output.
Though in
recent times, this ancient
tradition has come under
stiff competition from
machine-made products.
[10]
Iran is also the maker
of the largest handmade
carpet in history,
measuring 60,546 square
feet (5,624.9 square
[11][12][13]
metres).

Persian carpets can be

divided into three
groups; Farsh / Qli (si
zed anything greater
than 64
feet),Qlicheh (,
meaning "small rug",
sized 64 feet and
smaller),
and nomadic carpets
known as Gelim(;

including Zilu,
meaning "rough
[2]
carpet"). In this use,
Gelim includes both pile
rugs and flat weaves
(such
as kilim and soumak).

History

The art of carpet

weaving existed
in Persia (or
Iran) in ancient
times, according
to evidence such
as the 2500year-old

Pazyryk carpet,
dating back to
500 B.C.,
during
the Achaemenid
period.
.......

The first
documented
evidence on the
existence of

Persian carpets
comes from
Chinese texts
dating back to
the Sassanid
period (224641
AD).
.......

This art
underwent many
changes in
various eras of

the Persian
history to an
extent that it
passed an
upward trend
before the
Islamic era until
the Mongol

invasion of
Persia. After the
invasion, the art
began to grow
again during the
Timurid and
Ilkhanid
[1]
dynasties.

.......

With the
passage of time,
the materials
used in carpets,
including wool,

silk and cotton,

will decay.
Therefore archa
eologists are
rarely able to
make any
particularly
useful

discoveries
during
archaeological
excavations.
.......

What has
remained from
early times as
evidence of
carpet-weaving
is nothing more
than a few

pieces of wornout carpets.

Such fragments
do not help very
much in
recognizing the
carpet-weaving
characteristics

of preSeljuk period
(13th and 14th
centuries AD)
in Persia.
.....

Early history

The Pazyryk
Carpet, the
oldest known
surviving
carpet in the
world, 5th
century BC.

The
exceptional Paz
yryk carpet was
discovered in
1949 in an
archaeological
excavation in
1949 in the

Pazyryk Valley,
in theAltai
Mountains in Si
beria. The
carpet was
found in the
grave of

a Scythian princ
e.
.....
Radiocarbon
testing indicated
that the Pazyryk
carpet was

woven in the
5th century BC.
[14]
This carpet is
283 by 200 cm
(approximately
9.3 by 6.5 ft)
and has 36
symmetrical

knots per cm
(232 per inch).
[15]
The
advanced
technique used
in the Pazyryk
carpet indicates
a long history of

evolution and
experience in
weaving. It is
considered the
oldest known
carpet in the
[16]
world. Its
central field is a

deep red color

and it has two
wide borders,
one depicting
deer and the
other horsemen.
The Pazyryk
carpet was

thought, by its
discoverer Serge
i Rudenko, to be
a product of
the Achaemenid
[17][18]
s.
.....

Currently,
whether it is a
nomadic
product with
Achaemenid
influence, or a
product of the

Achaemenids
remains the
subject of
[19][20]
debate.
.......

Medieval
Period

From the yarn

fiber to the
colors, every
part of the
Persian carpet
is traditionally
handmade from
natural

ingredients
over the course
of many
months.

Persian carpet
at The Louvre
In the 8th
century
A.D. Azarbaijan
Province was
among the
largest centers

of carpet and
rough carpet
(ziloo) weaving
in Persia (Iran).
The Province
of Tabarestan,
besides paying
taxes, sent 600

carpets to the
courts of caliphs
inBaghdad ever
y year. At that
time, the main
items exported
from that region
were carpets,

and small
carpets for
saying prayers (
also known as
prayer mats).
........

Furthermore,
the carpets
of Khorassan, Si
stan and Bukhar
a, because of
their prominent
designs and

motifs, were in
high demand
among
[1]
purchasers. Du
ring that era
dyeing centers
were set up next
to carpet

weaving looms.
The industry
began to thrive
until the attack
on Iran by the
[1]
Mongol army.
....

During the
reigns of
the Seljuq
and Ilkhanate dy
nasties, carpet
weaving was
still a booming
business, and a

mosque built by
Ghazan Khan
in Tabriz, in
northwestern
Persia, was
covered with
superb Persian
carpets. Sheep

were specially
bred to produce
fine wool for
weaving
carpets.
.....

Carpet designs
depicted by
miniature
paintings
belonging to the
Timurid era lend
proof to the
development of

this industry at
that time. There
is also another
miniature
painting of that
time available
which depicts

the process of
carpet weaving.
......

Oriental carpets
in Renaissance

painting from
Europe are often
given detailed
depictions that
help fill in gaps
in the record of
actual surviving
carpets.

The designs
share a common
style with
Persian
decoration in
other media,
such as tilework
and non-

figurative pages
in manuscripts
with Persian
miniatures.
......

It is thought that
the designs for
carpets made for
the court were
made by the
court artists and
sent to the
weavers, and the

court
commissions
led the
development of
style the used in
other works.
The most
famous Persian

carpet from this

period is a
large Safavid (1
5011736)
example known
as the Ardabil
Carpet, in
the Victoria and

Albert
Museum in
London, which
in fact is now a
combination of
two original
carpets, with
another piece

from the second

in Los Angeles.
[21]

....

This has been

the subject of
endless copies
ranging in size
from small to
full scale. There
is an 'Ardabil'
at 10 Downing

Streetand
even Hitler had
an 'Ardabil' in
his office
[22][23]
in Berlin.
.......

The carpets
were woven in
1539-40
according to the
dated
inscriptions.
The foundation

is of silk and the

pile of wool
with a knot
density of 300350 knots per
square inch
( 465-542
thousand knots

per square
meters). The
original size of
both carpets
1
1
was 34 2 by17
2 feet (10.5 by
[24]
5.3 metres).
............

Los Angeles
County
Museum of
Art See

also Victoria &

Albert Museum
There is much
variety among
classical Persian
carpets of the
16th and 17th
century. There

are numerous
sub-regions that
contribute
distinctive
designs to
Persian carpets
of this period
such

as Tabriz and La
var Kerman.
......

Common motifs
include scrolling
vine

networks, arabe
sques, palmettes
, cloud bands,
medallions, and
overlapping
geometric
compartments
rather than

animals and
humans.
.......

Figural designs
are particularly
popular in the

Iranian market
and are not
nearly as
common in
carpets exported
to the west.
..........
Modern period

Detail of
modern carpet
Although carpet
production is
now mostly
mechanized,
traditional hand

woven carpets
are still widely
found all around
the world, and
usually have
higher prices
than their
machine woven

counterparts due
to them being an
artistic
presentation.
..........
Iran exported
$517 million

worth of hand
woven carpets
in 2002. Iran's
carpet exports
amounted to
US$635 million
in 2005 ,
according to the

figures from the

state-owned Iran
Carpet
Company. Most
are top-notch
hand-woven
products. In
October 2007,

National Iranian
Carpet Center
revealed that
hand-woven
carpets have
ranked first in
country's nonoil exports and

hold the third

position among
overall exports.
.........

Nearly five
million workers
are engaged in
the Iranian
carpet industry,
making it one of
the biggest

enterprises in
the country.
In recent times
Iranian carpets
have come
under fierce
competition
from other

countries
producing fakes
of the original
Persian designs
as well as
genuine cheaper
substitutes.
......

Most of the
problems facing
this traditional
art is due to
absence of

patenting and
branding the
products as well
as reduced
quality of raw
materials in the
local market and
the consistent

loss of original
design patterns.
The absence of
modern R&D is
causing rapid
decline in the
size as well as

market value of
[25]
this art.
To give one
example, the
"Carpet of
Wonder" in
the Sultan
Qaboos Grand

Mosque in Mus
cat in
the Sultanate of
Oman measures
4,343 square
metres. Its
construction
required four

years of labour
by 600 workers,
resulting in 12
million man
hours of work.
[26]
......

Materials

So-called
Salting carpet,
wool, silk and
metal thread.
about 1600.
Wool is the
most common
material for

carpets but
cotton is
frequently used
for the
foundation of
city and
workshop
carpets. There

are a wide
variety in types
of wool used for
weaving. Those
of which
include Kork
wool,
Manchester

wool, and in
some cases even
camel hair
wool.

Silk carpets date

back to at least

the sixteenth
century
in Sabzevar and
the seventeenth
century
in Kashan and
Yazd. Silk
carpets are less

common than
wool carpets
since silk is
more expensive
and less
durable; they
tend to increase
in value with

age. Due to their

rarity, value and
lack of
durability, silk
carpets are often
displayed on the
wall
liketapestries rat

her than being

used as floor
coverings.

Designs,
motifs, and
patterns

Elements of
the Persian
carpet.
Persian rugs are
made up of a
layout and a
design which in
general included

one or a number
of motifs. The
Iran Carpet
Company, a
specialist in the
subject, has
attempted to
classify Persian

carpet designs
and has carried
out studies of
thousands of
rugs.
......

Their results
show that there
have been slight
alterations and
improvements
to almost all
original designs.

In its
classification
the company
has called the
original designs
as the 'main
pattern' and the
derivatives as

the 'sub
patterns'. They
have identified
19 groups,
including:
historic
monuments and
Islamic

buildings, Shah
Abbassi
patterns, spiral
patterns, allover patterns,
derivative
patterns,
interconnected

patterns, paisley
patterns, tree
patterns,
Turkoman
patterns,
hunting ground
patterns, panel
patterns,

European flower
patterns, vase
patterns,
intertwined fish
patterns,
Mehrab
patterns, striped
patterns,

geometric
patterns, tribal
patterns, and
composites.

Design

Design can be
described in
terms of the
manner in
which it
organizes the
field of the rug.
One basic

design may
serve the entire
field, or the
surface may be
covered by a
pattern of
repeating
figures. In areas

using longestablished local

designs, the
weaver often
works from
memory, with
the patterns
passed on

within the
family.
.....

This is usually
sufficient for
simple

rectilinear
design. For the
more elaborate
curvilinear
designs, the
patterns are
carefully drawn
to scale in the

proper colours
on graph paper.
.....

Each square
thus becomes a
knot, which

allows for an
accurate
rendition of
even the most
complex design.
Designs have
changed little
through

centuries of
weaving. Today
computers are
used in the
production of
scale drawings
for the weavers.
[27]

Layout
Persian rugs are
typically
designed using

one of four
patterns:
all-over, b)
central
medallion,
c) compartment
and (d) onesided.
a)

Some abstract
asymmetrical
design can be
found but most
of these can be
described as
one-sided or
unidirectional.

Motifs
There are a
number of
patterns which
are found in
Persian and

Oriental rugs
called 'motifs',
these designs
have different
meanings and
tend to be used
depending on
the area the rug

was woven
although it is
not unusual to
find more than
one motif in a
single rug.

Some of the
more common
motifs are:
Boteh
Gul
Herati
Mina-Khani
Rosette

Shah Abbasi
Azari
Kharchang
Islimi Floral

Techniques and
structures
Long weaving
process
The weaving of
pile rugs is a
difficult and
tedious process

which,
depending on
the quality and
size of the rug,
may take
anywhere from
a few months to

several years to
complete.
To begin
making a rug,
one needs a
foundation
consisting of
warps: strong,

thick threads of
cotton, wool or
silk which run
the length of the
rug and wefts
similar threads
which pass
under and over

the warps from

one side to the
other.

The warps on
either side of the
rug are normally

combined into
one or more
cables of
varying
thickness that
are overcast to
form the
selvedge.

Weaving
normally begins
by passing a
number of wefts
through the
bottom warp to
form a base to
start from.

Loosely piled
knots of dyed
wool or silk are
then tied around
consecutive sets

of adjacent
warps to create
the intricate
patterns in the
rug. As more
rows are tied to
the foundation,
these knots

become the pile

of the rug.
Between each
row of knots,
one or more
shots of weft are
passed to tightly
pack down and

secure the rows.

Depending on
the fineness of
the weave, the
quality of the

materials and
the expertise of
the weavers, the
knot count of a
handmade rug
can vary
anywhere from

16 to 800 knots
per square inch.

When the rug is

completed, the
warp ends form
the fringes that

may be weftfaced, braided,

tasseled, or
secured in some
other manner.
Looms

Looms do not
vary greatly in
essential details,
but they do vary
in size and
sophistication.
The main
technical

requirement of
the loom is to
provide the
correct tension
and the means
of dividing the
warps into
alternate sets of

leaves. A
shedding device
allows the
weaver to pass
wefts through
crossed and
uncrossed
warps, instead

of laboriously
threading the
weft in and out
of the warps.
Horizontal
looms

The simplest
form of loom is
a horizontal;
one that can be
staked to the
ground or
supported by
sidepieces on

the ground. The

necessary
tension can be
obtained
through the use
of wedges.

This style of
loom is ideal for
nomadic people
as it can be
assembled or
dismantled and
is easily
transportable.

Rugs produced
on horizontal
looms are
generally fairly
small and the
weave quality is
inferior to those
rugs made on a

professional
standing loom.

Vertical looms
Vertical looms
are undoubtedly
more

comfortable to
operate. These
are found more
in city weavers
and sedentary
peoples because
they are hard to
dismantle and

transport. There
is no limit to the
length of the
carpet that can
be woven on a
vertical loom
and there is no

restriction to its
width.
There are three
broad groups of
vertical looms,
all of which can
be modified in a

number of
ways: the fixed
village loom,
the Tabriz or
Bunyan loom,
and the roller
beam loom.

The fixed
village loom is
used mainly
in Iran and
consists of a
fixed upper
beam and a
moveable lower

or cloth beam
which slots into
two sidepieces.

The correct
tension is
created by

driving wedges
into the slots.
The weavers
work on an
adjustable plank
which is raised
as the work
progresses.

The Tabriz
loom, named
after the city
of Tabriz, is
used in North
Western Iran.

The warps are

continuous and
pass around
behind the
loom. Tension is
obtained with
wedges.

The weavers sit

on a fixed seat
and when a
portion of the
carpet has been
completed, the
tension is

released and the

carpet is pulled
down and rolled
around the back
of the loom.
This process
continues until
the rug is

completed,
when the warps
are severed and
the carpet is
taken off the
loom.

The roller beam

loom is a
traditional
Turkish village
loom, but is also
found in Persia
and India. It

consists of two
movable beams
to which the
warps are
attached. Both
beams are fitted
with ratchets or
similar locking

devices and
completed work
is rolled on to
the lower beam.
It is possible to
weave very long
rugs by these
means, and in

some areas of
Turkey rugs are
woven in series.

Tools
In order to
operate the

loom, the
weaver needs a
number of
essential tools: a
knife for cutting
the yarn as the
knots are tied; a
comb-like

instrument for
packing down
the wefts; and a
pair of shears
for trimming the
pile. In Tabriz
the knife is
combined with a

hook to tie the

knots which lets
the weavers
produce very
fine rugs, as
their fingers
alone are too

thick to do the
job.

Some
traditional tools
of the craft.
A small steel
comb is
sometimes used
to comb out the

yarn after each

row of knots is
completed. This
both tightens the
weave and
clarifies the
design.

A variety of
instruments are
used for packing
the weft. Some
weaving areas
in Iran known
for producing
very fine pieces

use additional
tools.

In Kerman, a
saber like
instrument is

used
horizontally
inside the shed,
and in Bijar a
heavy nail-like
tool is used.
Bijar is also
famous for their

wet loom
technique,
which consists
of wetting the
warp, weft, and
yarn with water
throughout the
weaving process

to make the
elements thinner
and finer.

This allows for

tighter weaving.

When the rug is

complete and
dried, the wool
and cotton
expand to make
the rug
incredibly dense
and strong.

A number of
different tools
may be used to
shear the wool
depending on
how the rug is

trimmed as the
rug progresses
or when it is
complete. Often
in Chinese rugs
the yarn is
trimmed after
completion and

the trimming is
slanted where
the color
changes, giving
an embossed
threedimensional
effect.

Knots
Two basic knots
are used in
most Persian
Carpets and Ori
ental rugs: the

symmetrical
Turkish or
Ghiordes knot
(used in Turkey,
the Caucasus,
East
Turkmenistan,
and some

Turkish and
Kurdish areas of
Iran), and the
asymmetrical
Persian or
Senneh knot
(Iran, India,
Turkey,

Pakistan, China,
and Egypt).
To make a
Turkish knot,
the yarn is
passed between
two adjacent

warps, brought
back under one,
wrapped around
both forming a
collar, then
pulled through
the center so
that both ends

emerge between
the warps.

The Persian
knot is used for
finer rugs. The
yarn is wrapped

around only one

warp, then
passed behind
the adjacent
warp so that it
divides the two
ends of the yarn.

The Persian
knot may open
on the left or the
right, and rugs
woven with this
knot are
generally more

accurate and
symmetrical.

Other knots
include the
Spanish knot
looped around

single alternate
warps so the
ends are brought
out on either
side and the
Jufti knot which
is tied around

four warps
instead.

Flat-woven
carpets
Flat woven
carpets are

given their
colour and
pattern from the
weft which is
tightly
intertwined with
the warp. Rather
than an actual

pile, the
foundation of
these rugs gives
them their
design. The weft
is woven
between the
warp until a new

colour is
needed, it is
then looped
back and
knotted before a
new colour is
implemented.

The most
popular of flatweaves is called
the Kilim. Kilim
rugs (along with
jewellery,
clothing and
animals) are

important for
the identity and
wealth of
nomadic tribespeople. In their
traditional
setting Kilims
are used as floor

and wall
coverings,
horse-saddles,
storage bags,
bedding and
cushion covers.

Various forms
of flat-weaves
exist including:
Herati
Jajim
Gelim (Kilim)
Maleki
Sirjan

Soumak (Sou
makh)
Suzani

Traditional
centers of
carpet

production in
Iran (Persia)

The Kashan
hunting
carpetJaktmatt
an on the wall
of Gustaf V's
apartment
at Stockholm
Palace ca 1950

The major
classical centers
of carpet
production in
Persia were
in Tabriz (1500
1550), Kashan (
15251650), He

rat (1525
1650),
and Kerman (16
001650).

The majority of
carpets from

Tabriz have a
central
medallion and
quartered
corner
medallions
superimposed
over a field of

scrolling vine
ornament,
sometimes
punctuated with
mounted
hunters, single
animals, or
animal combat

scenes. Perhaps
the best-known
of the Tabriz
works are the
twin Ardabil
carpets most
likely made for
the shrine

at Ardabil (toda
y in the
collections of
the Victoria and
Albert
Museum in
London and
the Los Angeles

County
Museum).

Kashan is
known for

its silk carpet

production,
most famously,
for the three silk
hunting carpet
masterpieces
depicting
mounted

hunters and
animal prey
(currently in the
collections of
the Vienna
Museum of
Applied
Arts (MAK),

the Museum of
Fine Arts,
Boston, and
the Stockholm
Palace). The
Kashan carpets
are among the

most valuable in
existence.

The Herat
carpets, or ones

of similar
design created
in Lahore (Pakis
tan)
and Agra (India)
, are the most
numerous in
Western

collections.
They are
characterized
by a red field
with scrolling
vine ornament
and palmettes
with dark

green or blue
borders.

The seven
classes
of Kerman

carpet were
defined by May
Beattie. She
identified their
unique structure
and named it the
"vase
technique."

Carpet types in
this group
include garden
carpets
(ornamented
with formal
gardens and
water

channels) and
the ogival lattice
carpets. A fine
and well-known
example of the
latter was
purchased by
the Victoria and

Albert
Museum under
the guidance
of William
Morris. The
influence of
Persian carpets
is readily

apparent in his
carpet designs.

The Seraband
rug is produced
in Arak.

Anatolian and
Persian carpets

Farsbf (Senne
h)

Turkbf (Ghior
des)
The difference
between
Anatolian
(Turkish) and
Persian carpets

is today largely
one of tradition.
Typically, a
traditional
Persian carpet is
tied with a
single looping
knot (Persian or

Senneh Knot),
while the
traditional
Anatolian carpet
is tied with a
double looping
knot (Turkish

or Ghiordes
Knot).

This means that

for every
'vertical strand'
of thread in a

carpet, an
Anatolian carpet
has two loops as
opposed to the
one loop for the
various Persian
carpets that use

a Persian 'single'
knot.

Ultimately, this
process of
'double knotting'
in traditional

Anatolian
carpets results
in a slightly
more block like
image compared
to the traditional
'single knotted'
Persian carpet.

The traditional
Anatolian style
also reduces the
number

of Knots per sq
cm.
Today, it is
common to see
carpets woven
in both Turkey
and Iran using
either of the two

knot styles.
When
comparing
carpets the only
way to
definitively
identify the knot
used is to splay

open the pile by

bending the rug
against itself
and looking at
the base of the
knot.

Types of
Persian carpets
and rugs

A Carpet from
Varamin
Carpet dealers
have developed
a classification
for Persian
carpets based on
design, type of

fabric, and
weaving
technique.
Abadeh
Afghan/Yomut
(Turkmen)
Ahar
Afshar

Arak
Ardabil
Ardestan
Assadabad rug
Bakhtiari
Balouch
Bijar

Birjand
Borujerd
Chelaberd
Chodor
Dorokhsh
Farahan
Ferdos

Ghayen
Gonabad
Gonbad
Ghaboos
Gorgan
Herat
Heriz (Hariz)

Isfahan
Joshghan
Jozan
Kashan
Kashmar
Kerman
Lilian

Mahan
Mahalat
Maku
Mamasani
Marand
Mashhad
Mazlaghan

Meshkin Shahr
Moshk Abad
Mood
Nain
Nishaboor
Rafsanjan
Ravar

Saraband
Sarab
Saraband
Sarukh
Semnan
Sha Savan
Shahre Kord

Shiraz
Shahr Reza
Qazvin
Qom
Tabriz
Tehran
Torghabeh

Varamin
Yalameh
Yazd
Zanjan
Zabol

Rugs for a
specific purpose
include:
Hunting Scene
Rugs

Most expensive
in the world
The most
expensive carpet
of the world is a
17th-century
Persian carpet
which was sold

in June 2013 in
an London
auction for
[28]
$33.8m.

Literature

Essie
Sakhai:Persian
Rugs And
Carpets - The
Fabric of Life,
Antique
Collectors'
Club Ltd,

Suffolk,
England,
2008 ISBN
978-1-85149507-8
Essie
Sakhai:Orienta
l Carpets - a

buyer's guide,
Parkway
Editions LTD,
London,
England,
1995 ISBN 1898259-15-1

Essie
Sakhai:The
Story of
Carpets,
Random House
UK Ltd,
London,
England,

1991 ISBN 185170727-1

Jenny
Housego: Triba
l Rugs - An
Introduction to
the Weaving of
the Tribes of

Iran, Scorpion
Publications,
London
1978 ISBN
978-0-90590605-8
Ulrich
Schurmann: Or

iental Carpets,
Octopus Books
Limited,
London
1979 ISBN 07064-1017-3
Ian
Bennett: Orient

al Rugs,
Volume One:
Caucasian,
Oriental Textile
Press Ltd,
England,
1981 ISBN 0902028-58-5

Jan David
Winitz: The
Guide to
Purchasing an
Oriental Rug,
The Breema
Rug Study
Society &

Dennis
Anderson
PhotoPublishing,
Oakland,
1984 ISBN 0930021-002

Andrew
Middleton: Rug
s & Carpets:
Techniques,
Traditions &
Designs,
Mitchell
Beazley,

London
1996 ISBN 185732-634-2
Ulrich
Schurmann: Ca
ucasian Rugs,
Washington
International

Associates,
Accokeek,
Maryland,
1974 ISBN 0915036-00-2
James D.
Burns: Visions
of Nature: The

Antique
Weavings of
Persia,
Umbrage
Editions,
Iceland,
2010 ISBN

978-1-88416723-1

Iran
portal

A Turkmen rug
in a household
setting

Quran verses
are written on
handmade
Persian carpet
Afghan carpet
Baharestan
Carpet
Dilmaghani

Flying Carpet
Gabbeh
Gelim (Also K
ilim or Kelim)
Heriz rug
Carpet
Museum of
Iran

Kashan rug
Kashmir rug
Nazmiyal
Collection
Oriental rug
Pakistani rug
Tabriz rug

The
Poot (Persian
Carpet
documentary)
Turkish carpet
War rugs

Essie
Sakhai (Persian
Carpet Expert)

[29]

References
1. ^ Jump up
a b c d
to:
NouriZadeh,

Sh., Persian
Carpet; The
Beautiful
Picture of Art
in History.
2. ^ Jump up
a b
to: Savory,
R., Carpets,

(Encyclopaedi
a Iranica);
accessed
January 30,
2007.
3. Jump
up^ Irandaily.com

4. Jump
up^ FT.com
5. Jump
up^ Presstv.co
m
6. ^ Jump up
a b
to: Presstv.co
m

7. Jump
up^ Kohanjou
rnal.com
8. Jump
up^ FT.com
9. Jump
up^ Erug.com

10. Jump
up^ Tourismir
an.ir
11. Jump
up^ News.nati
onalgeographi
c.com

12. Jump
up^ Payvand.c
om
13. Jump
up^ News.bbc
.co.uk
14. Jump
up^ Haider,

R., Carpet that

Captive
15. Jump
up^ NouriZadeh,
Sh., Turkish
Carpet; The
Beautiful

Picture of Art
in History,
16. Jump
up^ Rubinson,
Karen
S., "Animal
Style" Art &
the Image of

the Horse and

Rider
17. Jump
up^ S.I.
Rudenko, Kul't
ura naseleniia
Gornogo
Altaia v

skifskoe
vremia (Mosco
w and
Leningrad,
1953)
18. Jump
up^ Rudenko,
Sergei I.,

Frozen Tombs
of Siberia, The
Pazyryk
Burials of
Iron-Age
Horseman
(University of
California

Press,
Berkeley and
Los Angeles,
California,
1970)
19. Jump
up^ Lerner
J., Some So-

called
Achaemenid
Objects from
Pazyryk,
Source: Notes
in the History
of Art, vol. 10,

no. 4:8-15
(1991).
20. Jump
up^ Harald
Bhmer and
Jon
Thompson, Th
e Pazyryk

Carpet: A
Technical
Discussion,
Source: Notes
in the History
of Art, vol. 10,
no. 4:30-36
(1991).

21. Jump
up^ Hillyer,
L., and Pretzel,
B., The
Ardabil Carpet
- a new
perspective, V
&A

Museum acces
sed January
29, 2007.
22. Jump
up^ Wearden,
J., The
Surprising
Geometry of

the Ardabil
Carpet,
Abstracts from
the Ars
Textrina
Conference,
Leeds 1995.

23. Jump
up^ Hillyer,
L., and Pretzel,
B., The
Ardabil Carpet
- a new
perspective, V
&A Museum;

accessed
January 29,
2007
24. Jump
up^ The
Ardabil
Carpets,
Exhibition at

the Los
Angeles
County
Museum of
Art, Jozan.net;
accessed
January 29,
2007.

25. Jump
up^ BBCPersi
an.com
26. Jump
up^ Persiancar
petguide.com
27. Jump
up^ Oriental

Rugs: A
Complete
Guide, by
Murray L.
Eiland Jr. &
Murray Eiland
III, London
2008, page 66

28. Jump
up^ BBCNew
s.com
29. Jump
up^ name="Ti
mberlake">B.
B. Timberlake
(10 March

2006). "In love

with the fabric
of
life". Financia
l Times.
"Sakhai has
spent a life in
rugs. He

comes from a
family
ofTehran Jews
and has that
bewitching
contentment of
a man lucky
enough to have

made a living
from his
passion. He
has written
numerous
books on rugs
and advises
many

museums and
collectors. His
main store is
on Piccadilly
overlooking St
. James's
Palace."</
Videos

Persian Rugs - Part

I Part II Part
III (PressTV document
ary)
Gallery
Gallery of Persian Rug
..

Persian hali
Acem hals

Vikipedi, zgr
ansiklopedi

ran dm (Senneh)

Trk dm (Grdes)
Acem
hals, ran halsna veril
en addr.
Dm tarzlar da
Trkiye'de dokunan
hallardan
farkldr. Acem
dm veya ran
dm denilen dokuma
tarz Grdes
dmveya Trk

dm eklinde anlan
dokuma tarzndan daha
gevek olup, kalite ve
dayankllk asndan
daha zayftr.
Kategoriler:
Hal
ran'da kltr
Azerbaycan'da kltr
Trkiye'de kltr

Grdes dm, ift

dm ya da kapal
ilme, Manisa'nn Grdes
kazasnda
kullanldndan bu ismi
alan, Trkiye'de hal
dokumalarda kullanlan,
dnya literatrne
de Trk dm olarak
gemi,
bir dm eidi.

Bu dmn iki tr
grlmektedir.
Anadolu'da kullanlan
dm eklinde; iplik,
zg iftinin nce
ndeki sonra arkadaki
teline dolanarak
balanr. Bat
Anadolu'da kullanlan
dmde ayn ilem ters
uygulanmaktadr. Bu
deiiklik halnn

kalitesini
etkilememekte, yalnzca
Bat Anadolu'da
dokunan hallarn hav
kesiminde kolaylk
salamaktadr.
Tekstil ile ilgili
bu madde bir taslaktr.
Madde
ieriini gelitirerek Vi
kipedi'ye katkda
bulunabilirsiniz.

..
Tappeti persiani
Tapis persan
Pour les articles
homonymes, voir Tapis
(homonymie).

Dtail d'un tapis persan

dtenu par le muse du
Louvre Paris.
Le tapis persan est un
lment essentiel et une
des manifestations les
plus distingues de la
culture et de
l'art persans, dont les
origines remontent
l'ge du bronze.

Le luxe auquel est

associ le tapis persan
fournit un contraste
saisissant avec ses
dbuts modestes parmi
les tribus nomades de
Perse. Le tapis tait alors
l'article ncessaire
contre les hivers rudes.
Depuis, il est devenu un
mode d'expression
artistique par la libert

qu'autorise notamment
le choix des couleurs
vives et des motifs
employs. Les secrets de
fabrication sont transmis
de gnration en
gnration.
Les artisans utilisaient
les insectes, les plantes,
les racines, le scorces et
d'autres matires comme
source dinspiration.

partir du XVI sicle,

la fabrication des tapis
s'est dveloppe jusqu'
devenir un art part
entire.
Premiers tapis

Photo du tapis
Pazyryk datant
e
du5 sicle av. J.-C.. Il
fut dcouvert
enSibrie sur le plateau
de l'Oukok, o vivait le
peuple pazyryk.
Avec le temps, les
matriaux utiliss dans
les tapis, dont la laine,
la soie et le coton, se
dgradent. C'est

pourquoi
lesarchologues n'ont
pas pu faire de
dcouvertes
intressantes sur les
traces les plus
anciennes.
Dans une seule fouille
cependant, mene en
1949, un
exceptionnel tapis
Pazyryk a t dcouvert

au milieu des glaces de

la valle Pazyryk, dans
les monts
Alta en Sibrie. Il se
trouvait dans la tombe
d'un prince scythe mise
jour par un groupe
d'archologues russes so
us la supervision
de Sergue Roudenko.
Les tests au carbone
14 ont montr que ce

tapis avait t tiss

e
au V sicle av. J.-C.. Il
mesure 1,83 mtre de
large sur 2 mtres de
long et compte 3 600
nuds symtriques par
dcimtre carr. La
technique avance de
tissage utilise sur ce
tapis indique une
exprience certaine dans
la matrise de cet art. La

plupart des experts

pensent que le tapis
Pazyryk est
l'aboutissement d'une
longue volution de la
technique de fabrication
du tapis d'au moins un
millnaire. D'aprs cette
thorie, l'apparition de la
technique du tissage de
tapis daterait donc d'au
moins 3 500 ans.

Mais tout ce qu'il reste

comme traces du tissage
de tapis aux temps
anciens se limite
quelques pices de tapis
mal conserves. Ces
fragments n'aident pas
reconnatre les
caractristiques des
techniques de tissage de
tapis de la priode pre
e
seldjoukide (XI -XII sic

le) en Perse. Il existe

cependant des mentions
crites de l'existence du
tapis en Asie occidentale
au cours de l'poque
prislamique, mais il est
impossible de savoir s'ils
taient nous ou tisss.
Quelques fragments de
tapis nous sont parvenus
de l'poque sassanide,

dcouverts Shahr-e
Qumis.
Les plus vieilles pices
dcouvertes sont celles
trouves dans l'Est
du Turkestan, datant
e
e
du III au V sicle de
l're chrtienne, ainsi
que quelques tissages
la main
des Seldjoukides d'Asie
mineure qui sont

exposs dans la mosque

Ala'edin Konya et dans
la mosque Ashrafoghlu
Beyshehir, en Turquie.
Ces pices ont attir
l'attention des
chercheurs au dbut du
sicle dernier et sont
maintenant conserves
au Muse des arts turcs
et islamiques

 Istanbul et au muse
Molana Konya.
Arrive en Europe
D'aprs Kurt Erdmann,
les tapis d'Orient n'ont
pas t imports
en Europe avant
e
1
le XIII sicle . En effet,
des tapis prsums
d'origine persane
apparaissent sur les

tableaux
de Giotto (1266-1337),
qui semble tre le
premier les
reprsenter, puis sur des
uvres de Van Eyck (v.
1390 1441), Mantegna (14351506), Van Dyck (15991641) et Rubens (15771640). Ces tapis achets
par les Europens taient

de trop grande valeur

pour tre poss sur le
sol, telle que le voulait
la pratique en Orient.
Les termes utiliss dans
les
inventaires vnitiens ind
iquent qu'ils taient
placs sur des tables
(tapedi da desco, tapedi
da tavola) et des coffres
servant de siges (tapedi

da cassa) ; les peintures

europennes confirment
2
ces usages (cf.
le Portrait d'un
snateur de L. Bassano).
Naissance de
l'industrie du tapis en
Perse

Un tapis persan
De nombreux tapis
(entre 1 500 et 2 000)
ont t conservs depuis
la priode safavide, mais
la datation et
l'tablissement de la
provenance de ces tapis
restent trs difficiles. Il
en subsiste aussi de
l're Qajar et Pahlavi en

nombre encore plus

grand.

Les inscriptions (cf. cidessous) sont une

indication prcieuse
pour dterminer les
artisans, les lieux de
fabrication, les
commanditaires, etc. De

plus, une fois qu'un tapis

a t fabriqu et est rest
dans un endroit prcis, il
permet d'identifier les
autres pices qui lui sont
relatives.
Il est gnralement
accept parmi les
spcialistes que ce sont
les Safavides qui ont
fait passer le tapis
d'une production

artisanale assure par

des tribus nomades au
statut d' industrie
nationale dont les
produits taient
exports en Inde, dans
l'Empire ottoman et
3
en Europe .

L'exportation du tapis a
t florissante la
priode safavidevers
l'Europe (parfois via la
colonie portugaise
4
de Goa ) et vers
l'empire Moghol, o les
tapis persans ont stimul
la production locale.
Quelques
tapis safavides ont aussi
t transports par

la Compagnie
hollandaise des Indes
orientales vers Batavia,
Ceylan,
la Malaisie, Cochin ainsi
que vers
la Hollande mme.

Des commandes
europennes taient

passes en Perse pour le

tissage de tapis
spciaux : par exemple,
le groupe des tapis
polonais a sans dout
t nou Ispahan, mais
certains portent les
armes de Pologne.
Sur la base de rcits de
voyageurs et d'autres
5
sources textuelles , il
apparat que des ateliers

de tapis royaux
existaient
Ispahan, Kashan et Ker
man. Ces ateliers
produisaient des tapis
pour les palais et
mosques du Shah, mais
aussi pour tre offerts
aux monarques voisins
ou aux dignitaires
trangers, ou encore
raliser des pices sur

commande de la
noblesse ou d'autres
citoyens. Le
commanditaire versait
alors du capital sous
forme de matires
premires et versait un
salaire aux artisans
pendant la dure du
nouage.

Le dveloppement
rapide de l'industrie du
tapis en Perse
l'poque safavide semble
tre d au got des
souverains pour cet
artisanat. Ismal
er
I puis Shah
Tahmasp et Shah Abbas
le Grand sont connus
pour avoir t

personnellement
intresss par la
production des tapis. On
a mme suppos que les
deux derniers souverains
cits se sont
personnellement investis
dans la production de
tapis, notamment par le
6
dessin des motifs . Au
cours de leur rgne, les
productions de tapis

persan ont t les plus

importantes de toute
l'poque safavide.

Bien que
les Safavides aient
transform la fabrication
du tapis en production
nationale, les tribus

nomades et les petits

ateliers urbains
continurent produire
des tapis persans, et ce
mme aprs l'invasion
afghane de 1722, qui mit
fin au rgne de la
dynastie donc leur
mcnat en faveur de la
production de tapis. Il
est cependant prouv
que Ndir

Chh et Karim
Khn Zand ont fait
raliser des tapis dans le
sud de la Perse, renouant
ainsi avec le mcnat
royal. C'est
vritablement avec
l'tablissement de la
dynastie qajare (1797)
que la production du
tapis fleurit nouveau,

encourage surtout par

la demande locale.

L'exportation restait peu

rpandue jusqu' ce
qu'une conjonction de
facteurs fasse exploser
les exportations. En
effet, au dbut de la

deuxime moiti
e
duXIX sicle,
la pbrine atteint la
Perse et fait fortement
chuter la production de
soie, jusqu'alors une
exportation majeure du
pays. Paralllement, une
forte demande
europenne de tapis
d'Orient suite
l'exposition

de Vienne en 1873, ainsi

que l'mergence d'une
classe moyenne
importante en GrandeBretagneouvre un
march important
la Perse, qui cherchait
un produit de
substitution la soie
pour l'exportation.
partir de la fin des
annes 1870, la Perse

commence exporter
massivement en GrandeBretagne (deux
compagnies anglaise,
Messrs. Ziegler & Co. et
Hotz & Co. fondent des
manufactures en Iran),
en France (un acheteur
des Grands Magasins du
Louvre se fournit
annuellement) et
aux tats-Unis.

Malheureusement, la fin
de la priode Qajar est
marque par un
paradoxe. D'un ct, des
tapis de soie somptueux,
galant ceux
e
du XVII sicle sont
produits. De l'autre ct,
la qualit gnrale des

tapis se dtriore aprs

l'introduction des
colorants de synthse
en Perse, pourtant
interdits par le
gouvernement en 1877.

Production
contemporaine

Vente de tapis au
grand bazar deThran,
2008.
Les deux guerres
mondiales reprsentent
une priode de dclin
pour le tapis persan. La
production repart
aprs 1948, et aboutit
des tapis somptueux
grce au mcnat
des Pahlavi. En 1949, le

gouvernement iranien
organise une confrence
Thran pour remdier
aux problmes de baisse
de qualit des tapis,
constats depuis plus de
soixante ans (utilisation
d'aniline et de colorants
au chrome, baisse de
qualit des dessins,
usage du nud jofti).
l'occasion de cette

confrence, une srie de

mesures est prise par le
gouvernement qui
aboutit un renouveau
du tapis persan.

La production de tapis
persan diminue
fortement aprs
la rvolution

islamique car le nouveau

rgime considre les
tapis comme un trsor
national et refuse de
les exporter en Occident.
Cette politique est
abandonne en 1984
tant donne
l'importance des tapis
comme source de
revenus. Les
exportations connaissent

un nouvel essor la fin

des annes 1980 et de
la guerre Iran-Irak. Elles
font plus que tripler en
valeur (de 35 millions
US$ 110 millions
US$) et doubler en poids
(de 1154 tonnes 2845
tonnes) entre mars et
aot 1986 ce qui
contribue a une baisse

mondiale du prix des

tapis.

Aujourd'hui, les
techniques de tissage
traditionnelles sont
toujours bien vivantes,
mme si l'essentiel de la
production de tapis est

devenue mcanise. Ces

tapis traditionnels tisss
la main s'achtent dans
le monde entier et sont
gnralement beaucoup
plus onreux que ceux
raliss la machine. On
peut admirer de
nombreuses pices trs
fines de tapis persans
au muse du tapis d'Iran,
Thran.

Fabrication
Le mtier et les outils

Femmes tissant un tapis

sur un mtier vertical
(vers 1890). Photo
d'Antoin Sevruguin

Outils utiliss dans la

fabrication des tapis.
De haut en bas :
ciseaux, couteaux,
peigne et aiguille.
Il existe quatre sortes de
mtiers : le mtier
horizontal, le mtier
vertical fixe, le mtier
vertical de type Tabriz et
le mtier vertical
ensouples rotatives.

Le mtier
horizontal est le plus
primitif des quatre. Il
n'est plus employ
aujourd'hui que par des
nomades. Il consiste
simplement en deux
barres de bois entre
lesquelles sont tendues
les fils de laine dans le

sens de la longueur.
Durant le travail, les fils
de chane sont
maintenus tendus grce
deux pieux lis aux
extrmits de chaque
barre et plants dans le
sol. Ce mtier est
facilement transportable
lorsque la tribu se
dplace.

Le mtier vertical fixe,

employ presque
uniquement dans les
centres de production de
moindre importance, est
aussi un modle
rustique. Il consiste en
un cadre vertical dont
les montants supportent
les extrmits de deux

barres rondes et
parallles
appeles ensouples.
Entre ces deux
ensouples sont fixs les
fils de chane. Le tissage
commence toujours par
le bas. Pendant le
travail, l'ouvrier est assis
sur une planche qui
repose sur les barreaux
de deux chelles fixes

aux montants verticaux

du mtier. Au fur et
mesure que le nouage
progresse, la planche
servant de sige doit
s'lever en mme temps
que le tapis. Ce type de
mtier est utilis pour
des tapis dont la
longueur ne dpassera
pas celle du mtier lui-

mme, c'est--dire trois

mtres.

Le mtier dit de
Tabriz reprsente une
amlioration du mtier
vertical. Il a t invent
par les artisans de cette
ville. Il est utilis un peu
partout dans les grands

centres de production en
Iran. Dans ce type de
mtier, les fils de chane
se droulent de
l'ensouple suprieure
la bobine infrieure,
sous laquelle ils passent
avant de revenir vers
l'ensouple suprieure. Ce
systme offre l'avantage
de pouvoir nouer des
pices de longueur gale

 deux fois la hauteur du

mtier.

Le dernier type de
mtier, ensouples
rotatives, reprsente la
version la plus volue
du mtier vertical. Tout
le fil de chane
ncessaire au nouage du
tapis est enroul sur

l'ensouple suprieure,
tandis que sur la bobine
infrieure s'enroule le
tapis au fur et mesure
du travail. Ce mtier
permet donc de
confectionner des pices
de n'importe quelle
longueur.

Les outils utiliss dans

le travail du tapis sont
peu nombreux et trs
simples. Le couteau sert
couper les brins du
nud; entirement en
mtal, il est parfois
pourvu d'un crochet qui
sert nouer (surtout
Tabriz). Le peigne est
fait de plusieurs lames
de mtal dont les pointes

s'cartent pour former

les dents. Il sert tasser
le ou les fils de trame
contre la range de
nuds. Les ciseaux,
plats et larges, sont
utiliss pour raser le
velours du tapis.

Les matires premires

Femmes qashqais en
train de laver de la
laine.
Les matriaux
ncessaires la
fabrication d'un tapis
persan sont la laine, la
soie et le coton. La laine
et la soie sont surtout
utilises pour le velours
du tapis, plus rarement
pour la chane et la

trame qui sont

gnralement en coton.
La laine de mouton est
la plus utilise, plus
particulirement celle
fibre longue (prleve
sur les paules et les
flancs de l'animal). La
laine d'agneau est aussi
trs recherche. On
appelle la laine de bonne
qualit kurk et celle la

plus mdiocre est

nomme tabachi. Les
laines les plus rputes
viennent du Khorasan ou
des tribus lors et kurdes.

Le coton est utilis

exclusivement pour la
chane et la trame. Dans
certains types de tapis,
comme ceux de Qom ou

deNa'in, on mlange au
velours de laine un fil de
soie.

Dans les tapis trs

prcieux, le velours est
de soie. Pour certains
tapis anciens, des fils
d'argent, d'or, ou de soie
entours d'un fil de
mtal prcieux taient

aussi employs.
Actuellement, la chane
et la trame sont toujours
en coton (sauf pour
certains tapis nomades
entirement en laine),
car celui-ci est plus
solide et rsistant et il
permet une meilleure
tenue du tapis.

Les colorants

cheveaux de laine.

Restauration dun tapis

ancien.
La palette trs varie des
tapis persans est en
grande partie
responsable de leur
renom.
La laine teindre est
d'abord dpose dans un
bain concentr d'alun qui
fait office de
mordant . Puis elle

est mise en teinture dans

un bain colorant, et enfin
mise scher au soleil.
Avant l'apparition des
colorants synthtiques
(dcouverte de
l'aniline en 1856 et
apparition des colorants
en Perse la fin
e
du XIX sicle, les
teinturiers utilisaient
uniquement des

colorants naturels,
provenant de substances
vgtales. Parmi les
colorants employs :

Le rouge donn par la

racine de garance,
poussant l'tat
sauvage dans une
grande partie de l'Iran.

Les feuilles de
l'indigo donnaient
du bleu, qui pouvait
tre trs fonc, presque
noir.

Les feuilles
de vigne donnaient
les jaunes, qui taient
aussi obtenus l'aide
du safran (couleur plus

dlicate), cultiv dans

le Khorasan.

Le vert est obtenu en

mlangeant du bleu et
du jaune avec
du sulfate de cuivre.

Les couleurs naturelles

de la laine fournissent
les gris et le marron,

qu'on peut aussi obtenir

avec du brou de noix.

On emploie la laine
naturelle de mouton ou
le poil de chameau noir
pour la couleur noire,
pour laquelle l'oxyde de
fer contenu dans la noix
de galle est aussi
utilis.

Aujourd'hui, la plupart
des teinturiers utilisent
des colorants
synthtiques (sauf parmi
les nomades, qui
utilisent encore les
couleurs naturelles), un
grand nombre d'entre
eux tant des colorants
au chrome, qui prsente
des avantages par
rapport l'aniline et a

permis de baisser les

cots.
Sur certains tapis, et
certains endroits ou sur
le fond, il est possible
que la teinte change.
Cette modification de
couleur s'appelle abrash.
C'est la preuve que le
tapis a t teint avec des
colorants vgtaux.

La chane et la trame

Photo du recto et du
verso d'un tapis persan.
On peut apercevoir le
fils de trame blanc entre
les nuds.
La chane est l'ensemble
des fils verticaux tendus
entre les deux extrmits
du mtier. Les franges
des tapis sont les
extrmits des fils de
chane.

La trame est forme d'un

ou plusieurs fils
transversaux
(gnralement deux, l'un
lche et l'autre tendu),
disposs entre deux
ranges de nuds. La
trame sert resserrer les
nuds en ranges
parallles et assure la
solidit du tapis. La
trame est tasse au

moyen d'un peigne

spcial (voir photo plus
haut).
Les nuds

Turkbf

Farsbf
Il existe deux types de
nud : le ghiordes
ou turkbf et le senneh,
ou farsbf. Le turkbf
est utilis
essentiellement
en Turquie et dans
le Caucase. Le farsbf
(fars signifiant
persan) est surtout
utilis en Perse.

Dans le turkbf, le brin

de laine est enroul
autour de deux fils de
chane de faon former
un tour complet autour
de chacun des deux fils
de chanes. Les
extrmits du brin
ressortent entre les deux

fils (voir dessin cicontre).

Dans le farsbf, le brin
de laine ne forme un
tour complet qu'autour
d'un des deux fils de
chane. Certains artisans,
voulant gagner du temps
(mais la qualit du tapis
s'en trouve diminue)
nouent les brins de laine
sur deux fils de chane.

Les nuds sont alors

appels turkbf
jofti ou farsbf jofti.

L'artisan commence
toujours par tisser une
lisire en bas du tapis.
Une lisire est une
bande serre faite de
plusieurs fils de trame

qui empchera le tapis

de s'effilocher ou de voir
les nuds se relcher. La
lisre termine, le
nouage peut commencer.
Chaque brin de laine est
nou sur deux fils de
chane contigus. Ce sont
ces brins de laine qui
formeront le velours
du tapis. Lorsqu'un rang
est termin, l'artisan fait

passer un fil de trame,

tantt devant, tantt
derrire chaque fil de
chane.

Aprs chaque nud,

l'artisan coupe le brin de
laine a environ sept
centimtres du nud et
il le tire vers le bas ;

c'est ce qui dterminera

le sens du tapis. En
effet, une des
caractristiques du tapis
persan est qu'il apparat
totalement diffrent
selon l'angle de vue et
l'incidence de la lumire.
Toutes les quatre ou six
ranges, l'artisan
effectue un premier
rasage du velours. C'est

seulement la fin du
nouage du tapis que la
tranche de velours est
galise. Si le tapis est
trs fin, il sera galis
trs ras. Au contraire, il
sera plus haut pour un
tapis dont la qualit du
nouage est plus basse.

C'est la qualit du
nouage qui fait la qualit
et le prix d'un tapis
persan. Un tapis de
qualit moyenne compte
2 500 nuds au
dcimtre carr, un tapis
de basse qualit 500
nuds au dcimtre
carr seulement. Un
tapis d'excellente qualit
peut compter jusqu'

10 000 nuds au
dcimtre carr.

Les formats
Ghali (littralement
tapis ) : dsigne les
tapis de grande
dimension, de plus de
190x280 cm.

Dozar ou Sedjadeh :
employs
indiffremment. Le
nom vient de do,
deux et zar, une
mesure persane
correspondant 105 cm
environ. Ces tapis
mesurent
approximativement
130-140 centimtres de
largeur pour 200-210

centimtres de
longueur.
Ghalitcheh : Tapis de
mme format que les
prcdents mais de
qualit trs fine.
Kelleghi ou Kelley :
tapis de format allong,
mesurant environ 150200x300-600 cm. Ce
tapis est
traditionnellement

rserv tre dispos

en tte (kallehsignifie
tte en persan) d'un
tapis (ghali).
Kenareh : format
allong aussi mais plus
petits; 80-120cmx250600 cm. Il est
traditionnellement
positionn sur les cts
(kenr signifie ct

en persan) d'un tapis

plus grand.
Zaronim :
correspondant
un zar et demi. Ces
tapis mesurent donc
environ 150 cm de
long.

Diffrence entre tapis

anatolien et tapis
persan

La diffrence entre les

tapis anatoliens (turcs) et
persans est largement
une question de
fabrication et de
tradition dans l'emploi
des motifs.
Typiquement, un tapis
persan traditionnel est
nou avec un nud
asymtrique (nud

persan ou senneh), alors

que le tapis anatolien
traditionnel est nou
avec un double nud
symtrique (nud turc
ou ghiordes).
Finalement, ce procd
de nud symtrique
utilis dans le tapis
traditionnel
anatolien/turc donne une
impression que l'image

est plus construite par

blocs en comparaison au
tapis persan traditionnel
nud simple dont le
dessin est beaucoup plus
fin.

Le style traditionnel
anatolien rduit aussi le
nombre de nuds au

mtre carr. Ces facteurs

ont contribu crer la
rputation ancienne et
internationale de qualit
des tapis persans.
Aujourd'hui, il est
commun de voir des
tapis tisss la fois
en Turquie ou
en Iran utilisant l'un ou
l'autre des styles. Quand
on compare des tapis, la

seule faon d'identifier

le type de nud utilis
est de plier le tapis
contre lui mme et de
regarder la base du
nud.

Architecture d'un tapis

Comme un ouvrage
d'architecture, le tapis

est ralis d'aprs un

plan (appel carton ),
qui indique la
composition,
l'agencement du dcor et
la disposition des motifs.
Le carton est dessin par
un matre
(ostad en persan), qui
n'est pas forcment
tapissier, mais peut tre
peintre. Le schma d'un

tapis reprend souvent

celui d'une reliure de
manuscrit, les deux arts
tant intimement lis car
leurs concepteurs sont
souvent les mmes
peintres.
On distingue deux
types : schmas orients
et non orients.

Parties d'un tapis

Les diffrentes parties

d'un tapis persan.
Les diffrentes parties
d'un tapis portent les
noms suivants :

Bordures secondaires :
elles peuvent tre
intrieures ou
extrieures (par rapport
la bordure principale)
et sont plus ou moins

nombreuses, plus ou
moins troites. les
bordures extrieures
sont parfois de couleur
unie.

Bordure principale :
elle complte
l'ornementation du tapis
et donne un quilibre
l'ensemble.

Champ : le champ est

constitu de la partie
interne du tapis,
dlimite par les
bordures
d'encadrement.

coinons : les
coinons sont forms
par les angles du
champ.

Mdaillon central :
Les mdaillons sont de
formes diverses:
circulaire, ogivale,
toile ou polygonale.
Ils peuvent tre assortis
de pendentifs.

Schmas orients
Ils sont dessins autour
d'un axe unique de
symtrie et imposent un

sens au tapis, qui ne peut

tre regard que d'un
seul point de vue. Les
tapis figuratifs sont
frquemment conus de
cette faon. C'est aussi le
cas des tapis de prire,
qui possdent un champ
orn d'une niche
appele mihrab.

Schmas non orients

Ces tapis peuvent tre
regards de n'importe
quel point de vue car
leurs dessins ne sont pas
orients. La dcoration
est forme soit de motifs
continus, soit de motifs
tous semblables rpts
jusqu' couvrir la totalit
du champ.

Schma motif centr

Ce type de tapis est aussi
conu pour tre regard
de n'importe quel point
de vue, mais sa
composition possde un
lment central
dominant autour duquel

on trouve des motifs

secondaires.

Dcor
Tapis dcor
gomtrique
Motifs animaux
d'inspiration

gomtrique: de g. d.
chien, coq, chameau.
Ils reprsentent le got
particulier d'un artisan
ou les traditions d'une
tribu.
Ces tapis sont dcors
d'lments linaires
(traits verticaux,
horizontaux et obliques).

Le dessin est trs simple

et souvent form par la
rptition du mme
motif.
Les dessins
gomtriques se
trouvent le plus souvent
dans les tapis des
nomades, des petits
villages d'Anatolie et
du Caucase. Les motifs

gomtriques s'tant
transmis de gnration
en gnration, il est
facile l'il exerc de
reconnatre la tribu dont
ils proviennent.

Tapis dessin
curviligne ou floral

Ils sont le rsultat d'une

volution qui a suivi
celle de l'art islamique,
auxquels ils
appartiennent.
C'est l'poque
des Safavides et plus
particulirement partir
de Shah Tahmasp (15231576) que sont crs les
premiers tapis dcors

floraux, afin de satisfaire

les gots des Safavides.
La diffrence entre les
tapis des nomades et les
tapis floraux est due au
rle du matre
(ostad). C'est lui qui
dessine le carton qui
sera reproduit par les
noueurs. Les dessins des
tapis des nomades sont,

eux, transmis par la

tradition.

Motifs
Article
dtaill : Motifs
dcoratifs de l'art perse.

Le boteh, l'un des

motifs les plus connus,
employ en Perse.
Les motifs de
champ sont un dessin
rpt jusqu' envahir

toute la surface du
champ. Les plus connus
sont les suivants :
le boteh : son dessin
est en forme
d'amande ou reprsente
pour certains un cyprs.
C'est le plus connu des
motifs employs en
Perse.

le gol :
mot persan signifiant
fleur . Le motif est
de forme octogonale.

le motif hrati : motif

compos d'une rosace
centrale enferme dans
un losange. Les
sommets du losange
sont surmonts de
rosaces plus petites.

le joshagan : il est
form d'une succession
de losanges orns de
fleurs stylises.

le Kharshiang : en
persan, crabe . Motif
invent sous le rgne
de Shah Abbas.

le minah khani : motif

qui voque un champ
fleuri. Il est compos de
quatre fleurs disposes
de faon dessiner un
losange et d'une fleur
plus petite au centre.

le zil-e sultan : il est

form de deux vases
superposs, orns de
rose et de branches

fleuries. Parfois, des

oiseaux sont poss sur
le vase. Son origine est
relativement rcente
e
(XIX sicle).

Chah Abbasi : sous ce

nom est regroupe toute
une srie de dessins
invents sous le rgne
de Shah Abbas. Ce sont
des dcors base de

fleurs, inspir de la
fleur de lys.

Les motifs de
bordure sont ceux qui
ornent les bandes
latrales du tapis. Les
plus connus sont les
suivants :

le hrati de bordure :
ils sont diffrents des

hrati de champ. Ils se

composent d'une
alternance de rosaces et
de fleurs, et de rameaux
fleuris.

le boteh de bordure :
semblable au boteh de
champ.

la bordure coufique :
elle porte ce nom

cause de sa
ressemblance avec le
style d'criture du
mme nom. Ils sont
toujours en blanc.

la bordure feuilles
denteles : elle est
forme d'une
succession de feuilles
denteles, disposes en
biais.

Les motifs
d'ornementation sont
des dessins destins
complter le dcor du
champ et de la bordure.
On y retrouve les motifs
suivants :
l'toile huit branches
la rosace
le svastika

la croix grecque, entre

autres celles crochets.
le motif dit du chien
qui court.

Les inscriptions et les

dates apparaissent sur la
bordure de certains tapis
et sont des inscriptions
diverses : versets
du Coran, vers,
ddicaces, date de

fabrication, mention du
lieu de production.
Symboles et
signification

Vieux tapis persan au

Muse du Louvre.

Le tapis a toujours
rempli en Orient une
double fonction,
pratique et symbolique,
dont le sens se perd
parfois aujourd'hui. Il
constitue un espace
magique o les bordures
reprsentent les
lments terrestres
rigs en dfenseurs du
champ, habit par la

sphre de l'univers et du
7
divin
Un des dcors les plus
courants est
l'arbre, arbre de
vie reprsentant la
fertilit, la continuit et
servant de lien entre le
sous-sol, la terre et le
divin. Ce motif
largement ant-

islamique est souvent

reprsent dans les
tapis de prire persans.

Les nuages, qui sous

forme trs stylise
peuvent tre
transforms en trfles,
symbolisent la
communication avec le

divin et la protection
divine.

Le mdaillon central
reprsente quant lui
le soleil, le divin, le
surnaturel.
Dans certains tapis, les
coinons reprennent les
motifs du mdaillon

central ; ces quatre

lments revtent alors
la signification de portes
d'approche et de
protection du centre
divin.
Le jardin, qui est
associ au paradis (le
mot drive en effet
du vieux-persan pairidei
eza qui signifie

 jardin , enclos ,
qui a
donn pardis en persan)
donne lieu un type de
composition qui apparat
ds
e
le XVII sicle en Perse a
fin d'imiter les jardins
des shah, diviss en
parcelles rectangulaires
ou carres par des alles

et des canaux d'irrigation

(chahar bagh).
On peut trouver aussi
des tapis thme
cyngtique :
la chasse est une activit
prise des Shah,
requrant adresse, force
et connaissance de la
nature. Ce thme est
galement li au paradis

et aux activits
spirituelles, puisque la
chasse se droule
souvent dans une nature
qui peut rappeler les
jardins du paradis.
Letapis de Mantes, dat
de la deuxime moiti
e
du XVI sicle et
conserv au muse du
Louvre est ce titre
exemplaire.

Centre traditionnels de
production de tapis en
Iran (Perse)
[modifier | modifier le
code]
Les centres de
production classiques
majeurs en Perse
taient situs
Tabriz (1500-1550),

Kashan (1525-1650), H
erat (1525-1650),
et Kerman (16001650).
La majorit des tapis
originaires de Tabriz ont
un mdaillon central et
des quarts de mdaillons
dans les coins
recouvrant une
ornementation faite d'un

champ de vignes
entrelacs, parfois
ponctus par des
chasseurs cheval, des
animaux seuls ou des
scnes de combat
d'animaux.
Les uvres de Tabriz les
plus connues sont peuttre les tapis jumeaux
d'Ardabil conservs

aujourd'hui dans les

collections du Victoria
and Albert Museum
Londres et du Los
Angeles County
Museum.
Kashan est connu pour
ses tapis de soie.
Les uvres le plus
fameuses sont les trois
tapis de soie

reprsentant des scnes

de chasse avec des
chasseurs cheval et
leurs proies animales qui
sont de vritables chefs
d'uvre, conservs dans
les collections du Muse
d'arts appliqus de
8
Vienne (ou MAK),
au muse des beaux-arts
de Boston, et au Muse
de Stockholm. Les tapis

de Kashan sont parmi

les plus recherchs. En
1969, un tapis s'est par
exemple vendu en
Allemagne pour 20 000
dollars US.
Les tapis de Herat, ou
ceux au dessin similaire
crs
Lahore et gr en Inde
, sont les plus nombreux

dans les collections

occidentales. Ils se
caractrisent par un
champ rouge de pieds de
vigne entrelacs et des
palmettes vert fonc ou
des bordures bleues.
Les sept classes de tapis
de Kerman ont t
dfinies par May
Beattie. Elle a identifi

leur structure unique et

l'a appele technique
du vase . Les types de
tapis dans ce groupe
incluent les tapis jardin
(orns de jardins formels
et de canaux d'eau
courante) et les tapis au
treillis en ovale. Un
exemple trs connu et
parfait de ce dernier type
a t achet par

le Victoria and Albert

Museum sous les
conseils de William
Morris. L'influence des
tapis persans est
flagrante dans les
dessins de ses tapis.
Types de tapis
Les vendeurs de tapis
ont dvelopp une
classification des tapis

persans base sur le

dessin, le type de
fabrication et la
technique de tissage. Les
catgories ont t
nommes d'aprs les
villes et les rgions
associes chaque type
de motifs. La liste qui
suit prsente les
principaux types de tapis
persans.

Ab
ade
h
Ar
dab
il
Ba
khti
ari
Be
luc
h

Ha
med
an
He
riz
Isp
aha
n
Jos
hag
han
Ka

Lo
rest
an
M
ash
had
M
esh
kin
Na
in
Sa

Sa
rou
k
Se
nn
eh
Sh
ira
z
Q
om
Ta

Ve
ra
mi
n
Ya
zd

Bi
djar
Fe
rag
han

sha rab bri

n
z
Sa
Ke rab T
rma and hr
n
an

Tapis de Nain

Tapis de Tabriz

Tapis de Kashan

Dtail du champ
d'un tapis d'Ispahan

Tapis de Qom
Notes et rfrences
a et b
1.
Survey of
Persian art, p. 31603161
2. Voir aussi Hans
Holbein le
Jeune, Portrait du
marchand Georg
Gisze, Berlin,
Gemldgallerie o

apparait un tapis de
type seldjoukide,
bordure coufique.
3. (en) Annette Ittig,
Sarah B. Sherill,
Karen S. Rubinson,
Barbara Schimtz,
Eleanor Sims, Daniel
Walker, Layla S. Diba,
Willem M. Floor, P. R.
Ford, Siawosh Azadi,
Carpets [archive] ,

dans Encyclopdia
Iranica en
ligne [archive]
4. Gans-Ruedin,
p. 11.
5. Florencio, p. 102;
Tavernier, I,
p. 397,589 ; Chardin,
III, p. 120
6. Vrzi, p. 58.
7. Enza Milanesi, Le
tapis, Grnd,

1999 (ISBN 2-70002223-8).

8. Site du
MAK [archive].
Sources[modifier | modi
fier le code]
Florencio del Nio
Jess, A Persia (160409). Peripecias de una
embajada pontificia
que fu a Persia a
principios del Siglo

XVII, Biblioteca
Carmelitana-Teresiana
de Misiones II,
Pamplona, 1929.
J.B.Tavernier, Les six
voyages de
J.B.Tavernier en
Turquie, en Perse et
aux Indes, 2 vols.,
Paris, 1676
J. Chardin, Voyages du
Chevalier Chardin en

Perse, 4 vols.,
Amsterdam, 1735.
M.Vrzi, Honar va
san'at-e ql dar Irn,
Tehran, 1350/1971.
Fabio Formenton, Le
livre du tapis, Deux
coqs d'or, Paris, 1982.
M.H Beattie, Carpet
of central Persia,
Sheffield, 1976

Arthur U. Pope et
Phyllis Ackerman, A
Survey of persian art,
1981
Enza Milanesi, Le
tapis, Grnd,
1999 ISBN 2-70002223-8.
Article
Tapis de l'Encyclopaedi
a Iranica (en)

tapis persans,
sur Wikimedia
Commons
Bibliographie
(en) Cecil
Edwards, The Persian
Carpet - A survey of
the carpet-weaving
industry in Persia,
Duckworth, London,
1953 (reprinted 1960,
1967, 1975,

1983) (ISBN 0 7156

0256 X) ;
(fr) (fa) E. GansRuedin, Splendeur du
tapis persan, Office du
Livre, Fribourg
(Suisse), 1978(ISBN 2
8264 0110 6) ;
(en) E. GansRuedin, The Splendor
of Persian carpets,
Rizzoli, New York,

1984 (ISBN 084780179

9) ;
(en) David Black, The
Atlas of Rugs and
Carpets, Tiger Books
International, Londres,
1986 (ISBN 002511120
5) ;
(fa)
( Histoire de
l'art du tapis en
Iran), Thran,

2005 (ISBN 964-448245-x).

Articles
connexes[modifier | mo
difier le code]
Muse du tapis d'Iran
Art persan
Art iranien
Tapis en
gnral et tapisserie
Tapis armnien

Kilim (aussi
appel Gelim ou Kelim)
Gabbeh et Gabbeh,
film de Mohsen
Makhmalbaf
Htrotopie
Liens
externes[modifier | mod
ifier le code]
(en) erug.com, 2005,
(page consulte le 17

juin 2005), Apprendre

propos des tapis
(en) Islamic
architecture.com, 24
nov. 2005, (page
consulte le 17 juin
2005), Tapis islamiques
(en) bukharacarpets.com, (page
consulte le 17 juin
2005), Histoire

complte des tapis

persans
(en) Rugsyclopedia
sur latifrugs.com, 2004,
(page consulte le 17
juin 2005), Source
complte d'information
sur le tapis
une vido qui montre
la faon de nouer un
nud turkbaf ou
ghiordes

(nl) Vieux tapis persan

au Muse d'Histoire
Juive d'Amsterdam

.
NEWROZ
Nowruz
Nowruz

Haft-Seen, White
House ceremony for
Nowruz, 2008
Als Also spelled
o Nourooz, Nouruz,
call Norouz, Norooz,
ed Narooz, Nauruz,
Nawroz, Noruz,

Nohrooz, Novruz,
Nauroz, Navroz,
Naw-Rz, Nowroj,
Navroj, Nevruz,
Newroz (Kurdish),
Navruz, Navrez,
Nooruz, Nauryz,
Nowrouz,,

(Georgian),
(Kashmiri),
(Parsi Gujarati),

 (Hindi)
Ob
ser
ved
by

Iran
[1]
Azerbaijan
[2]
Afghanistan
[3]
Georgia
[4]
Iraq
[5]
Kazakhstan
[5]
Kyrgyzstan
[6]
Russia
[7]
Syria
[8]
Tajikistan
[9]
Turkey

Turkmenistan

[10]

[11]

Uzbekistan
Ethnic and religious
groups
worldwide: Ethnic
Kazakhs in
Mongolia
Kurdish diaspora
Zoroastrians, Baloc
h, Sufis,Ismailis, Al

evis, Alawites, Babi

s,Bah's and
the Iranian
diasporaand Afghan
diaspora. Also
observed
unofficially
in Bosnia,Caucasus,
[12]
Crimea, India,
[13]
[12][13]
Macedonia,
Serbia, and
among Uyghurs and

Salars ofChina.
Sig New year holiday
nifi
can
ce
Cel The Haftsin setting,
ebr Chahrshanbe
ati Sr, Sizdah Bedar,
ons etc.
Dat March 19, 20, 21 or
e 22
201 Wednesday 20

3 d March 2013 at
ate 11:02 UTC *
201 Thursday 20 March
4 d 2014 at 16:57
ate UTC *
Fre annual
que
ncy
Novruz, Nowrouz,
Nooruz, Navruz,
Nauroz, Nevruz *
Masterpieces of the

Oral and Intangible

Heritage of Humanity
Co Azerbaijan, Afghani
un stan, India, Iran,Kyr
try gyzstan, Pakistan, T
urkey,Uzbekistan
Re 282
fer
en
ce
Re Asia and Australasia

gio
n*
*
Inscription history
Ins 2009
cri
pti
on

Name as inscribed by
UNESCO
** Region as classified

by UNESCO
Nowruz (Persian: ,
IPA: [nouuz],
meaning "[The] New
Day") is the name of
[14]
the Persian New Year.
[15][16][17]

Nowruz marks the first

day
[18]
of spring or Equinox
as and the beginning of
the year in the Persian

calendar. It is celebrated
on the day of the
astronomical Northward
equinox, which usually
occurs on March 21 or
the previous/following
day depending on where
it is observed. The
moment the sun crosses
the celestial equator and
equalizes night and day
is calculated exactly

every year and families

gather together to
observe the rituals.
Nowruz is celebrated by
people from diverse
ethnic communities and
religious backgrounds
for thousands of years. It
is a secular holiday that
is enjoyed by people of
several different faiths.
It originated in Persia in

one of the capitals of

the Achaemenid empire
[19]
in Persis (Fars) in Iran
and is also celebrated by
the cultural region that
came under Iranian
influence or had
migrations by Persians
including Azerbaijan,
the North Caucasus,
Kurdish inhabited
regions of

eastern Turkey and

[20]
Northern Iraq, Afghan
istan, Tajikistan, Turkme
nistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrg
yzstan, Kazakhstanand
other scattered
populations in Central
Asia.
Nowruz is partly rooted
in the religious tradition
of Zoroastrianism.
Among other ideas,

Zoroastrianism is the
firstmonotheistic religio
n that emphasizes broad
concepts such as the
corresponding work of
good and evil in the
world, and the
connection of humans to
nature. Zoroastrian
practices were dominant
for much of the history
of ancient Persia

(centered in what is now

Iran). Nowruz is
believed to have been
invented
by Zoroaster himself,
although there is no
clear date of origin.
[21]
Since
the Achaemenid era the
official year has begun
with the New Day when
the Sunleaves

the zodiac of Pisces and

enters the zodiacal sign
of Aries, signifying the
Spring Equinox. Nowruz
is also a holy day
for Sufi
Muslims, Bektashis, Ism
[22]
ailis, Alawites, Alevi
s, Babis and adherents of
[23]
the Bah' Faith.
The term Nowruz in
writing first appeared

in historical
Persian records in the
2nd century AD, but it
was also an important
day during the time of
the Achaemenids (c.
550330 BCE), where
kings from different
nations under thePersian
Empire used to bring
gifts to the Emperor,
also called King of

Kings (Shahanshah), of
Persia on Nowruz. The
significance of Nowruz
in the Achaemenid
Empire was such that
the great Persian
king Cambyses II's
appointment as the king
of Babylon was
legitimized only after his
participation in the New

Year festival (Nowruz).

[24]

The UN's General

Assembly in 2010
recognized the
International Day of
Nowruz, describing it as
a spring festival
ofPersian origin which
has been celebrated for
[25]
over 3,000 years.
[26]
During the meeting

of The Intergovernmental
Committee for the
Safeguarding of the
Intangible Heritage of
the United Nations, held
between 28 September
2 October 2009 in Abu
Dhabi, Nowrz was
officially registered on
the UNESCO List of the
Intangible Cultural

[27]

Heritage of Humanity.
[28][29][30]

Etymology
The term Nowruz is a
Persian compound word
and consists of:
now (Old
Persian nava) means
"new", descends
from Proto-IndoEuropean *nos and
has the following

cognates:
in Latin novus, German
neu, Sanskrit nva, Rus
sian novyj etc. The
Persian pronunciation
differs in the many
dialects of the
language: while
theeastern dialects have
preserved the
original diphthong (IPA
: [nuoz]), the

western dialects usually

pronounce it with a
different diphthong
(IPA: [nouuz]), and
some colloquial
variants (such as
the Tehrani accent)
pronounce it with
a monophthong (no; IP
A: [nouz]).
rz (for variant
pronunciations see

above) means "day"

in Modern Persian, as
did Middle
Persian lwc (pronounce
d rz or rj). The
original meaning of the
word, however, was
"light". The term is
descended from ProtoIranian *rauah- (comp
are Avestan raocah "lig
ht; day"), itself derived

from Proto-IndoEuropean*lek-, and is

related to Sanskrit rci,
Latin lux,
Armenian loys,
Russian lu and, in fact,
[citation needed]
English light.
Spring equinox
Main article: March
equinox

Illumination of the
Earth by the Sun on the
day of equinox,
(ignoring twilight).

The first day on

the Iranian calendar falls
on the March equinox,
the first day of spring,
around 20 March. At the
time of the equinox, the
sun is observed to be
directly over
the equator, and the
north and south poles of
the Earth lie along
the solar terminator;

sunlight is evenly
divided between the
north and
south hemispheres.
In c. the 11th century
AD major reforms of
Iranian calendars took
place and whose
principal purpose was to
fix the beginning of the
calendar year, i.e.
Nowrz, at the vernal

equinox. Accordingly,
the definition of Nowruz
given by the Iranian
scientist Ts was the
following: "the first day
of the official new year
[Nowruz] was always
the day on which the sun
entered Aries before
[31]
noon".
History and tradition

Tradition and
mythology

Bas-relief in Persepolis,
Fars province ofIran.
A Zoroastrian symbol
of Nowruz on
the vernal equinox the
powers of the eternally
fighting bull
(personifying the Earth)
and lion (personifying
the Sun) are equal.
The celebration has its
roots in Ancient Iran.

Due to its antiquity,

there exist various
foundation myths for
Nowruz inIranian
mythology. In the
Zoroastrian tradition, the
seven most important
Zoroastrian festivals are
the Gahambars and
Nowruz, which occurs at
the spring equinox.

According to Mary
[32]
Boyce,
It seems a
reasonable surmise
that Nowruz, the
holiest of them all,
with deep doctrinal
significance, was
founded
by Zoroaster himself
.

Between sunset of the

day of the
6th Gahanbar and
sunrise of Nowruz was
celebrated
Hamaspathmaedaya
(later known, in its
extended form, as
Frawardinegan). This
and the Gahanbar are the
only festivals named in

the surviving text of

the Avesta.
The Shahnameh, dates
Nowruz as far back to
the reign of Jamshid,
who in Zoroastrian texts
saved mankind from a
killer winter that was
destined to kill every
[33]
living creature.

The mythical Persian

King Jamshid (Yima or
Yama of theIndoIranian lore) perhaps
symbolizes the transition
of the Indo-Iranians
from animal hunting
to animal husbandry and
a more settled life in
human history. In
the Shahnameh and

Iranian mythology, he is
credited with the
foundation of Nowruz.
In
the Shahnama, Jamshid
constructed a throne
studded with gems. He
had demons raise him
above the earth into the
heavens; there he sat on
his throne like the sun
shining in the sky. The

world's creatures
gathered in wonder
about him and scattered
jewels around him, and
called this day the New
Day or No/Now-Ruz.
This was the first day of
the month of Farvardin
(the first month of the
[34]
Persian calendar).

The Persian scholar Abu

Rayhan Biruni of the
10th century AD, in
his Persian work "Kitab
al-Tafhim li Awa'il
Sina'at al-Tanjim"
provides a description of
the calendar of various
nations. Besides the

Persian calendar, various

festivals of Arabs, Jews,
Sabians, Greeks and
other nations are
mentioned in this book.
In the section on the
Persian calendar
(Persian: ) , he
mentions
Nowruz, Sadeh, Tiregan,
Mehregan, the
six Gahanbar,

Parvardegaan,
Bahmanja, Isfandarmazh
and several other
festivals. According to
him: It is the belief of
the Persians that
Nowruz marks the first
day when the universe
[35]
started its motion. The
Persian historian Abu
[36]
Sad Gardz in his
work titled Zayn al-

Akhbr under the section

of the Zoroastrians
festivals mentions
Nowruz (among other
festivals) and
specifically points out
that Zoroaster highly
emphasized the
celebration of Nowruz
[37]
and Mehregan.

History

Persepolis all nations

staircase. Notice the
people from across
the AchaemenidPersian
Empire bringing gifts.
Some scholars have
associated the occasion
to be
either Mehregan or
[38]
Nowruz.
Although it is not clear
whether proto-Indo-

Iranians celebrated a
feast as the first day of
the calendar, there are
indications that both
Iranians and Indians
may have observed the
beginning of both
autumn and spring,
related to the harvest
and the sowing of seeds,
respectively, for the

celebration of new year.

[39]

Boyce and Grenet

explain the traditions for
seasonal festivals and
comment: "It is possible
that the splendor of the
Babylonian festivities at
this season led the

Persians to develop their

own spring festival into
an established new year
feast, with the name
Navasarda 'New Year' (a
name which, though first
attested through Middle
Persian derivatives, is
attributed to the
Achaemenian period).
Since the communal
observations of the

ancient Iranians appear

in general to have been a
seasonal ones, and
related to agriculture, it
is probable, that they
traditionally held
festivals in both autumn
and spring, to mark the
major turning points of
[39]
the natural year".

We have reasons to
believe that the
celebration is much
older than that date and
was surely celebrated by
the people and royalty
during
the Achaemenid times
(555330 BC). It was,

therefore, a highly
auspicious occasion for
the ancient Iranian
peoples. It has been
suggested that the
famous Persepolis comp
lex, or at least the palace
of Apadana and the
Hundred Columns Hall,
were built for the
specific purpose of
celebrating Nowruz.

Although, there may be

no mention of Nowruz
in recorded Achaemenid
inscriptions (see picture)
[40]
There is a detailed
account by Xenophon of
Nowruz celebration
taking place in
Persepolis and the
continuity of this festival
in the Achaemenid
[41]
tradition.

in 539 BC the Jews

came under Persian rule
thus exposing both
groups to each other's
customs. According
to Encyclopdia
Britannica, the story
of Purim as told in
the Book of Esther is
adapted from a Persian

novella about the

shrewdness of harem
queens suggesting that
Purim may be a
transformation of the
[42]
Persian New Year. A
specific novella is not
identified
and Encyclopdia
Britannica itself notes
that no Jewish texts of
this genre from the

Persian period are

extant, so these new
elements can be
recognized only
inferentially.
The Encyclopaedia of
Religion and
Ethics notes that the
Purim holiday is based
on a lunar calendar
while Nowruz occurs at
the spring equinox (solar

calendar). The two

holidays are therefore
celebrated on different
dates but within a few
weeks of each other,
depending on the year.
Both holidays are joyous
celebrations. Given their
temporal associations, it
is possible that the Jews
and Persians of the time
may have shared or

adopted similar customs

for these holidays.
[43]
The story of Purim as
told in the Book of
Esther has been dated
anywhere from 625465
BC (although the story
takes place with the
Jews under the rule of
the Achaemenid Empire
and the Jews had come
under Persian rule in

539 BC), while Nowruz

is thought to have first
been celebrated between
555330 BC. It remains
unclear which holiday
was established first.

Nowruz was the holiday

of Arsacid/Parthian dyna

stic Empires who ruled

Iran (248 BC-224 AD).
There are specific
references to the
celebration of Nowruz
during the reign
of Vologases I (5178
AD), but these include
no details.
[40]
Before Sassanids esta
blished their power in
West Asia around 300

AD, Parthians celebrated

Nowruz in Autumn and
1st of Farvardin began at
the Autumn Equinox.

Extensive records on the

celebration of Nowruz
appear following the
accession of Ardashir I
of Persia, the founder of

the Sassanid
dynasty (224651 AD).
Under the Sassanid
Emperors, Nowruz was
celebrated as the most
important day of the
year. Most royal
traditions of Nowruz
such as royal audiences
with the public, cash
gifts, and the pardoning
of prisoners, were

established during the

Sassanian era and
persisted unchanged
until modern times.
Nowruz, along
with Sadeh (celebrated
in mid-winter), survived
in society following the
introduction of Islam in
650 AD. Other
celebrations
such Gahanbar andMehr

agan were eventually

side-lined or were only
followed by
the Zoroastrians, who
carried them. It was
adopted as the main
royal holiday during
the Abbasidperiod.

In the
book Nowruznama ("Bo
ok of the New Year",
which is attributed
[44]
to Omar Khayyam, a
well known Persian
poet and Mathematician,
a vivid description of the
celebration in the courts
of the Kings of Persia is
[45]
provided:
From the era of Kai

Khusraw till the

days of Yazdegard,
last of the preIslamic kings
of Persia, the royal
custom was thus: on
the first day of the
New Year, Now
Ruz, the King's first
visitor was the
High Mobad of
the Zoroastrians,

who brought with

him as gifts a golden
goblet full of wine, a
ring, some gold
coins, a fistful of
green sprigs of
wheat, a sword, and
a bow. In the
language of Persia
he would then
glorify God and
praise the monarch.

This was the address

of the
High Mobad to the
king : "O Majesty,
on this feast of
the Equinox, first
day of the first
month of the year,
seeing that thou hast
freely chosen God
and the Faith of the
Ancient ones;

may Surush, the

Angel-messenger,
grant thee wisdom
and insight and
sagacity in thy
affairs. Live long in
praise, be happy and
fortunate upon thy
golden throne, drink
immortality from the
Cup of Jamshid; and
keep in solemn trust

the customs of our

ancestors, their
noble aspirations,
fair gestures and the
exercise of justice
and righteousness.
May thy soul
flourish; may thy
youth be as the newgrown grain; may
thy horse be
puissant, victorious;

thy sword bright and

deadly against foes;
thy hawk swift
against its prey; thy
every act straight as
the arrow's shaft. Go
forth from thy rich
throne, conquer new
lands. Honor the
craftsman and the
sage in equal degree;
disdain the

acquisition of
wealth. May thy
house prosper and
thy life be long!"

Following the demise of

the Caliphate and the
subsequent reemergence of Persian

dynasties such as
the Samanids and Buyid
s, Nowruz was elevated
to an even more
important event. The
Buyids revived the
ancient traditions of
Sassanian times and
restored many smaller
celebrations that had
been eliminated by
theCaliphate. According

to the Syrian
historian Yaqut alHamawi, the
Iranian Buyid ruler
Aod-od-Dawla (r. 94983) customarily
welcomed Nowruz in a
majestic hall, wherein
servants had placed gold
and silver plates and
vases full of fruit and
[46]
colorful flowers. The

King would sit on the

royal throne (masnad),
and the court astronomer
came forward, kissed the
ground, and
congratulated him on the
arrival of the New Year.
[46]
The king would then
summon musicians and
singers, and invited his
boon companions. They
would gather in their

assigned places and

enjoy a great festive
[46]
occasion.

Even
the Turkic and Mongol i
nvaders did not attempt
to abolish Nowruz in
favor of any other
celebration. Thus,

Nowruz remained as the

main celebration in
thePersian lands by both
the officials and the
people.

Local variations
The festival of Nowruz
is celebrated by many
groups of people in the
Middle East, Central and

South Asia, but

particularly by Persians
and various other Iranian
[47]
peoples. It is
called Naw-wradz or Nu
way-kl by
the Pashtuns, Navroz by
Zoroastrians of the
subcontinent, Nevruz in
Turkic, Uyghurs who
live in Northwestern
China call it "Noruz",

and it is called Sultan

Nevruz in Albanian. In
Kurdish communities
located in parts of
western Iran, the holiday
is referred to as Newroz,
which is a variety of the
Persian word Nowruz.
The variety Nawroz is
also an Eastern Persian
word and is also used in
the Persian speaking

regions of Central Asia.

[48]
In Pashto language it
is pronounced as
"Naw-Wraz" (New
Day).
Around the world

Kurds celebrating. Fire

is the symbol of
Nowruz

Iranian Azeris in New

York City

Nowruz in Tekeli in
2013

Traditional costume for

Nowruz inKazakhstan

Nowruz is celebrated
in Greater
Iran, Caucasus, Central
Asia and
by Iranians worldwide.
It is a public holiday
[4]
in Iran,Iraq, Georgia, A
fghanistan, Azerbaijan,
[1]
Tajikistan, Turkmenist
[49]
[50]
an, Uzbekistan, Kyr
[51]
gyzstan, Pakistan
[52][53]
andIndia.
Also

the Canadian parliament

by unanimous consent,
has passed a bill to add
Nowruz to the national
calendar of Canada, on
[54][55]
March 30, 2009.
In Albania Sultan
Nevruz is celebrated as a
mainly mystical day by
the Bektashi sect, and
there are special
ceremonies in

the Tekke led by the

clergy and large meals
are served there. They
celebrate this day as the
birthday of Ali. Also all
Albanians celebrate a
secular version of
Nowruz, called Spring
Day. Nowruz is also
celebrated by Kurdish
[4][56]
people inIraq
and Tu
[57]
rkey as well as

by Baltistan in
the Pakistan and Parsis i
n the Indian
subcontinent.
Other notable
celebrations take place
by Iranians around the
world, such as Los
Angeles, Toronto, Colog
ne and in United
Kingdom, mainly
[58]
in London. But

because Los Angeles is

prone to devastating
fires, there are very strict
fire codes in the city. No
fires are allowed even
on one's own property.
Usually, Iranians living
in Southern California
go to the beaches to
celebrate the event
where it is permissible
[59]
to build fires. On 15

March 2010, The United

States House of
Representatives passed
The Nowruz
Resolution (H.Res. 267),
by a 3842 vas cote,
[60]
"Recognizing the
cultural and historical
significance of
[61]
Nowruz, ... .".
In Iran, the Islamic
Republic attempted to

suppress Nowruz
following the Iranian
Revolution and was met
with very little success.
The Ayatollahs
considered Nowruz a
pagan holiday and a
distraction from more
important things such
[62]
as Islamic holidays.
It is also a holy day
[22]
for Alawites, Alevis,

and adherents of
the Bah' Faith.
[23]
Countries that have
Nowruz as a public
holiday include the
following:
Afghanistan (21
[2]
March)
Albania (22 March)

[63][64]

Azerbaijan (20
March to 26 March,
[65]
total of 7 days)
[66]
Georgia
Kosovo (21 March)
Kyrgyzstan (21
[67]
March)
Iran (20 March to 24
March, total of 5 days
in general + total of 14
days for schools and
[68]
universities)

Iraq (de jure in

Iraqi Kurdistan, de
[4]
facto national ) (21
[69]
March)
Kazakhstan (21
March to 24 March,
[5]
total of 4 days)
Bayan-lgii,
Mongolia (22 March,
regional state holiday
only)[5]

Tajikistan (20 March

to 23 March, total of 4
[8]
days)
Turkmenistan (20
March to 23 March,
[70]
total of 4 days)
Uzbekistan (21
[71]
March)

In the Zoroastrian
faith

Zoroastrians worldwide
celebrate Nowruz as the
first day of the New
Year. Parsi Zoroastrians
of South Asian origin

celebrate it as "Nowroj",
"Navroz", or "Navroj"
on the fixed day of
March 21, while
Zoroastrians of Iranian
background generally
celebrate, like other
Iranians, on the actual
Spring Equinox date.
Because different
Zoroastrian communities
in India/Pakistan and

Iran have evolved

slightly different
calendar systems, there
is some variance.
Adherents of
the Fasli variant of
the Zoroastrian
calendarcelebrate
Nowruz in March, but
today, most other
Zoroastrians also
celebrate on this day.

Other variants of the

Zoroastrian calendar
celebrate the Nowruz
twice: once
as Jamshedi Nowruz on
March 21 as the start of
spring, and a second
Nowruz, in July/August
(see Variations of the
Zoroastrian calendar), as
either New Year's Eve or
New Year's Day. That

the second Nowruz is

celebrated after the last
day of the year, known
as Pateti, which comes
after a Muktad period of
days remembering the
dead. Many Parsis are
confused by this, and
mistakenly celebrate
Pateti as if it were
Nowruz, when in fact
Nowruz is the day after.

Some attribute this

confusion by some as
celebrating the last day
of the year (contrary to
what might be expected
from a term that means
"new day"), may be due
to the fact that in ancient
Persia the day began at
sunset, while in later
Persian belief the day
began at sunrise.

Zoroastrians of Iranian
origin generally put up a
Haft Sheen table while
Muslim Iranians put up
Haft Sin table. The
difference is because
Muslims can not put
wine (Sharab) on the
table. Zoroastrians of

Parsi (South Asian)

origin do not
traditionally use a Haft
Sin. They set up a
standard "sesh" tray
generally a silver tray,
with a container of rose
water, a container with
betel nut, raw rice, raw
sugar, flowers, a picture
of Zarathustra the
prophet, and either a

floating wick in a glass

filled with water topped
with oil for fuel, or an
"afargania", a silver urn
with a small fire
nourished by
sandalwood and other
fragrant resins.

Celebration in Iran

Haft
Seen in Toopkhaneh
Sq. of Tehran, Nowruz
2013

Nowruz is the most

important holiday in
Iran. Preparations for
Nowruz begin in the
month Esfand (or
Espand), the last month
of winter in the Persian
solar calendar.
Hajji Firuz is the
traditional herald of
Nowruz. He oversees
celebrations for the new

year perhaps as a
remnant of the ancient
Zoroastrian fire-keeper.
His face is painted black
(black is an ancient
Persian symbol of good
luck) and wears a red
costume. Then he sings
and dances through the
streets with tambourines
and trumpets spreading
good cheer and heralds

the coming of the New

Year.

Spring cleaning and

visiting one another
Further
information: Spring
cleaning
Spring cleaning,
or Khouneh
Tekouni (literally means

'shaking the house') or

'complete cleaning of the
house' is commonly
performed before
Nowruz. Iranians start
preparing for the
Nowruz with a major
spring-cleaning of their
houses, the purchase of
new clothes to wear for
the new year and the
purchase of flowers (in

particular
the hyacinth and
the tulip are popular and
conspicuous).
In association with the
"rebirth of nature",
extensive springcleaning is a national
tradition observed by
almost every household
in Iran. This is also
extended to personal

attire, and it is
customary to buy at least
one set of new clothes.
On the New Year's Day,
families dress in their
new clothes and start the
twelve-day celebrations
by visiting the elders of
their family, then the rest
of their family and
finally their friends. On
the thirteenth day

families leave their

homes and picnic
outdoors, as part of
the Sizdah Bedar ceremony.

During the Nowruz

holidays, people are
expected to visit one
another (mostly limited

to families, friends and

neighbors) in the form
of short house visits,
which are usually
reciprocated. Typically,
on the first day of
Nowruz, family
members gather around
the table, with the Haft
Seen on the table or set
next to it, and await the
exact moment of the

arrival of the spring. At

that time gifts are
exchanged. Later in the
day, the first house visits
are paid to the most
senior family members.
Typically, the youth will
visit the elders first, and
the elders return their
visit later. When in
previous year, a family
member is deceased, the

tradition is to visit that

family first (among the
elders). The visits
naturally have to be
relatively short,
otherwise one will not
be able to visit
everybody on their list.
A typical visit is around
30 minutes, where you
often run into other
visiting relatives and

friends who happen to

be paying a visit to the
same house at that time.
Because of the house
visits, you make sure
you have a sufficient
supply of pastry,
cookies, fresh and dried
fruits and special nuts on
hand, as you typically
serve your visitors with
these items with tea or

sherbet. Many Iranians

will throw large Nowruz
parties in a central
location as a way of
dealing with the long
distances between
groups of friends and
family.

Some Nowruz
celebrants believe that
whatever a person does
on Nowruz will affect
the rest of the year. So,
if a person is warm and
kind to their relatives,
friends and neighbors on
Nowruz, then the new
year will be a good one.
On the other hand, if
there are fights and

disagreements, the year

will be a bad one. As an
extended tradition to the
holiday, men may or
may not choose to shave
their faces until the night
of the "New Day" as a
sign of removal of old
habits and tendencies
and the rebirth of their
faith and being.

One tradition that may

not be very widespread
(that is, it may belong to
only a few families)
[citation needed]
is to place
something sweet, such
as honey or candy, in a
safe place outside
overnight. On the first
morning of the new
year, the first person up
brings the sweet stuff

into the house as another

means of attaining a
good new year.

Chahrshanbe Suri
Main
article: Chaharshanbe
Suri
The night before the last
Wednesday of the year is
celebrated by Iranians

as Chahrshanbe
Suri (Persian:
), Sur meansing
feast, party or festival
[72]
inPersian, Kurdish:
[73][74]
arema Sor

, Azerbaijani: Od
rnbsi (meaning Fir
e Wednesday) in Persian,
[72]
the Iranian festival of
fire. This festival is the
celebration of the light

(the good) winning over

the darkness (the bad);
the symbolism behind
the rituals are all rooted
back to Zoroastrianism.
The tradition includes
people going into the
streets and alleys to
make bonfires, and jump
over them while singing
the traditional
song Zardi-ye man az

(ane) to, sorkhi-ye to az

(ane) man ("az-ane to"
means belongs to you);
This literally translates
to "My yellowness is
yours, your redness is
mine," with the
figurative message "My
paleness (pain, sickness)
for you (the fire), your
strength (health) for
me." The fire is believed

to burn out all the fear

(yellowness) in their
subconscious or their
spirit, in preparation for
new year.

Serving different kinds

of pastry and nuts
known as Ajil-e
Moshkel-Gosh (lit. pr
oblem-solving nuts) is

the Chahrshanbe
Suri way of giving
thanks for the previous
year's health and
happiness, while
exchanging any
remaining paleness and
evil for the warmth and
vibrancy of the fire.
According to tradition,
the living are visited by
the spirit of their

ancestors on the last

days of the year, and
many children wrap
themselves in shrouds,
symbolically re-enacting
the visits. They also run
through the streets
banging on pots and
pans with spoons and
knocking on doors to
ask for treats. The ritual
is called qashogh-zany

(spoon beating) and

symbolizes the beating
out of the last unlucky
Wednesday of the year
( See also Trick-ortreating).
There are several other
traditions on this night,
including: the rituals
of Kze Shekastan, the
breaking of earthen jars
which symbolically hold

one's bad fortune; the

ritual of FalGsh (lit.Divination by
ear), or inferring one's
future from the
conversations of those
[75]
passing by; and the
ritual of Gereh-gosh,
making a knot in the
corner of a handkerchief
or garment and asking
the first passerby to

unravel it in order to
remove ones misfortune.

Haft Sn
Main article: Haft-Sin

A Haft sin table

in Tehran.
Haft Sn (Persian:
)or the seven 'S's is
a major traditional table
setting of Nowruz, the
traditional Iranian spring
celebration. The haft sin
table includes seven
items starting with the
letter 'S' or Sn ( )in
the Persian alphabet.

The custom and the

traditional practice of
Haft Sin has been
changed over the past
millennium. The term
was initially referred to
as Haft Chin. The word
Haft Chin is derived
from the word Chin (
)meaning "to place"
and Haft (), the
number 7. The items

originally represented
seven of the
Zoroastrian yazatas or
divinities
including tar and asmn
. The invasion of
Sassanid Persia by the
Umayyad Caliphate in
650 brought
acculturation and
cultural transformation
to the local Persians.

This subsequently
forced the local
population to adapt and
replace many
Zoroastrian customs and
words with Arabic and
Islamic concepts. The
Arabic language was
heavily enforced upon
the conquered from the
local Berbers in North
Africa and the Copts in

Egypt to the Aramaic

Christians in Syria and
Iraq, and later the
Persians and other
Iranian speaking
populations throughout
Iran and the surrounding
areas.

The Arab conquests

dramatically changed

the Middle East and

North Africa in respect
to language, culture, and
religion. The digraph Ch
( )is not present in the
Arabic language leading
to its replacement by the
letter S ( )in the word
Sin. The Arabic
assimilation of the
Persians and other
Iranian groups continued

under the Abbasid

Empire until the revival
of the Persian language
and culture by the
Samanid Empire in 819
although the term and
custom of Haft Chin had
evolved into Haft Sin
after nearly two
centuries of Arab rule.

The "Haft Chin" items

are:
1. Mirror
symbolizing Sky
2. Apple
symbolizing Earth
3. Candles
symbolizing Fire
4. Golab rose water
symbolizing Water

5. Sabzeh wheat,
or barley sprouts
symbolizing Plants
6. Goldfish
symbolizing Animals
7. Painted Eggs
symbolizing Humans a
nd Fertility

Haft-Sin
The Haft Sn items are:
sabzeh wheat, barley
or lentil sprouts

growing in a dish
symbolizing rebirth
samanu a sweet
pudding made
from germinated
wheat symbolizing
affluence
senjed the dried fruit
of the oleaster tree
symbolizing love
sr garlic
symbolizing medicine

sb apples
symbolizing beauty and
health
somaq sumac berries
symbolizing (the
color of) sunrise
serkeh vinegar
symbolizing age and
patience.
Other items on the table
may include:

Sonbol Hyacinth
(plant)
Sekkeh Coins
representative of wealth
traditional Iranian
pastries such
as baghlava, toot, naannokhodchi
Aajeel dried nuts,
berries and raisins
lit candles (enlightenm
ent and happiness)

a mirror (symbolizing
cleanness and honesty)
decorated eggs,
sometimes one for each
member of the family
(fertility)
a bowl of water
with goldfish (life
within life, and the sign
of Pisces which the sun
is leaving). As an
essential object of the

Nowruz table,
this goldfish is also
"very ancient and
meaningful" and with
Zoroastrian connection.
[76]

rosewater, believed to
have magical cleansing
powers
the national colours,
for a patriotic touch

a holy book (e.g.,

the Avesta, Qur'an,or K
itb-i-Aqdas) and/or a
poetry book (almost
always either
the Shahnameh or the
Divan of Hafiz)
Cuisine

Kazakh guards at
Nowruz celebrations
in Astana.

Ash-e Reshteh: A
noodle soup
traditionally served on
the first day of Noruz.
The noodles are
symbolic, as the waves
and knots made by the
noodles represent the

multitude of
possibilities of one's
life. Untangling the
noodles are said to
bring good luck and
[77]
fortune.

Sabzi Polo Mahi: The

New Year's Day
traditional meal is
called Sabzi Polo Mahi,
which is rice with green

herbs served with fish.

The traditional
seasoning for Sabzi
Polo
are parsley, coriander, c
hives, dill and fenugree
k. The many green
herbs and spices in this
dish are said to
represent the greeness
of Spring.

Reshteh Polo: rice

cooked with noodles
which is said to
symbolically help one
succeed in life.

Dolme Barg : A
traditional dish of Azeri
people, cooked just
before the new year. It
includes some
vegetables, meat and

rice which have been

cooked and embedded
in grape leaves and
cooked again. It is
considered useful in
reaching to wishes.

Kuku sabzi : Herbs and

vegetable souffle,
traditionally served for
dinner at New Year. A
light and fluffy omelet

style made from

parsley, dill,
coriander, spinach, spri
ng onion ends, and
chives, mixed with
eggs and walnut.
Nowruz Koje: A
traditional New Year's
dish of the Kazakh
people, which includes
water, meat, salt, flour,
cereal, and milk;

symbolizing joy, luck,

wisdom, health, wealth,
growth, and heavenly
protection.

Naan Berenji: Cookies

made from rice flour.

Baqlava: A flaky
pastry filled with
walnuts, almonds or

pistachios. Flavored
with rosewater.

Samanu: Sprouted
wheat pudding

Noghl: Candied
almonds.

Sizdah Bedar

Main article: Sizdah

Bedar
The thirteenth day of the
new year festival
is Sizdah Bedar (literally
meaning "passing the
thirteenth day",
figuratively meaning
"Passing the bad luck of
the thirteenth day"). This
is a day of festivity in
the open, often

accompanied by music
and dancing, usually at
family picnics.
Sizdah
bedar celebrations stem
from the ancient
Persians' belief that the
twelve constellations in
the Zodiac controlled the
months of the year, and
each ruled the earth for a
thousand years at the

end of which the sky and

earth collapsed in chaos.
Hence Nowruz lasts
twelve days and the
thirteenth day represents
the time of chaos when
families put order aside
and avoid the bad luck
associated with the
number thirteen by
going outdoors and

having picnics and

parties.
At the end of the
celebrations on this day,
the sabzeh grown for
the Haft Seen (which has
symbolically collected
all sickness and bad
luck) is thrown into
running water to
exorcise the demons
(divs) from the

household. It is also
customary for young
single women to tie the
leaves of
the sabzeh before
discarding it, so
expressing a wish to be
married before the next
year's Sizdah Bedar.
Another tradition
associated with this day
is Dorugh-e Sizdah,

literally meaning "the lie

of the thirteenth", which
is the process of lying to
someone and making
them believe it (similar
to April Fools Day).

In South Asia
As celebrated by Parsis
In
the Fasli/Bastani variant

of the Zoroastrian
calendar, Navroz is
always the day of
the vernal
equinox (nominally
falling on March 21). In
the Shahenshahi andKa
dmi calendars, which do
not account for leap
years, the New Year's
Day has drifted ahead by
over 200 days. These

latter two variants of the

calendar, which are only
followed by the
Zoroastrians of Pakistan
and India, celebrate the
spring equinox
as Jamshed-i Nouroz,
with New Year's Day
then being celebrated in
JulyAugust
as Pateti "(day) of
penitence"

(from patet "confession,

" hence also repentance
and penitence). The
Parsi New Year is
celebrated as Jamshed
Navroz across the world
by the entire Parsi
community. The festival
falls on the first day of
the first month of the
Fasli calendar, followed
by the Parsis. This falls

in the month of March

according to the
Gregorian calendar. As
the day commences with
the advent of spring or
Vernal Equinox,
Jamshed Navroz is
celebrated with immense
fun and fervor. All the
Zoroastrians observe
this festival by
performing all the rituals

and rites with full

devotion and duty. A
particular sect of Parsis
resides in the western
part of India and hence,
Jamshed Navroz
celebrations can be
prominently noticed in
these regions. Go
through the following
lines to know more
about celebrating

Jamshed Navroz in
India.
Commemorated in a
grand and elaborate
fashion, preparations for
Jamshed Navroz begin
well in advance. Houses
are cleaned to remove
all the cobwebs and
painted new. They are
then adorned with
different auspicious

symbols, namely, stars,

butterflies, birds and
fish. New attires are
ordered and made
especially for the
festival. On the day of
Jamshed Navroz, people
dress in their new and
best clothes and put on
gold and silver kustis
and caps. The doors and
windows are beautified

with garlands of roses

and jasmines. Color
powders are used for
creating beautiful and
attractive patterns,
known as rangoli, on the
steps and thresholds.
These intricate and
creative patterns display
the sanctity of the
festivals. Moreover, fish
and floral motifs are a

favorite among rangolis

and considered highly
auspicious.
Guests are welcomed by
sprinkling rose water
and rice, followed by
applying a tilak.
Breakfast usually
consists of Sev (a
vermicelli preparation
roasted in ghee and
choc-a-bloc with dry

fruits) which is served

with yogurt and enjoyed
by young and old alike.
After breakfast, it is time
to visit the Agiary or
Fire Temple to offer
prayers. Special
thanksgiving prayers,
known as Jashan, are
held and sandalwood is
offered to the Holy Fire.
At the end of this

religious ceremony, all

Parsis take the privilege
to exchange new
greetings with one
another by saying Sal
Mubarak. Back home,
special delicacies are
made marking the lunch
as an elaborate and
delicious affair.
Various Parsi dishes,
such as Sali boti (a

mutton and potato

preparation), chicken
farchas, patrani machchi
(fish steamed in a leaf),
mutton pulao and dal,
kid gosh and sasni
machchi (a thick white
gravy with pomfret)
jostle for space on the
table. However, the most
significant dish that
forms an integral part of

Jamshed Navroz
celebrations is pulav
(rice enriched with nuts
and saffron). Besides,
plain rice and moong dal
are a must on this day.
Desserts too are not
behind in terms of
variety, the most
important being falooda.
It is a sweet milk drink
made from vermicelli

and flavored with rose

essence. Lagan-nucustard, or caramel
custard, is another
favorite on this
occasion. The entire day
is spent by visiting
friends and relative and
exchanging good wishes
and blessings.
Parsi rituals

The people begin with

cleaning their homes as
a general custom of
Nowruz, known as
spring clean. This is
observed days before the
festival. The Parsis clean
every part of their house,
dust furniture and wash
carpets. This is practiced
to welcome the new
spring season with

freshness. The Parsis

also believe that the soul
of the departed family
members would visit the
homes of their loved
ones on Nowruz Eve.
The number seven has
been regarded magical
and significant for the
Zoroastrians. The
number seven
symbolizes the seven

elements of life, namely,

fire, earth, water, air,
plants, animals and
humans. The traditional
table setting of Jamshed
Navroz includes seven
specific items beginning
with the letter S,
known as Haft Sin, that
signify life, health,
wealth, abundance, love,
patience and purity.

These items are also

known to have
astrological correlations
to planets Mercury,
Venus, Mars, Jupiter and
Saturn, and Sun and
Moon.
The Haft Sin items are
sabzeh (wheat or lentil
sprouts representing
rebirth), samanu
(creamy pudding made

from germinated wheat

regarded as holy and
symbolizes affluence),
seeb (apple symbolizing
health and beauty),
senjid (dried fruit of
lotus tree stands for
love), sir (garlic
regarded as medicinal
and represents health),
somagh (sumac berries
signifying the color of

the sun and the victory

of good over evil) and
serkeh (vinegar
representing old age and
patience). Apart from
these foods, there are
other items that are
placed on the traditional
table.
These items include
sonbol (hyacinth plant,a
symbol of 'fertility' or

continuous chain of
human progeny), sekkeh
(coins representing
wealth), aajeel (dried
nuts, berries and raisins),
lit candles
(enlightenment and
happiness), a mirror
(cleanness and honesty),
decorated eggs
(fertility), traditional
Iranian pastries like

baghlava, toot and naannokhodchi, a bowl of

water with goldfish
(very essential for the
Nowruz table),
rosewater (magical
cleansing powers),
national colors (for a
patriotic touch) and a
holy book (the Avesta,
Qur'an, Bible, Torah or
Kitb-i-Aqdas) and/or a

poetry book (either the

Shahnama or the Divan
of Hafiz). At the strike
of the clock indicating
New Year, the Parsis
wear their clean and new
dresses and gather
around the Nowruz table
and Haft Sin. Prayers are
offered for health,
happiness and
prosperity. Next, the

family members hug and

kiss each other as part of
the New Year greetings.
The delicacies prepared
for the occasion are
served and consumed.
The oldest member of
the family then takes the
lead and presents the
Eidi (New Years gift) to
the younger members
present.

Celebration by
Kashmiris
The Kashmiris celebrate
Navroz (or Navreh in
Kashmiri) on a date
around the vernal
equinox. The date,
which usually falls
between mid-March and
mid-April, is determined

by the lunar calendar

every year. The day of
the vernal equinox
(coinciding with the
Iranian Nowruz) is also
celebrated by the
Kashmiris in the same
manner as the lunar
Navroz and is referred to
as Sonth.
Thal Bharun (meaning
'filling the platter') is a

major Navroz tradition.

It is similar to the
Iranian Haft Sin. The
items placed on the tray
or platter generally
includewheat or rice , a
sweet pudding made
from milk and cereal,
fruits,
walnuts, rosewater,
a coin (sikkeh), a pen, an
ink-holder, a mirror (for

introspection, purity of
thought and honesty),
and a lit diya or clay
lamp
(representing satyaprak
asa, the Light of the
Truth). Besides, new
clothes are worn and
presents are exchanged.
Some adults, particularly
women, fast on this day.

In the Twelver Shi'a

faith and Shia Ismaili
faith
[78]
Along with Ismailis,
[79]
Alawites and Alevis,
the Twelver Shi'a also
hold the day of Nowruz
in high regard.
Here are the events that
took place on this
amazing day as
enumerated by Imam

Jafar as Sadiq, Hazrat

Ali's great grandson, in
the summary above,
source Muhammad
Bakir Majlisi in his
Bihar al-Anwar:
God made a covenant
with the souls before
creation Nowruz marks
the first day when the
universe started its
motion Adam was

created Prophet
Abraham destroyed the
pagan idols that were
being worshipped by his
father and others The
Quran was revealed to
Prophet Muhammad
(s.a.s.), the night of
Layla tul Qadr - Night of
Power Prophet
Muhammad took Hazrat
Ali on his shoulders to

smash 360 idols in

Mecca Prophet
Muhammad declared Ali
as his legitimate
successor at Gadhir-e
Khumm Hazrat Ali
was born on Navroz (on
the solar calendar, the
lunar Muslim calendar
had not yet been
established until the
Hijra, the migration of

Prophet Muhammad
from Makkah to
Medina) in the Kaaba
that was built by Prophet
Abraham and Prophet
Ismael (Ibrahim and
Ismail) Hazrat Salman
Farsi, Al-Fars (Salman
the Persian) converted to
Islam on Navroz and
used to prepare special
sufro (offering of food

and sweets) on the day

of Navroz for Prophet
Muhammad and Hazrat
Ali.
O you who believe!
When you consult the
Apostle, then offer
something in offering
(mehmani, sufro) before
your consultation; that is
better for you and purer;

but if you do not find

(the means), then surely
Allah is Forgiving,
Merciful Quran 58.12
The day upon which
Nowruz falls has been
recommended as a day
of fasting for Twelver
Shia Muslims by Shia
scholars,
including Abul-Qassim
al-Khoei,

[80]

ImamKhomeini and A
[81]
li al-Sistani. The day
also assumes special
significance for Shias as
it was on 21 March 656
AD when the first Imam
Hazrat Ali assumed the
office of Caliphate.
Celebration by Shia
Muslims of Lucknow

Shia Muslims
of Pakistan, and
Kashmir also celebrates
Nowruz with zeal.
According to Shias of
Lucknow's belief it is
celebrated to mark the
day when Ali was
declared the successor of
prophet.
In Afghanistan

Nowroz is celebrated
widely in Afghanistan.
Also known as Farmer's
Day, the observances
usually last two weeks,
culminating on the first
day of the Afghan New
Year, March 21.
[2]
During the Taliban
rule (19962001),
Nowruz was banned and
considered an "ancient

pagan holiday centered

on fire worship".
[82]
Preparations for
Nowroz start several
days beforehand, at least
after Chaharshanbe Suri,
the last Wednesday
before the New Year.
Among various
traditions and customs,
the most important ones
are as following:

Nowruz in Mazar-iSharif, Afghanistan

Guli Surkh
festival (Persian:
) : The Guli
Surkh festival which
literally means Red
Flower
Festival (referring to
the red Tulip flowers) is
the principal festival for
Nowroz. It is celebrated

in Mazar-e Sharif
during the first 40 days
of the year when the
Tulip flowers grow in
the green plains and
over the hills
surrounding the city.
People from all over
the country travel to
Mazari Sharif to attend
the Nawroz festivals.
Various activities and

customs are performed

during the Guli Surkh
festival, including the
Jahenda Bala event and
Buzkashi games.

Jahenda
Bl (Persian: ;
old Persian Zoroastrian
term Zend or Zand Pers
[83]
ian: ) : Jahenda
Bala is celebrated on

the first day of the New

Year (i.e. Nawroz), and
is attended by highranking government
officials such as the
Vice-President,
Ministers, and
Provincial Governors.
It is a specific religious
ceremony performed in
the Blue Mosque of
Mazar that is believed

(mostly
by Sunnite Afghans) to
be the site of the tomb
of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the
fourth caliph of Islam.
The ceremony is
performed by raising a
special banner whose
color configuration
resembles Derafsh
Kaviani. This is the
biggest recorded

Nowroz gathering
where up to 200,000
people from all over
Afghanistan get
together in Mazar
central park around
blue mosque to
celebrate the banner
raising (Jahenda Bl )
ceremony.

Buzkashi: Along with

other customs and
celebrations, normally
a Buzkashi tournament
is held during the Guli
Surkh festival in
Mazaris
Sharif, Kabul and other
northern cities of
Afghanistan.

Haft
Mwa (Persian:
): In Afghanistan,
people prepare Haft
Mwa (literally
translates as Seven
Fruits) instead of Haft
Sin which is common
in Iran. Haft Mewa is
like a Fruit salad made
from 7 different Dried
fruits, served in their

own syrup. The 7 dried

fruits
are: Raisin, Senjed (the
dried fruit of
the oleaster tree),Pistac
hio, Hazelnut, Prune (dr
y fruit
of Apricot), Walnut and
whether Almond or
another species
of Plum fruit.

Samanak: It is a
special type of sweet
dish made
from germinated wheat,
and is normally cooked
or prepared on the eve
of Nawroz or a few
days before the
Nawroz. Women take a
special party for it
during the night, and
cook it from late in the

evening till the

daylight, singing a
special song: Samanak
dar Josh o m Kafcha
zanem Dochtaran*
dar Khwb o m
Dafcha zanem (*
Dochter mains 1
daughter 2 young Lady
or girl)

Special cuisines:
People cook special
types of dishes for
Nowroz, especially on
the eve of Nowroz.
Normally they
cook Sabzi Chalaw, a
dish made
from riceand spinach,
separately. Moreover,
the bakeries prepare a
special type of cookie,

called Kulcha-e
Nowroz, which is only
baked for Nowroz.
Another dish which is
prepared mostly for the
Nowroz days is Mh
wa Jelab (Fried Fish
and Jelabi) and it is the
most often meal in
picnics. In Afghanistan,
it is a common custom
among

the affianced families

that the fianc's family
give presents to or
prepare special dishes
for the fiance's family
on special occasions
such as in the two Eids
(Eid ul-Fitr and Eid alAdha), Bar'at and in
Nowroz. Hence, the
special dish for Nowroz
is Mh wa Jelab.

Sightseeing
to Cercis fields: The
citizens of Kabul go
to Istalif, Charikar or
other green places
around where
the Cercis flowers
grow. They go for
picnic with their
families during the first
2 weeks of New Year.

Jashn-e Dehqn:
Jashn-e Dehqan
means The Festival of
Farmers. It is
celebrated in the first
day of year, in which
the farmers walk in the
cities as a sign of
encouragement for the
agricultural
productions. In recent

years, this activity is

being performed only
in Kabul and other
major cities, in which
the mayor and other
high governmental
personalities participate
for watching and
observing.

Kampirak: Like "Haji

Nowruz" in Iran, he is

an old bearded man

wearing colorful
clothes with a long hat
and rosary who
symbolizes beneficence
and the power of nature
yielding the forces of
winter. He and his
retinue pass village by
village distributing
gathered charities
among people and do

his shows like reciting

poems. The tradition is
observed in central
provinces
specially Bamyan and
[84]
Daykundi.

In Azerbaijan
Main article: Novruz in
Azerbaijan

Nowruz in Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijani youth
celebrating Novruz.
Usually preparation for
Novruz begins a month
prior to the festival.
Each of forthcoming 4

weeks is devoted to one

of the four elements and
called accordingly in
Azerbaijan. Each
Tuesday people
celebrate the day of one
of the four elements
water, fire, earth and
[85]
wind. People do house
cleaning, plant trees,
make new dresses, paint
eggs, make national

pastries such
as shekerbura, pakhlava,
shorgoghal and a great
variety of national
[86]
cuisine. Wheat is fried
with kishmish (raisins)
and nuts (govurga). As a
tribute to fireworshiping every
Tuesday during four
weeks before the holiday
kids jump over small

bonfires and candles are

lit. On the holiday eve
the graves of relatives
[87]
are visited and tended.
Novruz is a family
holiday. In the evening
before the holiday the
whole family gathers
around the holiday table
laid with various dishes
to make the New Year
rich. The holiday goes

on for several days and

ends with festive public
dancing and other
entertainment of folk
bands, contests of
national sports. In rural
areas crop holidays are
[88]
marked.
The decoration of the
festive table is khoncha,
a big silver or copper
tray with Samani placed

in the centre and candles

and dyed eggs by the
number of family
members around it. The
table should be set, at
least, with seven dishes.
[85]

On the last Tuesday

prior to Novruz,
according to old
traditions children slip
around to their

neighbours' homes and

apartments, knock at
their doors, and leave
their caps or little basket
on the thresholds all the
while hiding nearby
waiting for candies,
[85]
pastries and nuts.
Celebration in China
Traditionally, "Nawriz"
was celebrated mainly in

China's
Xinjiang Uyghur Auton
omous Region by the
Uyghur, Chinese Tajik,
Salar,
and Kazakh ethnicities.
[89]

In Turkey
Main article: Newroz as
celebrated by Kurds

"Churshama Kulla" is
the tradition where
people jump over the
[citation needed]
fire.
It is
celebrated as a national
emblem in Kurdistan.
In this Picture Kurds in
Istanbul celebrate
Newroz through
coming together and

showing their cultural

unity.
Although the Kurds
celebrate Nowruz, it was
not however until 2005
that Kurdish population
of Turkey could
celebrate their new year
[90]
openly. "Thousands of
people have been
detained in Turkey, as
the authorities take

action against suspected

supporters of the
Kurdish rebel
movement, the PKK.
[91]
The holiday is now
official in Turkey after
international pressure on
the Turkish government
to lift culture bans.
Turkish government
renamed the
holiday Nevroz in 1995.

[92]

In the last years,

limitations on
expressions of Kurdish
national identity,
including the usage
of Kurdish in the public
sphere, have been
considerably lifted off.
The word 'Newroz' is
Kurdish for 'Nowruz'.
The Kurds celebrate this
feast between 18 and 21

March. It is one of the

few people's
celebrations that has
survived and predates all
the major religious
festivals. The holiday is
considered by Kurds to
be the single most
important holiday of
every year.
With this festival Kurds
gather into the

fairgrounds mostly
outside the cities to
welcome spring. Women
wear colored dresses and
spangled head scarves
and young men wave
flags of green, yellow
and red, the colors of the
Kurdish people. They
hold this festival by
lighting fire and dancing
[93]
around it.

The main Kurdish

greeting that
accompanies the festival
is Newroz proz
be! literally translating
to "Congratulations on
the New Year" or
equivalent to Happy
Newroz!. Another
greeting used is, Bij
Newroz!, simply

meaning Long live

Newroz!
Newroz is still largely
considered as a potent
symbol of Kurdish
identity in Turkey.
Newroz celebrations are
usually organised by
Kurdish cultural
associations and proKurdish political parties.
Thus, the Democratic

Society Party was a

leading force in the
organisation of the 2006
Newroz events
throughout Turkey. In
recent years the Newroz
celebration gathers
around 1 million
participants
in Diyarbakr, the
biggest city of the
Kurdish dominated

Southeastern Turkey. As
the Kurdish Newroz
celebrations in Turkey
often are theater for
political messages, the
events are frequently
criticized for being
political rallies rather
than cultural
celebrations. On 21
March 2013, PKK
leader Abdullah

Ocalan called for a

ceasefire through a
message that was
released
in Diyarbakr during the
[94]
Newroz celebrations.
In other largely
populated Kurdish
regions in the Middle
East including Iraq and
Syria, similar
celebrations are carried

out with fire, dancing

and music. In Iran, it is
the most important
festival of the whole
year.
In Kurdistan, jumping
over the fire (known as
Chuwarshama
[citation needed]
Kulla
) happens
on New Year's Eve
(rather the last Tuesday
of the year).

In Pakistan
This festival is
like Nowruz of Iran,
Afghanistan, and Central
Asia.Peoples of Gilgit
Baltistan are called
gbians (gbians, gb
people, Balti) In
Northern Pakistan
(Chitral, Gilgit, Baltistan
) because

[citation

of Shia Majority,
needed]
population there,
and
[citation
Northern Punjab
needed]
Nowruz is
celebrated as a socioreligious festival. It is
also celebrated with
much fervour
in Balochistan, and in
almost all of Pakistan's
major urban centres.

[citation needed]

The day
coincides with the
Spring Equinox on
March 21, but the
celebration continues for
weeks. In Baltistan, the
main features of Nowruz
are the giving of
coloured eggs to friends
signifying the earth and
polo matches. In
Balochistan, the festival

is marked with outdoor

feasts, and the
traditional jumping over
a fire to wash away sins
and usher in a fresh
start.
It is a part of Balti
[95]
people's culture.
In the Bah' Faith
Main article: Bah'
Naw-Rz

Naw-Rz in the Bah'

Faith is one of nine holy
days for adherents of the
Bah' Faith worldwide
and the first day of
the Bah'
calendar occurring on
the vernal equinox,
[96]
around March 21. The
Bah' calendar is
composed of 19 months,
[97]
each of 19 days, and

each of the months is

named after an attribute
of God; similarly each
of the nineteen days in
the month also are
named after an attribute
[97]
of God. The first day
and the first month were
given the attribute
of Bah, anArabic word
meaning splendour or
glory, and thus the first

day of the year was the

day of Bah in the
[96]
month of Bah.
[98]
Bah'u'llh, the
founder of the Bah'
Faith, explained that
Naw-Rz was associated
with the Most Great
[96][98]
Name of God,
and
was instituted as a
festival for those who

observed the Nineteen

[99][100]
day fast.
The day is also used to
symbolize the renewal
of time in each religious
[101]
dispensation.
`Abdu'l
-Bah, Bah'u'llh's son
and successor, explained
that significance of
Naw-Rz in terms
of spring and the new

[96]

life it brings. He
explained that the
equinox is a symbol of
the messengers of
God and the message
that they proclaim is like
a spiritual springtime,
and that Naw-Rz is
used to commemorate it.
[102]

As with all Bah' holy

days, there are few fixed
rules for observing NawRz, and Bah's all over
the world celebrate it as
a festive day, according
to local custom.
[96]
Persian Bah's still
observe many of the
Iranian customs
associated with Nowruz
such as the Haft Sn, but

American Bah'
communities, for
example, may have
a potluck dinner, along
with prayers and
readings from Bah'
scripture.
UN recognition
Main
article: International
Day of Nowruz

The UN's General

Assembly in 2010
recognized March 21 as
the International Day of
Nowruz, describing it a
spring festival of Persian
origin which has been
celebrated for over
3,000 years and calling
on world countries to
draw on the holiday's
rich history to promote

peace and goodwill.

During the meeting of
The Inter-governmental
Committee for the
Safeguarding of the
Intangible Heritage of
the United Nations, held
between 28 September
2 October 2009 in Abu
Dhabi, Nowrz was
officially registered on
the UNESCO List of the

Intangible Cultural
Heritage of Humanity.
[103]
In response to the
UN recognition, Iran
unveiled a postage
stamp. The stamp was
made public in the
presence of Iranian
President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad during the
first International
Nowruz Celebrations in

Tehran on Saturday, 27
March 2010. President
Ahmadinejad also called
for joint efforts to
further acquaint the
world about the
meaningful holiday,
adding that it could
significantly promote
global peace and justice:
Observing Norooz will
not only promote

cultural values, but it

will also help nations
establish relations based
on friendship, peace,
[104]
justice and respect.
The second International
Nowruz Celebrations
were also held in Tehran
in 2011. The 3rd
International Nowruz
Celebrations were held

in Dushanbe, Tajikistan,
on March 25, 2012 with
Tajik President and his
Iranian, Afghan
counterparts in
attendance. Turkmenista
n is scheduled to host
the next international
ceremonies to celebrate
[105]
Nowruz.

Spelling variations in
English
A variety of spelling
variations for the word
"Nowruz" exist in
English-language usage.
Random House
(unabridged) provides
the spelling "nowruz".
[106]
Merriam-Webster (2
006) recognizes only the
spelling "nauruz" (and a

contestant in the final

session of the
2006 Scripps National
Spelling Bee, Allion
Salvador, in the United
States was disqualified
[107][108]
on that basis
). In
the USA, many
respected figures in the
field of language such as
Dr. Yarshater at
Columbia University

have suggested to
[citation needed]
use Nowruz.
Gallery[edit]

Nowruz in Syria.

Nowruz in Kazakhstan.

Nowruz
in Istanbul,Turkey.

Nowruz in Qajar
dynasty.

Nowruz in Azerbaijan.
See also[edit]

Holidays
portal
Assyrian new year
Earth Day
Iranian calendar
Iranian festivals
Islamic New Year
Kha b-Nisan
New Year's Day
Nowruz Eve among
Mazandarani people

Public holidays in Iran

Sham el-Nessim
Songkran
Vernal Equinox Day
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External links[edit]
Wikimedia
Commons
has media
related
to Nowruz.

Nowruz at Encyclop
dia Britannica
Nowruz at Encyclop
dia Iranica

UN Recognizes
Nowruz as an
International day
Nowruz
holiday (English), (Ru
ssian), (Turkmen)
The Persian
Nowruz by Iraj Bashiri
Nowruz
Countdown (Persian)
Nowruz Persian New
Year Amaana.org

Videos[edit]
Nowrooz holidays in
Iran PressTV (2012)
Nowruz- Simply
Explained on YouTube
.

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V

T
E

This article treats of the

reckoning of days,
months and years in
the calendar used
by adherents of the
Zoroastrian
faith. Zoroastrian
religious festivals are
discussed elsewhere, but
have a fixed relationship

to Nawruz, the New

Year festival, whose
timing is discussed
below. Three distinct
versions of the calendar
are currently in use by
different Zoroastrian
communities.
In this article, except
where explicitly noted to
the contrary, Westernstyle dates prior to

October 5, 1582 AD are

reckoned according to
the Julian calendar;
subsequent dates are
according to
the Gregorian calendar,
in which 15 October
1582 (Gregorian) was
the day following 4
October 1582 (Julian).

English spellings
follow this
[1]
recommended usage.

Old Avestan calendar

The forerunner of all
modern Zoroastrian
calendars is the system
used to reckon dates in
the Persian Empire. In
539 BC, Persia's rulers
conquered Babylon, and

soon afterwards at
least by the 4th century
BC adopted
the Babylonian
method of reckoning
months: 12 months each
containing 30 days. The
Zoroastrian calendar
follows the Babylonian
in relating the seventh
and other days of the

month to Ahura Mazda.

[2]

This 'Avestan Calendar'

of 360 days required
regular correction to
keep it synchronized
with the solar year; this
was achieved
by intercalating a 13th
month roughly once

every six years.

[2][3][4][5][6]

[7]

Intercalations did not

always follow a regular
pattern, but during the
reign of Artaxerxes
II (circa 380 BC)
astronomers utilized a
19 year cycle which
required the addition of
a month called Addaru II
month in years 3, 6, 8,

11, 14 and 19, and the

month Ululu II in year
[5]
17 of the cycle. Older
[8]
research suggests the
first intercalation took
place in 309 BC. Fuller
information on
the naming of
months will be found
below, but it should be
noted that the first
month of the year was

called Frawardin, and

the first day of
Frawardin was the 'New
Year's Day'
or Nawruz (also
reckoned Now-Ruz,
Nowruz, No Roz, NoRooz, Norouz, or
Navroz), from which all
other religious
observances were
reckoned this day

being, in theory, the day

of the Northern vernal
equinox, 21 March
(Gregorian).
Following Alexander's c
onquest of Persia in 330
BC, the Seleucids (312
248 BC) instituted the
Hellenic practice of
counting years from the
start of an 'era', as

opposed to starting a
new count at the
beginning of the reign of
each individual king.
They therefore counted
years of the era of
Alexander (now referred
to as theSeleucid era).
This practice was not
considered acceptable to
the Zoroastrian priests,
who consequently

founded a new era, the

era of Zoroaster which
incidentally led to the
first serious attempt to
establish a historical
date for the prophet.
The Parthians (150224
CE), who succeeded the
Seleucids, continued the
Seleucid/Hellenic
[9]
tradition.

Development of a 365day calendar

Five significant stages
seem to have occurred in
the introduction of a
stable 365-day calendar.
Mary Boyce has
observed that
contemporary scholars
are divided on whether
this 365-day calendar
was in fact preceded by

a 360-day calendar of
Zoroastrian observances.
[10]

First: A 365-day
calendar was introduced
during the reign of
the Sasanian emperor Ar
dashir I (226241 AD).
The names of months
and of days of the month
that had been used

in Achaemenian times
remained unaltered; the
five additional days
were inserted after the
twelfth month. These
five days were
named Gatha orGah day
s, after the
ancient Avesta hymns of
the same name. In 226
AD, 1 Frawardin and the
New Year celebration of

Nawruz had drifted to 1

October. The older
custom of
counting regnal
years from the
monarch's coronation
[2][5][9]
was reinstated.
Second: After 46 years
(226272 AD), with 1
Frawardin now on 19
September,

another calendar
reform was implemented
by Ardashir's
grandson Hormazd
I (272273 AD). It
seems that during the
first year after
implentation of the
Gatha days, the
population had not
universally adopted the
new dates for religious

festivals, resulting in
"official" celebrations
takings place five days
later than popular
celebrations. In later
years the population had
observed the Gatha
days, but the original
five-day discrepancy
persisted. Hormazd's
reform was to link the
popular and official

observance dates to form

continual six-day feasts.
Nawruz was an
exception: the first and
the sixth days of the
month were celebrated
as different
occasions. Lesser
Nawruz was observed on
1 Frawardin. 6
Frawardin,
becameGreater Nawruz,

a day of special festivity.

Around the 10th century
CE, the Greater
Nawruz was associated
with the return of the
legendary king, Jamsed;
in contemporary practice
it is kept as the symbolic
observance of
Zoroasters birthday,
[9][11][12]
or Khordad Sal.

Third: A major reform

of the religious calendar
was implemented some
time between 399 and
518 AD. The names of
the days and months
were unaltered, but
Nawruz would now be
celebrated on the first
day of Adur, hitherto the
ninth month of the
calendar. Other religious

festivals were shifted to

maintain their relative
position to Nawruz.
Mary Boyce has argued
that, as part of this
reform, the six-day
festivals were
compressed to five days.
The major feasts,
or gahambars, of
contemporary
Zoroastrian practice, are

still kept as five-day

[9][13]
observances today.
[14]

Fourth: By the reign

of Yazdegird III (632
651 AD), the religious
celebrations were again
somewhat adrift with
respect to their proper
seasons. Therefore in
632 AD, the new year

due to be celebrated on
June 21 was brought
ahead by the device of
omitting that year's
Gatha days; Nawruz was
therefore kept on June
16. Most Persian
Zoroastrians accepted
and used this new
[15]
calendar. By the 9th
century, the Zoroastrian
theologian Zadspram

had noted that the state

of affairs was less than
optimal, and estimated
that at the time of Final
Judgement the two
systems would be out of
[13]
sync by four years.
Fifth: In 1006 AD, the
month Frawardin had
returned to the correct
position so that 1

Frawardin coincided
with the Northern vernal
equinox. The religious
festivals were therefore
returned to their
traditional months, with
Nawruz once again
being celebrated on 1
[9]
Frawardin.
The reckoning of years

16 June 632 AD is the

start date for the current
mainstream Zoroastrian
reckoning of years.
Yazdegird III was the
last monarch of
the Sasanian dynasty,
and since the custom at
that time was to count
regnal years since the
monarch ascended the
throne, the reckoning of

years was continued, in

the absence of a
Zoroastrian monarch,
under Islamic rule.
Zoroastrian dates are
distinguished by the
suffix Y.Z. for Yazdegird
i Era. The usage "AY" is
[14][16][17][18]
also found.
Isolated pockets of Asia
[citation needed]
Minor use
an
alternative reckoning of

years which predates the

Yazdegirdi Era, being
based on a supposed
date of the birth of
Zoroaster on 3 March
[citation needed]
389 BC.
On
this calendar, 27 July
2000 AD was the first
day of Zoroastrian year
[15]
2390.

Yet another form of

reckoning is the
Zarathushtrian
(Zoroastrian) Religious
Era (Z.E.R./ZRE),
adopted in 1990 AD by
the Zarathushtrian
Assembly of California.
This is based on the
putative association of
the mission of Zoroaster
with the dawn of the

astrological Age of
Aries, calculated for this
purpose to have been
theNorthern vernal
equinox of 1737 BC.
Hence the year 3738
ZRE began in 2000 AD.
The Zoroastrian
community, both in Iran
and in diaspora, have
also been said to have
accepted it, the former

doing so in 1993 AD. A

briefing paper from the
Zoroastrian Trust Funds
of Europe indicates that
they recognise this usage
to have been
pragmatically adopted
by Zoroastrians in Iran,
while the diaspora
continues to use the YZ
[19][20]
system.

The Qadimi calendar

The cycle of days and
months unaltered since
16 June 632 AD, and the
cycle of religious
observances unaltered
since at least 1006 CE,
form a stable calendar
which is still in use
today. Although Persia
came under Arab,
Islamic, rule in 651 AD,

the civil reckoning of

months and days was
only disrupted for a
short time and had
returned to use for civil
purposes within a
[21]
century.
Alternative names
To distinguish this
calendar from others
which developed in due

course, the name Qadimi

became attached to it a
name which means 'old'
or 'ancient' and will also
be found with alternative
[17]
spellings:
Qadmi (by
contraction)
[16]
Quadmi
Kadimi (a Parsi variant
spelling)

Kadmi (by
contraction)
[15]
Kudmi
Gadimi

Relationship with the

Gregorian calendar
The Julian Day
Number corresponding
to 16 June 632 CE
(which was 19 June 632
CE of the proleptic

Gregorian Calendar) is
[22]
1952063.
The Julian Day Number
of Nowruz, the first day,
of Year Y of the
Yazdegirdi Era is
therefore
1952063 + (Y 1) 365
.
22 July 2000 AD was
Nowruz and the first day
of 1370 Y.Z. (or 3738

ZRE) according to the

[15]
Qadimi reckoning.
In the Julian year 1300
AD, 669 Y.Z. began on 1
January, and 670 Y.Z. on
31 December of the
[15]
same year.
The Shahanshahi
calendar
A 365-day calendar
drifts ahead of the solar

year at a rate of
approximately one day
every four years. A 9thcentury Zoroastrian text,
the Denkard, explicitly
acknowledged several
methods of
compensating for this
[23]
drift:
a leap-day every
fourth year;

adding ten days every

fortieth year;
a leap-month of 30
days once every 120
years;
5 months once every
600 years;
the discrepancy would
be a whole year once
every 1,440 years.

The Denkard then

[23]
states:
The time of six hours
should be kept apart
from (i.e. not to be
added to) the last days
of the year for many
years, till (the hours)
amount to (a definite
period of time)... And
it is the admonition of
the good faith that the

rectification (of the

calendar) should not
be made till a month is
completed (i.e. till the
additional six hours
every year amount to a
month at the end of a
hundred and twenty.
years). And more than
a period of five
months should not be
allowed (to

accumulate.)
[Parentheses appear as
in original.]
The Denkard which
was not Zoroastrian
Scripture but a religious
manual therefore
favoured the solution of
a leap-month once
every 120 years, with a
fall-back of adding 5
months after 600 years

if this were missed.

This practice was not,
however, adopted by
Zoroastrians living in
[9]
Islamic Persia.
Many Zoroastrians
migrated from the
Middle East to India
during the 10th century,
becoming known in
India as Parsis. They
had knowledge of the

Denkard's proposal: at
some point between
1125 and 1129, the
Parsi-Zoroastrians of
the Indian subcontinent
inserted such
an embolismic month,
named Aspandarmad
vahizak (the month of
Aspandarmad but with
the suffix vahizak).
That month would also

be the last month

intercalated: subsequent
generations of Parsis
neglected to insert a
[17]
thirteenth month.
Around 1720 AD, an
Irani-Zoroastrian priest
named Jamasp
Peshotan Velati
travelled from Iran to
India. Upon his arrival,

he discovered that there

was a difference of a
month between the
Parsi calendar and his
own calendar. Velati
brought this
discrepancy to the
attention of the priests
of Surat, but no
consensus as to which
calendar was correct
was reached. Around

1740 AD, some

influential priests
argued that since their
visitor had been from
the ancient 'homeland',
his version of the
calendar must be
correct, and their own
must be wrong. On
June 6, 1745 AD, a
number of Parsis in and
around Surat adopted

the calendar which had

continued in use in
Iran, now to be
identified as the Qadimi
reckoning. Other Parsis
continued to use the
reckoning which had
become traditional in
India, and call their
calendar Shahanshahi.
[15][17]

Alternative
names[edit]
The name Shahanshahi
means 'imperial' and
will also be found with
[17]
alternative spellings:
Shahenshahi
Shahenshai
"Shenshai" probably
a corruption of
'imperial'
[15]
Shensoy

Rasimi 'traditional'
Sharshai of
uncertain meaning
Arzan Lali the author
of Zoroastrian Calendar
Services (ZCS) website
[16]
comments:
... adherents of other
variants of the
Zoroastrian calendar
denigrate the Shenshai

or Shahenshahi as
"royalist".
Relationship with the
Gregorian Calendar
21 August 2000 AD
was Nawruz and the
first day of 1370 Y.Z.
(or 3738 ZRE)
according to the
Shahanshahi
reckoning.

Because the one-off

intercalation of 30
days happened
sometime before the
Nawruz of 1129 AD,
we can be confident
that in that Julian year,
498 YZ began on 12
February by the
Qadimi reckoning, but
12 March by the

recently introduced
[15]
Shahanshahi.
The Julian Day
Number of Nawruz,
the first day, of all
subsequent
Shahanshahi
years Y of the
Yazdegirdi Era is
therefore
1952093 + (Y 1) 3
65.

The Fasli calendar

At the start of the 20th
century, Khurshedji
Cama, a
Bombay Parsi,
founded the "Zarthosti
Fasili Sal Mandal", or
Zoroastrian SeasonalYear Society. in 1906,
the society published
its proposal for a

Zoroastrian calendar
which was
synchronised with the
seasons.
This Fasli calendar, as
it became known, was
based on an older
model, introduced in
1079 during the reign
of the Seljuk Malik
Shah and which had
been well received in

agrarian communities.
[13][16][17]

The Fasli proposal had

two useful features: a
leap-day once every
four years, and
harmony with the
solar year. The leapday, called Avardadsal-Gah (or in
Pahlavi: Ruzevahizak),

would be inserted,
when required, after
the five
existing Gatha days at
the end of the year.
New Year's Day would
be kept on
the northward vernal
equinox, and if the
leap-day was applied
correctly, would not
drift away from the

spring.
The Fasli society also
claimed that their
calendar was an
accurate religious
calendar, as opposed
to the other two
calendars, which they
asserted were only
[24]
political.

The new calendar

received little support
from the Indian
Zoroastrian
community, since it
was considered to
contradict the
injunctions expressed
in the Denkard. In
Iran, however,
the Fasli calendar
gained momentum

following a campaign
in 1930 to persuade
the Iranian
Zoroastrians to adopt
it, under the title of
the Bastani(traditional
) calendar. In 1925
AD, the Iranian
Parliament had
introduced a
new Iranian calendar,
which (independent of

the Fasli movement)

incorporated both
points proposed by the
Fasili Society, and
since the Iranian
national calendar had
also retained the
Zoroastrian names of
the months, it was not
a big step to integrate
the two.
The Bastani calendar

was duly accepted by

many of the
Zoroastrians. Many
orthodox Iranian
Zoroastrians,
especially the
Sharifabadis of Yazd,
continued to use the
[16][17]
Qadimi, however.
[25]

Festivals in leap
years
The Zoroastrian Year,
in Qadimi and
Shahanshahi
observance, concludes
wiith ten days in
memory of departed
souls:
five Mukhtad days on
the last 5 days of the
12th month, and five

more Mukhtad days,

which are also the
five-day festival
of Hamaspathmaidye
m, on the five Gatha
days. The penultimate
day of the twelfth
month is Mareshpand
[9][24]
Jashan.
In a common year
(non-leap year) of the

Fasli observance,
Mukhtad is observed
1120 March, with
Hamaspathmaidyem
and the Gatha days
1620 March.
Mareshpand Jashan is
[24]
on 14 March.
In a leap year of the
Fasli observance,
Mukhtad is observed
1019 March, with

Hamaspathmaidyem
and the Gatha days
1519 March.
Mareshpand Jashan is
on 13 March. The leap
day, 20 March,
called Avardad-salGah, is considered a
duplication
of Wahishtoisht, the
fifth Gatha day, but is
not reckoned as

Mukhtad or
Hamaspathmaidyem.
[24][26][27]

Reckoning of years[
In 1906 AD, Nawruz
of 1276 Y.Z. fell on 15
August for followers
of the Qadimi
calendar, and 14
September for those
observing

Shahanshahi. There
was therefore a sixmonth gap between
the Fasli and Qadimi
New Year
observances, and a
seven-month gap to
the Shahanshahi.
The on-line calendar
converters cited at the
bottom of this page all
give the current Fasli

year (following
Nawruz in 2011 AD)
as 1381 Y.Z. the
same year as the
Qadimi and
Shahanshahi.
However, the
accumulated leap days
not reckoned in the
latter two calendars
add up to a whole year
in just over 1508

[14]

years. Since there is

exactly one Fasli year
for every Gregorian
year, then day one of
the proleptic Fasli
calendar would be 21
March (Gregorian)
631 AD, with Year 2
beginning on 21
March 632 AD. But
Yazdegird III did not
ascend the throne until

19 June 632 AD
(Gregorian), leading to
the curious quirk that
the base date for the
reckoning of years
ends up in Year 2 of
the Fasli calendar.
Alternative names
The name Fasli will
also be found in
[17]
alternative forms:

Fasili
"Bastani" Iranian
for 'traditional'
Relationship with the
Gregorian calendar
21 March 2000 AD
was Nawruz and the
first day of 1370 Y.Z.
(or 3738 ZRE)
according to the Fasli
reckoning.

Dr Ali Jafarey
describes the Fasli
[21]
calendar as
...an almost tropical
calendar. It is
corrected by observing
the leap year.
Webster's Online
direction and various
unreferenced sources
state that the Fasli
calendar follows the

Gregorian, and it is
shown strictly
following the
Gregorian calendar in
the period 20092031
AD in the tables
published by R. E.
Kadva. The
Gregorian calendar
itself, however, will
not keep 21 March as
the date of the

Northern vernal
equinox forever it
has a deviation of one
day every 5025 years.
[6][24][26][28][29]

Relationship with
the Iranian calendar
The civil calendar in
Iran since 31 March
1925 AD has been
the Solar
Hejri calendar. This is

strictly tied to the

actual Northward
equinox, rather than a
mathematical
approximation to it.
An Iranian day is
reckoned to begin at
midnight. Iranian
time is 3.5 hours
ahead of GMT. New
Year's Day is defined
to be the day, as

reckoned by Iranian
time, when the
Northward equinox
(the precise moment
in time when
northern and southern
hemispheres of the
earth pass through the
point of the earth's
orbit when they are
equally illuminated
by the sun) occurs on

or before noon of that

day, or during the 12
hours following the
noon of the preceding
day. This means that
the pattern of leap
years in the Iranian
calendar is complex
usually following a
33-year cycle where
the leap day is
inserted every fourth

year, but in year 33

instead of year 32,
but with occasional
27 or 35 year cycles.
[30]

From 1960 to 1995,

the Northward
equinox always fell at
such a time that New
Year's Day in Iran
occurred on the day
called 21 March in

the Western calendar.

But this equivalence
was not always true
before March 1960,
and the exact
correspondence broke
down again in 1996.
In 1959, and at fouryear intervals back to
1927, Iranian New
Year's Day fell on 22
March in the

Gregorian calendar.
In 1996, and
subsequent Gregorian
leap years, Iranian
New Year's Day falls
on 20 March. The
pattern will shift back
to a matching set of
leap years in 2096
[31]
AD.
The sources cited
above state that the

Fasli calendar
both follows the
Gregorian and was
such that New Year's
Day coincided with
vernal equinox.
These two statements
are incompatible. The
Fasli calendar cannot
track both the
Gregorian leap years
and strictly start on

the vernal equinox;

further, any calendar
strictly tied to the
'day of the equinox'
must define when the
day starts and ends,
which depends on
[16][18][24]
longitude.
A briefing paper from
the Zoroastrian Trust
Funds of Europe
indicates that

...the Irani Zoroastrian

calendar does not shift
and commences on
21st March. But it is
important to note that
all Iranians including
Zoroastrians celebrate
NoRuz (Nawruz) on
the actual day of the
Northward equinox,
therefore some years it

can be 20th / 22nd

[20]
March.
Astronomical and
mystical aspects of
the calendars
The three different
Zoroastrian
calendar-traditions
are similar with
regard to the
principle of the
beginning of the

months. The Fasli,

Qadimi and the
Shahanshahi all
(notionally) start
each of the 30-daylong months with
the Sun entering a
new constellation,
similar to the Vedic
(Hindu) Solar
calendars as
reflected in the

Jyotisha (Vedic
Astrology), and
the Armenian
calendar, but
different from
the Iranian (Jalaali)
Calendar, the Julian
Calendar, the Mayan
Haab Calendar and
theFrench
Revolutionary
Calendar, whose

epochs of the
months are fixed to
the
equinoxes/solstices,
as are the signs
of Western
Astrology. The
Qadimi and the
Shhanshahi
Zoroastrian
Calendar use merely
five epigomenal

days, similar to the

French
Revolutionary, and
the Coptic calendar,
so their year count
slowly travels
through the
astronomical year.
Thus the Qadimi
variant of the
Zoroastrian calendar
keeps track

of precession,
pointing towards an
esoteric (hidden)
calculus of world
[16][26]
ages.
The Qadimi
(traditional)
Zoroastrian calendar
puts the month
of Dae (pronounced
"Day") with the Sun
entering the

constellation of
Taurus (specifically
the Pleiades); thus
apparently (theory)
recalling the time of
the origination of the
zoroastrian calendar,
and its relation to
the discovery of the
precession. At that
time, one very well
may conclude, that

the vernal equinox

also marked the
sun's entrance into
this constellation of
the Golden Calf, the
Taurus. According
[32]
to Mary Boyce,
It seems a reasonable
surmise that Nawruz,
the holiest of them all,
with deep doctrinal
significance, was

founded by Zoroaster
himself.
Future
developments of
the calendars
The Fasli Calendar
has become very
popular outside
India, especially in
the West, but many
Parsis believe that

adding a leap day is

against the rules,
and they mostly
continue to use the
Shahanshahi
Calendar. There is a
proposal to correct
matters by restoring
the leap month, but
unless this happens,
the Shahanshahi
and Qadimi years

will continue to
start earlier and
earlier... the
unrevised Qadimi
Calendar would
eventually coincide
with the Fasli
Calendar in
Gregorian Year
2508, the
Shahanshahi New
Year will next fall

on 21 March in
[26]
2632.
In 1992, all three
calendars happened
to have the first day
of a month on the
same day. Many
Zoroastrians
suggested a
consolidation of the
calendars: no
consensus could be

reached, though
some took this
opportunity to
switch to the Fasli
observance. Some
priests objected on
the grounds that if
they were to
switch, the
religious
implements they
utilised would

require reconsecration, at not

insignificant
[33]
expense.
It has also been
proposed that the
Shahanshahi
calendar could be
brought back into
harmony through
the intercalation of
[6]
whole months.

In the UK, most

Zoroastrians are
Indians who follow
the Shahanashai
calendar.
Nevertheless,
noting that Iranian
Zoroastrians mostly
follow the Fasli
calendar, the ZTFE
(the official
Zoroastrian charity

and London centre

of worship) marks
observances of both
[20][34]
calendars.
The division of
time
Zoroastrian practice
divides time into
years (sal or sol),
months (mah),
weeks, days (ruz,

roz or roj) and

watches (gah or
[6][17]
geh).
Divisions of the
day]
A day is reckoned
to begin at dawn, as
attested by Chapter
25 of the 9thcentury work,
the Bundahishn;
morning hours

before dawn are

assigned to the
previous calendar
day. Each day is
divided into five
[6][17]
watches:
Hawan (sunrise to
noon)
Rapithwin or
Second Hawan
(noon to 3 p.m.)

Uzerin (3 p.m. to
sunset)
Aiwisruthrem
(sunset to
midnight)
Ushahin (midnight
to sunrise)
In medieval times,
according to the
Bundahishn, in
winter there were
only four periods,

with Hawan
extending from
daybreak until
Uziran, with the
omission of
Rapithwan.
Naming of months
and days
The months and the
days of the month
in the Zoroastrian

calendar are
dedicated to, and
named after, a
divinity or divine
concept. The
religious
importance of the
calendar
dedications is very
significant. Not
only does the
calendar establish

the hierarchy of the

major divinities, it
ensures the
frequent invocation
of their names since
the divinities of
both day and month
are mentioned at
every Zoroastrian
[27]
act of worship.
Day names

The tradition of
naming the days
and months after
divinities was
based on a similar
Egyptian custom,
and was instituted
at some point
between 458 and
330 BC, very
probably during the
reign of Artaxerxes

II (404358 BC).
[35]
"The last
evidence for the use
... with Old Persian
month-names ...
comes from
458BCE, ... after
which the Elamite
tablets cease. " No
dated West-Iranian
documents from
between 458 BC

and 330 BC
survive, but the fact
that the Zoroastrian
calendar was
created some time
during that period
can be inferred
from its use In a
number of far-flung
lands which had
formerly been parts

of the Achaemenid
Empire.
The oldest (though
not dateable)
testimony for the
existence of the day
dedications comes
from Yasna 16, a
section of
the Yasna liturgy
that is for the

most part a
veneration to the 30
divinities with dayname dedications.
The Siroza a twopart Avesta text
with individual
dedications to the
30 calendar
divinities has the
same sequence.

1. Dadvah Ahura
Mazd, 2. Vohu
Manah, 3. Aa
Vahita, 4.
Khathra Vairya,
5. Spenta
rmaiti, 6.
Haurvatt, 7.
Amerett
8. Dadvah Ahura
Mazd, 9. tar,
10. p, 11.

Hvar, 12. Mh,

13. Titrya, 14.
Geu Urvan
15.Dadvah Ahura
Mazd, 16.
Mithra, 17.
Sraoa, 18.
Ranu, 19.
Fravaay, 20.
Verethragna, 21.
Rman, 22. Vta
23.Dadvah Ahura

Mazd, 24.
Dana, 25. Ai,
26. Artt, 27.
Asmn,
28. Zam, 29.
Manthra Spenta,
30. Anaghra
Rao.
The quaternary
dedication to Ahura
Mazda was perhaps

a compromise
between orthodox
and heterodox
factions, with the
8th, 15th and 23rd
day of the calendar
perhaps originally
having been
dedicated to Apam
Napat, Haoma,
and Dahmn Afrn.
The dedication to

the Ahuric Apam

Napat would
almost certainly
have been an issue
for devotees of
Aredvi Sura
Anahita, whose
shrine cult was
enormously popular
between the 4th
century BC and the
3rd century AD and

who is (accretions
included) a
functional equal of
Apam Napat.
To this day these
three divinities are
considered 'extracalendary' divinites
inasfar as they
invoked together
with the other 27,

so making a list of
30 discrete entities.
Faravahar,
believed to be a
depiction of a
Fravashi (guardia
n spirit), to which
the month and day
of Farvardin is
dedicated

The 2nd through

7th days are
dedicated to
the Amesha
Spentas, the six
'divine sparks'
through whom all
subsequent creation
was accomplished,
and who in
present-day

Zoroastrianism are the archangels.

Days 9 through 13
are dedications to
five yazatas of the
litanies
(Niyayeshes): Fire
(Atar), Water
(Apo), Sun (Hvar),
Moon (Mah), the
star Sirius (Titrya)

that here perhaps

represents the
firmament in its
entirety. Day 14 is
dedicated to the
soul of the Ox
(Geush Urvan),
linked with and
representing all
animal creation.

Day 16, leading the

second half of the
days of the month,
is dedicated to the
divinity of
oath, Mithra (like
Apam Napat of
the Ahurictriad).
He is followed by
those closest to
him, Sraoa and Ra
nu, likewise

judges of the soul;

the representatives
of which,
theFravashi(s),
come
next. Verethragna,
Rman, Vta are
respectively the
hypostases of
victory, the breath
of life, and the
(other) divinity of

the wind and

'space'.
The last group
represent the more
'abstract'
emanations:
Religion (Daena),
Recompense
(Ashi), and Justice
(Arshtat); Sky
(Asman) and Earth

(Zam); Sacred
Invocation
(Manthra Spenta)
and Endless Light
(Anaghra Raocha).
In present-day use,
the day and month
names are
the Middle
Persian equivalents
of the divine names
or the concepts, but

in some cases
reflect Semitic
influences (for
instance Titrya
appears as Tir,
which Boyce
(1982:3133)
asserts is derived
from Nabu-*Tiri).
The names of the
8th, 15th, and 23rd
day of the month

reflecting
Babylonian practice
of dividing the
month into four
periods can today
be distinguished
from one another:
These three days
are named Dae-pa
Adar,Dae-pa Mehr,
and Dae-pa Din,
Middle Persian

expressions
meaning 'Creator
of' (respectively)
Atar, Mithra, and
Daena.
What might loosely
be called weeks are
the divisions of
days 17, 814,
1522 and 2330 of
each month two

weeks of seven
days followed by
two weeks of eight.
The Gatha days at
the end of the year
do not belong to
[6]
any such week.
Month names
Twelve divinities to
whom days of the
month are

dedicated also have

months dedicated
to them. The month
dedicated to Ahura
Mazda is a special
case that month is
named after
Mazda's stock
epithet, "Creator"
(Avestan Dadvah,
whence Zoroastrian
Middle

Persian Dae), rather

than after His
proper name.
Seven of the
twelve-month
names occur at
various points in
the surviving
Avesta texts, but an
enumeration similar
to the ones for day
names does not

exist in scripture.
Lists of month
names are however
known from
commentaries on
the Avesta texts,
from various
regional
Zoroastrian
calendars of the 3rd
to 7th centuries,
and from living

usage. That these

names have an Old
Iranian origin and
are not merely
Middle Iranian
innovations may be
inferred from the
fact that several
regional variants
reflect Old Iranian
genitive singular
forms, that is, they

preserve an implicit
"(month) of".
The month-names
(with Avestan
language names in
parentheses), in the
ordinal sequence
used today, are:
1.
7.
Fraward Mihr
in
(Mira
(Frauua he)

inm)
2.
Ardwahi
sht
(Aahe
Vahitah
e)
3.
Khordad
(Haurva
tt)
4. Tir

8.
Aban
(Apm
)
9.
Adur
(r)
10.
Dae
(Dau

[Ahur

(Titrye
he)
5.
Amurda
d
(Amrt
t)
6.
Shahrew
ar
(Xara
he

ahe
Mazda
])
11.
Wahm
an
(Vah
u
Mana
h)
12.
Spend

Vairyehe armad
)
(Spnt
ay
rmat
i)
The days on which
day-name and
month-name
dedications
intersect are
festival days
(name-day feast

days) of special
worship. Because
Ahura Mazda has
four day-name
dedications, the
month dedicated to
Him has four
intersections (the
first, eighth,
fifteenth and
twenty-third day of
the tenth month).

The others have

one intersection
each, for example,
the nineteenth day
of the first month is
the day of special
worship of
the Fravashis.
There is some
evidence that
suggests that in
ancient

practice Dae was

the first month of
the year,
and Frawardin the
last. In a 9thcentury text,
Zoroaster's age at
the time of his
death is stated to
have been 77 years
and 40 days
(Zadspram 23.9),

but the "40 days"

do not correspond
to the difference
between the
traditional "death
day" (11th of Dae)
and "birthday" (6th
of Frawardin)
unless Dae had
once been the first
month of the year

and Frawardin the

last. The festival of
Frawardigan is
held on the last
days of the year,
instead of
following the
name-day feast of
the Fravashis
(nineteenth day of
the month of
Frawardin, and also

called Frawardigan
)..
Calendar tables
Table mapping
Fasli calendar to a
Gregorian nonleap year. During a
leap year, the
mapping for the
last 21 days of the
Fasli year must be
adjusted by

subtracting 1 from
the March date.
Table for 1375
YZ. This table
shows how the
year 1375 YZ
corresponds to
Gregorian dates
using the three
Zoroastrian
calendars, with
links back to 1374,

1373 and 1372

YZ.
Perpetual Fasli
Calendar
Zoroastrian
Calendar of
months and days
Calendar
calculators
Excel/VBA
(Automated)
Zoroastrian

Shehenshahi
Calendar from
1900-2100 Click
here to download
( Cyrus Sidhva;
Auckland,
NZ) OR
Alternative
Download
from OR Pls Visit
Website*

Conversion tool
for Gregorian
dates from 1006
AD to 2400
AD (good for all
dates 374 YZ to
1770 YZ). It can
adjust for the fact
that events
between midnight
and 6 a.m. on a
Gregorian date fall

on the previous
Zoroastrian Day.
Shows month
view, year view,
moon phases and
'Chaugadiyas'.
The facility above
is also available in
Gujararti.
A conversion tool
for all three
variant calendars,

good for AD dates

19112030, also
with ability to
display
Zoroastrian dates
on a month-toview page of the
Gregorian
calendar for 1911
1930.
Another
implementation of

the zanc.org
calendar above.
RozCalc
Zoroastrian
Calendar
Calculator
Parsical
Zoroastrian
Shahenshahi
calendar
application
References

1. Jump up^ The

list is based on
Kotwal F.M. and
Boyd, J. A Guide
to the
Zoroastrian
Religion,
Scholars Press,
1982.
2. ^ Jump up
a b c
to:
Boyce,
Mary (ed. &

trans.). Textual
Sources for the
Study of
Zoroastrianism.
University of
Chicago Press,
1984, pp. 1920.
3. Jump up^ al
Biruni, ed.
Sachau
E.. Chronology of
ancient nations,

p. 11 of Arabic
(1000 AD), p. 12
of Sachau
translation (1879
AD), online
athttp://www.arch
ive.org/stream/ch
ronologyofanci00
biru#page/12/mo
de/2up
4. Jump
up^ Boyce, Mary

(on behalf of the

Persian Heritage
Foundation). Zor
oastrianism Its
Antiquity and
Constant Vigour.
Mazda
Publishers, 1992,
p. 108.
5. ^ Jump up
a b c
to:
Bickerman
, E.

J.. Chronology of
the Ancient
World. Thames &
Hudson, 1968, p.
24.
6. ^ Jump up
a b c d e f
to:
The
Zoroastrian
religious
calendar, http://w
ww.avesta.org/zc
al.html

accessed 15
October 2011
7. Jump
up^ Panaino,
Antonio. Calend
ars,
in Encyclopaedia
Iranica, Vol. IV,
Fasc. 67, pp.
658677, online
version
at http://www.ira

nicaonline.org/art
icles/calendars accessed 17
October 2011
8. Jump
up^ Drouin, M.
E.. Revue
Archologique,
1889, ii 43 ff
9. ^ Jump up
a b c d e f g
to:
Boyce
, Mary. On the

Calendar of
Zoroastrian
Feasts. Bulletin
of the School of
Oriental and
African Studies,
University of
London, Vol. 33,
No. 3 (1970), pp.
513539 and
online
at http://www.jsto

r.org/stable/61452
0 and http://www.
essenes.net/pdf/O
n%20the
%20Calendar
%20of
%20Zoroastrian
%20Feasts
%20.pdf
10.Jump
up^ Boyce,
Mary. Further on

the Calendar of
Zoroastrian
Feasts. Iran (Jour
nal of the British
Institute of
Persian Studies),
2005, XLIII, pp.
138
11.Jump
up^ Stausberg,
Michael. Zoroast
rian

festivals, http://w
ww.michaelstaus
berg.net/Texts/Zo
roastrian
%20Festivals.pdf
accessed 17
October 2011.
12.Jump
up^ Khordad Sal
(Birthday of
Zoroaster) in
BBC database of

religious
observances, last
updated 2
October
2009,http://www.
bbc.co.uk/religio
n/religions/zoroas
trian/holydays/kh
ordadsal.shtml
accessed 17
October 2011.

13.^ Jump up
a b c
to:
Stausberg,
Michael. Die
Religion
Zarathushtras.
Geschichte
Gegenwart
Rituale. Band
(Volume)
3. Kohlhammer,
2004, pp. 6667.

14.^ Jump up
a b c
to:
de Blois,
Franois. The
Persian
Calendar in Iran,
1996, Vol. 34, pp.
3954 online
at http://www.jsto
r.org/stable/42999
43
15.^ Jump up
a b c d e f g h
to:
Pari

se, Frank. The

Book of
Calendars, 2nd
edition. Gorgias
Press, 2002, pp.
96, 108109 and
115117.
16.^ Jump up
a b c d e f g
to:
The
Lalis website
Zoroastrian
Calendar. http://a

hura.thelalis.com/
accessed 17
October 2011.
17.^ Jump up
a b c d e f g h i j
to:
Ed
uljee,
K.E.. Zoroastrian
Heritage:
Zoroastrian
Calendar. http://h
eritageinstitute.co
m/zoroastrianism/

calendar/index.ht
m 20072011
accessed 16
October 2011.
18.^ Jump up
a b
to: Pithavala,
Behram D.. True
Zoroastrian Year:
An invitation to
think. 9 March
1963. http://www
.heritageinstitute.

com/zoroastrianis
m/pdf/pithavala.p
df accessed 17
October 2011
19.Jump
up^ Jafarey, Ali
Akbar, The
Precise Iranian
Calendar made
simple, http://ww
w.zoroastrian.org/
articles/The

%20Precise
%20Iranian
%20Calendar.htm
accessed 17
October 2011.
20.^ Jump up
a b c
to:
Zoroastria
n Festivals
celebrated by
Zoroastrian Trust
Funds of Europe
Incorporated, a

briefing paper by
the Zoroastrian
Trust Funds of
Europe.
21.^ Jump up
a b
to: Jafarey, Ali
Akbar. No-Rooz,
The
Zarathushtrian
New
Year http://www.i
ranchamber.com/

culture/articles/no
rooz_zarathushtri
an_new_year.php
accessed 17
October 2011
22.Jump
up^ Calculator
at http://www.imc
ce.fr/en/grandpub
lic/temps/jour_jul
ien.php

23.^ Jump up
a b
to: The
Denkard, Book
III, Paragraph
419, online
at http://www.ave
sta.org/denkard/d
k3s414.html#cha
p419
24.^ Jump up
a b c d e f
to:
Kadva,
Rohinton

Erach. Compendi
um of Fasli
Zoroastrian
Calendars 1379
AY through 1400
AY, compiled 7
September
2009.http://zoroa
strian.ru/files/eng
/zoroastriancalendars-1379ay-1400-ay-

fasli.pdf
accessed 17
October 2011
25.Jump up^ The
Zoroastrian
Calendar. http://
www.ahuramazda
.com/calendar.ht
m accessed 17
October 2011
26.^ Jump up
a b c d
to:
Moonwis

e website, http://
www.moonwise.c
o.uk/year/1375zo
roastrian.htm
accessed 17
October 2011
27.^ Jump up
a b
to: Eduljee,
K.E.. 365-Day
FasliBastani/Gregoria
n Perpetual

Calendar
Grid. 2007-2011
http://www.herita
geinstitute.com/z
oroastrianism/cal
endar/page2.htm
accessed 16
October 2011.
28.Jump
up^ Webster's
Online
Dictionary, http://

www.webstersdictionaryonline.org/definiti
ons/Zoroastrian
accessed 17
October 2011
29.Jump
up^ Khoshkish,
Anoush. Iranian
Calendar, at
Wolfram
Research: http://s

cienceworld.wolf
ram.com/astrono
my/IranianCalend
ar.html
accessed 17
October 2011
30.Jump
up^ Ministry of
Iran (Islamic
Republic
of), Calendar, htt
p://www.en.iran.i

r/about/iraniancalendar
accessed 17
October 2011
31.Jump
up^ Zadeh,
Hossein
Bagher. Time of
the New
Year. SCI Usenet
Newsgroup,
March 16, 1994

and reposted
athttp://www.gha
ndchi.com/iransc
ope/Anthology/Ti
meOfTheNewYea
r.htm accessed
17 October 2011
32.Jump
up^ Boyce,
Mary. Festivals,
i. Zoroastrian,
in Encyclopaedia

Iranica, http://w
ww.iranicaonline.
org/articles/festiv
als-i accessed
17 October 2011
33.Jump
up^ Zoroastrian
Calendar, http://
www3.sympatico
.ca/zoroastrian/ca
l.html accessed
17 October 2011

34.Jump up^ The

Shap Working
Party on
Education in
Religions, Calen
dar of Religious
Festivals: A
treasury of
diversity, http://w
ww.shapworking
party.org.uk/calen
dar2.html

accessed 17
October 2011
35.Jump
up^ Boyce,
Mary. A History
of
Zoroastrianism,
Volume 2. E. J.
Brill, 1982, pp.
243250
Armenian carpet

Armenian Carpet
"Gohar" with Armenian
inscription,
1700, Artsakh (Nagorn
o-Karabagh)
The term Armenian
carpet designates, but is
not limited to,
tufted rugs or
knotted carpets woven
in Armenia or
by Armenians frompre-

Christian times to the

[1][2][3]
present .
It also
includes a number of flat
woven textiles. The term
covers a large variety of
types and sub-varieties.
Due to their intrinsic
fragility, almost nothing
survivesneither
carpets nor fragments
from antiquity until the
late medieval period.

Traditionally, since
ancient times the carpets
were used in Armenia to
cover floors, decorate
interior walls, sofas,
chairs, beds and tables.
[4]
Up to present the
carpets often serve as
entrance veils,
decoration for church
altars and vestry.
Starting to develop in

Armenia as a part of
everyday life, carpet
weaving was a must in
every Armenian family,
with the Carpet
making and rug
makingbeing almost
women's occupation.
[5]
Armenian carpets are
unique "texts" composed
of the ornaments where
sacred symbols reflect

the beliefs and religious

notions of the ancient
ancestors of the
Armenians that reached
us from the depth of
centuries. The Armenian
carpet and rug weavers
preserved strictly the
traditions. The imitation
and presentation of one
and the same ornamentideogram in the

unlimited number of the

variations of styles and
colors contain the basis
for the creation of any
new Armenian carpet. In
this relation, the
characteristic trait of
Armenian carpets is the
triumph of the
variability of ornaments
that is increased by the

wide gamut of natural

colors and tints.
Etymology of word
"carpet" in the
Armenian and other
languages
The Armenian words for
carpet are "karpet"
(Armenian: )
[6]
or "gorg"
[7]
(Armenian: ). T
hough both words in

Armenian are
synonymous, word
"karpet" is mostly used
for non-pile rugs and
"gorg" is for a pile
carpet.
Two of the most
frequently used terms to
designate woven woolen
floor coverings emanate
directly from the
Armenian experience:

carpet and kali/khali.

The term "kapert"
(Armenian: )
, formed of root "kap"
(Armenian: ) that
[8][9]
means "knot",
later
to become "karpet"
(Armenian: )
in colloquial Armenian,
is used in the 5thcentury
Armenian translation of

the Bible (Matthew 9:16

[10]
and Mark 2:21). It is
assumed that the word
"arpet" entered
into French (French: car
pette) and English
(English: carpet) in the
13th century
(through Medieval
Latin carpita, meaning
"thick woolen
[11]
cloth") as a

consequence of the trade

in rugs through the port
cities of the Armenian
kingdom
of Cilicia.Francesco
Balducci Pegolotti, a
Florentine merchant
stationed in Cyprus,
reported in his La
pratica della
mercatura that from
1274 to 1330, carpets

(kaperts) were imported

from the Armenian cities
of Ayas and Sis to
[12]
Florence.
Armenian word "gorg"
(Armenian: ) is
first mentioned in
written sources in the
13th century. This word
("gorg") is in the
inscription that was cut

out in the stone wall of

Kaptavan Church
in Artsakh (Karabagh)
and is dated by 1242
[13][14]
1243 AD.
Grigor
Kapantsyan, professor of
Armenian Studies,
considered that
Armenian "gorg"
(Armenian:) is a
derivative of HittiteArmenian vocabulary,

where it existed in the

forms of "koork" and
"koorkas". Edgar H.
Sturtevant, an expert in
Hittite studies, explains
the etymology of word
"koork"/"koorkas" as
[15]
"horse cloth".
As for the Persian "qali",
which entered into
Turkish as "qali" or as

"khali" in Anatolia
Ottoman Turkish and
[16]
Armenian, it derives
from the city of
Theodosiopolis-KarinErzerum, known to the
Arabs as Qali-qala from
the Armenian "Karnoy
kaghak", the "city of
Karin". The name
"Erzerum" itself, as is
well known, is of

Armenian origin from

the usage Artzen arRum. This latter term
came into being after the
destruction of the
important Armenian
commercial center of
Artzen, 15 kilometers
east of TheodosiopolosKarin, by the Seljuks in
1041 after which the
inhabitants fled to Karin,

then in Rum, that is in

Byzantine territory,
renaming it Artzen in
Rum or
Arzerum/Erzerum/Erzur
[17]
um.
History
The art of the Armenian
carpet and rug weaving
has its roots in ancient
times. However, due to

the fragile nature of

carpets very few
examples have survived.
Only one specimen has
been discovered from
the ancient (preChristian) period and
relatively few specimens
are in existence from the
early medieval period
which can be found in
private collections as

well as various museums

throughout the world.
"The complex history of
Armenian weaving and
needlework was acted
out in the Near East, a
vast, ancient, and
ethnically diverse
region. Few are the
people who, like the
Armenians, can boast of

a continuous and
consistent record of fine
textile production from
the 1st millennium BC
to the present.
Armenians today are
blessed by the diversity
and richness of a textile
heritage passed on by
thirty centuries of
diligent practice; yet
they are burdened by the

pressure to keep alive a

tradition nearly
destroyed in
the Armenian
Genocide of 1915, and
subverted by a
technology that
condemns handmade
fabrics to museums and
lets machines produce
perfect, but lifeless
[18] [19]
cloth".

Early history

The Pazyryk carpet

Various rug fragments
have been excavated in
Armenia dating back to
the 7th century BC or
earlier. Complete rugs,
or nearly complete rugs
of this period have not
yet been found. The
oldest, single, surviving
knotted carpet in
existence is

the Pazyryk carpet,

excavated from a frozen
tomb in Siberia, dated
from the 5th to the 3rd
century BC, now in
the Hermitage
Museum in St.
Petersburg. Although
claimed by many
cultures, this square
tufted carpet, almost
perfectly intact, is

considered by many
experts to be of
Caucasian, specifically
Armenian, origin. The
eminent authority of
ancient carpets, Ulrich
Schurmann, says of it,
"From all the evidence
available I am convinced
that the Pazyryk rug was
a funeral accessory and
most likely a

masterpiece of
Armenian
[20]
workmanship".
Gantzhorn concurs with
this thesis. It is
interesting to note that at
the ruins
of Persopolis in Iran wh
ere various nations are
depicted as bearing
tribute, the horse design
from the Pazyryk carpet

is the same as the relief

depicting part of the
[21]
Armenian delegation.
The
historian Herodotus writ
ing in the 5th century
BC also informs us that
the inhabitants of the
Caucasus wove beautiful
rugs with brilliant colors

which would never fade.

[22]

The Christian period

Apart from the Pazyryk
carpet , after Armenia
declared itself as the
first Christian state in
301 AD, carpet making
took on a decidedly
Christian art form and
identity. This art form
existed continuously

unaltered until the

Armenian Genocide. By
the Middle Ages,
Armenia was a major
exporter of carpets to as
far away places as
China. In many
Medieval Chinese
artworks for example,
carpets were depicted in
which the designs were
typically that of

Armenian carpets with

some even depicting
clear Christian crosses.
The art of the Armenian
carpet during this period
evolved alongside
Armenian church
architecture, Armenian
cross-stones and
illuminated manuscript
art, with typical rug
motifs using the same

elements of these
designs. The cruciform
with its variations would
eventually come to
dominate Armenian
carpet designs.
The Armenian
Genocide

The Armenian Orphan

rug also known as the
Ghazir rug
The period of
the Armenian
Genocide from 18941923 saw a demographic
change in the hitherto
Armenian tradition of
rug and carpet making in
Anatolia (Western
Armenia as well as

Turkey). Even though

carpets from this region
had established the
commercial name of
"Turkish Carpet" there is
evidence to suggest that
the majority of weavers
in the Ottoman Empire
were Armenians.
However, after 1923,
carpet making in the
newly established

Turkish republic was

erroneously declared a
"historically Turkish
craft" as is claimed, for
example, by the Turkish
and Islamic Arts
Museum where many
Armenian carpets are
depicted as "Turkish or
[21]
Islamic art".

During the Genocide, in

addition to the
catastrophic loss of
many expert carpet
weavers, thousands of
Armenian children were
also orphaned and
the Near East
Relief saved many of
these children, some of
whom ended up in the
northern part of Beirut,

where a rug factory

would be established
under the guidance of
Dr. Jacob Kuenzler, a
Swiss missionary. This
factory was established
for the purpose of
teaching young orphans
(mainly girls) rug
weaving, so that they
may go on making a
living later on in their

adult lives. Thus for a

brief period "orphanrugs" were created in
this factory, the most
famous of which was
gifted to the White
House in 1925, as a
gesture of gratitude and
good will towards the
American people by the
orphans. Known as
the Armenian Orphan

rug, the rug depicts a

Biblical Garden of Eden
featuring various
animals and symbols
and measuring 12 feet
by 18 feet with 4 million
knots. This rug is said to
have been made by 400
orphans over a period of
18 months from 19241925.

The Soviet period

After a shortlived republic Armenia
fell to Soviet rule in
1920 and within a short
period, carpet making in
the Caucasus as well as
Central Asia would take
a new turn. The Soviet
Union commercialized
the trade and sponsored
much of the production.

Thus carpet making

went from a mostly
home craft to a mostly
commercial craft.
However, in rural areas
the carpet making
traditions in some
families continued.
Although commercial
carpet makers were
mostly free to practice
their art, religious

themes were
discouraged. During this
period the designs on
Armenian rugs also
changed somewhat,
although the overall
character remained.
Many "Soviet carpets"
were also produced
depicting Communist
leaders.

The modern era

With the fall of the
Soviet Union, carpet
making in Armenia
and Nagorno-Karabakh
continued. Private
companies as well as
home workshops were
again revived. Among
some weavers, the
traditional method of
using rug motifs from

Armenian churches,
manuscript art and
cross-stones was also
revived. After
the Nagorno-Karabakh
War some carpet making
workshops were formed
to help the
many displaced Armenia
ns find employment.
Today the traditional art
of Armenian carpet

making is kept alive by

weavers in Armenia and
Nagorno-Karabakh
using all the methods,
techniques and designs
[citation
from ancient times.
needed]
This is remarkable
considering the history
of Armenia.

Development of
Armenian carpet and
rug weaving

Armenian rugs shown

at Vernissage market in
Yerevan
Armenian carpet
weaving that at the
initial period coincided
with cloth weaving by
execution technique
have passed the long
path of development,
starting from simple
fabrics, which had been

woven at the braiding

frames of various form
to pile knotted carpets
that became the
luxurious and dainty
pieces of arts.
Carpet-weaving is
historically a major
traditional profession for
the majority
of Armenian women,
including

many Armenian families

. Prominent Karabakh
carpet weavers there
were men too. The
oldest extant Armenian
carpet from the region,
referred to
as Artsakhduring the
medieval era, is from the
village of Banants
(near Gandzak) and
dates to the early 13th

[23]

century. The first time

that the Armenian word
for carpet, gorg, was
used in historical
sources was in a 12421243 Armenian
inscription on the wall
of the Kaptavan Church
[24]
in Artsakh.
Art historian Hravard
Hakobyan notes that

"Artsakh carpets occupy

a special place in the
history of Armenian
carpet[24]
making." Common
themes and patterns
found on Armenian
carpets were the
depiction of dragons and
eagles. They were
diverse in style, rich in
color and ornamental

motifs, and were even

separated in categories
depending on what sort
of animals were depicted
on them, such
as artsvagorgs (eaglecarpets), vishapagorgs (
dragon-carpets)
and otsagorgs (serpent[24]
carpets). The rug
mentioned in the
Kaptavan inscriptions is

composed of three
arches, "covered with
vegatative ornaments",
and bears an artistic
resemblance to
the illuminated
manuscripts produced in
[24]
Artsakh.
The art of carpet
weaving was in addition
intimately connected to

the making of curtains

as evidenced in a
passage by Kirakos
Gandzaketsi, a 13thcentury Armenian
historian from Artsakh,
who praised ArzuKhatun, the wife of
regional prince Vakhtang
Khachenatsi, and her
daughters for their

expertise and skill in

[25]
weaving.
Armenian carpets were
also renowned by
foreigners who traveled
to Artsakh; the Arab
geographer and
historian Al-Masudi not
ed that, among other
works of art, he had
never seen such carpets
[26]
elsewhere in his life.

On the opinion of
various authors that the
origin of the oriental
carpets and rugs did not
have any association
with nomadic tribes,
and Central Asia. They
consider that the
"oriental carpet is
neither of nomadic
origin, nor do its origins
lie in Central Asia; it is a

product of ancient
oriental civilizations in
the Armenian Uplands at
the crossroads of the
oldest trade routes
between west, north and
[21]
south".
The development of
carpet and rug weaving
in Armenia had been the
barest necessity that had

been dictated by the

climatic conditions of
the complete Armenian
Highland. The type, size
and thickness of carpets
and rugs had also
depended upon the
climate of every specific
region within the
territory of Armenian
[27]
Highland. The
dwelling houses and

other buildings in
Armenia were
constructed exclusively
of stone or were cut in
rocks with no wood
flooring inside
traditionally. This fact
was proved by the
results of excavations
carried out in medieval
Armenian cities, such
as Dvin, Artashat, Ani a

[4]

nd others. There has

been the necessary
source of raw materials
in Armenia, including
wool yarn and other
fibres, as well as natural
[28]
dyes. The most
widespread raw
materials to produce
yarn for carpets and rugs
was sheep wool, as well

as goat wool, silk, flax,

cotton and other.
In the 13th and 14th
centuries, when the
carpet weaving started to
develop at Near
East, Armenia "was one
of the most productive
regions" in this regards.
It was conditioned by
the existence of "good
quality wool, pure water

and dyes, especially

[29]
beautiful purple dye".
One of the most
important conditions for
the development of
carpet and rug weaving
was the availability of
towns and cities, where
the arts and crafts might
develop. These cities
and towns also served as
large commercial centers

located on main ancient

trade routs that passed
by the Armenian
Highland, including one
of the branches of Silk
Road that passed across
[30]
Armenia Silk
Road#Persian Royal
Road.
Abd ar-Rashid al-Bakuvi
wrote that "the carpets

and as-zalali that are

named "kali" are
exported from Kalikala
(Karin) that was located
on the strategic road
between Persia and
Europe. According to
the 13th-century Arab
geographer Yaqut alHamavi, the origin of
the word kali/khali/hali,
a knotted carpet, is from

one of the early and

important Armenian
carpet centers,
Theodosiopolis, Karin in
Armenian, Qaliqala in
Arabic, modern
Erzerum. He says, "
Qaliqala on fabrique des
tapis qu'on nomme qali
du nom abrege de la
[31][32]
ville".
Academician
Joseph Orbeli directly

writes that word

"karpet" is of Armenian
[33]
origin
Between the tangible
reality of
the Pazyryk carpet and
the Mongol domination
of the Near East in the
13th century virtually
nothing survives, not
even fragments. Our

knowledge of oriental
rugs is entirely from
literary sources. Of these
there are three
categories: the Arab
geographers and
historians, who represent
the most important
witnesses of rug making,
the Italian merchants
and travelers, and the
Armenian historians.

The most common term

for these Near Eastern
floor and wall covering
in these sources are
Armenian carpets or
carpets from Armenia. It
is only later, as the
Ottomans conquered
these areas, including all
of Armenian in the 16th
century, that the term
Turkish carpet began to

be used, but that too was

replaced in the 19th
century by the term
Persian rug or carpet
because the great
commercial agents of
England, the U.S., and
Germany began setting
up looms for quantity
weaving in Iran to
supply the ever
increasing demand for

the oriental rug in their

countries.
The Medieval Arab
sources al-Baladhuri (a
9th-century Persian histo
rian), Ibn Hawqal (a
10th-century Arab writer
, geographer, and
chronicler), Yaqut (13thcentury Arab
geographer), and Ibn

Khaldun (a 14thcentury Arab polymath)

among the most famous
- speak regularly about
the wonderful Armenian
carpets of Qali-qala and
the medieval Armenian
capital of Dvin ("Dabil"
in Arab sources) as well
as their use of
the Armenian red
cochineal dye known in

Armenian as vordan
karmir ("worm's red"),
the fundamental color of
many Armenian
rugs. Marco Polo reports
the following his travel
account as he passed
through Cilician
Armenia: "The
following can be said of
Turkmenia: the
Turkmenian population

is divided into three

groups. The Turkomans
are Muslims
characterized by a very
simple way of life and
extremely crude speech.
They live in the
mountainous regions
and raise cattle. Their
horses and their
outstanding mules are
held in especially high

regard. The other two

groups, Armenians and
Greeks, live in cities and
forts. They make their
living primarily from
trade and as craftsmen.
In addition to the
carpets, unsurpassed and
more splendrous in color
than anywhere else in
the world, silks in all
colors are also produced

there. This country,

about which one might
easily tell much more is
subject to the Khan of
the eastern Tatar
[34][35]
Empire"
/
According to the 13thcentury Arab
geographer Yaqut alHamawi, the origin of
the word kali/khali/hali,
a knotted carpet, is from

one of the early and

important Armenian
carpet centers,
Theodosiopolis, Karin in
Armenian, Qaliqala in
Arabic, modern
Erzerum. He says, "
Qaliqala on fabrique des
tapis qu'on nomme qali
du nom abrege de la
[31][32]
ville".
Academician
Joseph Orbeli directly

writes that word

"karpet" is of Armenian
[36]
origin.
Gallery

Armenian girls, weaving

carpets in Van, 1907,
Western Armenia
References

1. Jump
up^ Temurjyan, . .
(1955). "The Carpet
Weaving in Armenia"
("
"). Yerevan:
Institute of History,
Academy of Science
of the Armenian SSR.
2. Jump up^ Davtyan
.,
.

 ,
, 1975, .
(1975). "Armenian
Carpet" ("
"). Yerevan:
Academy of Science
of the Armenian SSR.
3. Jump
up^ Kouymjian,
Dickran; Kvorkian et
B. Achdjian
(1991). "Les tapis

inscriptions
armniennes",in
"Tapis et textiles
armniens".
Marseilles. pp. 247
253.
a b
4. ^ Jump up to: N.
Marr, Armgiz, 1939,
Yerevan, p. 197 - in
Russian
5. Jump
up^ "Armenians. The

End of the 19th Beginning of the 20th

century" at Russian
Ethnographic
Museum, St.
Petersburg, Russia
6. Jump
up^ ,

,

, 1987, .
345
7. Jump
up^ ,

,
, 1987, .
167
8. Jump
up^ Armenian-

English, EnglishArmenian Dictionary

9. Jump
up^ ,

,
, 1987, .
337
10. Jump
up^ Matthew 9:16.

., Mark 2:21.


...etc.,
Hovhann Zohrapian,
Scriptures of the Old
and New Testments
(critical edition in

Armenian), Venice,
1805, pp. 654, 671.
11. Jump
up^ "carpet" in
"Online Etymology
Dictionary", "carpet late 13th century,
"coarse cloth;" mid14th century,
"tablecloth,
bedspread;" from
O.Fr. carpite "heavy

decorated cloth," from

M.L. carpita "thick
woolen cloth," pp. of
L. carpere "to card,
pluck," probably so
called because it was
made from unraveled,
shreded, "plucked"
fabric; from PIE
*kerp- "to gather,
pluck, harvest" (see
harvest). Meaning

shifted 15th century to

floor coverings. From
16th-19th centuries
often with a tinge of
contempt, when used
of men (e.g. carpetknight, 1570s) by
association with
luxury, ladies'
boudoirs, and drawing
rooms. On the carpet
"summoned for

reprimand" is 1900,
U.S. colloquial (but cf.
carpet (v.) "call
(someone) to be
reprimanded," 1823,
British servants'
slang). To sweep
(something) under the
carpet in the figurative
sense is first recorded
1963. The verb
meaning "to cover

with a carpet" is from

1620s. Related:
Carpeted; carpeting".
12. Jump
up^ Pegoletti, La
pratica della
mercatura, edited by
Allan Evans.
Cambridge, Mass.:
Mediaeval Academy
of America, 1936

13. Jump
up^ .

14. Jump up^ Kh.

Hakobyan, "Medieval
Art of Artsakh",
Yerevan, Armenian
SSR, "Parberakan,
1990, p. 84, ISBN 58079-0195-9
15. Jump
up^ Sturtevant, Edgar

H. (1931). Hittite
glossary: words of
known or conjectured
meaning, with
Sumerian ideograms
and Accadian words
common in Hittite
texts. Language, Vol.
7, No. 2, pp. 382., Language
Monograph No. 9.

16. Jump up^ James

W. Redhouse, A
Turkish and English
Lexicon,
Constantinople, 1921,
p. 1423
17. Jump up^ Halil
Inalcik, "Erzurum",
The Encyclopedia of
Islam, Leiden-London,
1965, p.712

18. Jump
up^ http://armenianstu
dies.csufresno.edu/fac
ulty/kouymjian/article
s/armenia_textiles.htm
Dickran Kouymjian,
"Armenia Textiles: An
Overview", The
catalogue of an
exhibition entitled
"Trames de memoire
d'Armenie: broderies

et tapis sur les

chemins de l'exil de
1900-1940" on
Armenian refugees in
the textile industry in
southern France after
the 1915 genocide to
be held at the Museon
Arlaten in Arles,
France from June
through December
2007 as part of the

Year of Armenia in
France
19. Jump
up^ Kouymjian,
Dickran
(2007). "Armenia
Textiles: An
Overview" "Trames
dArmnie : tapis et
broderies sur les
chemins de lexil

(1900-1940)". Arles:
Muson Arlaten.
20. Jump up^ Ulrich
Schurmann, The
Pazyryk. Its Use and
Origin, Munich, 1982,
p.46
21. ^ Jump up
a b c
to:
Volkmar
Gantzhorn, "Oriental
Carpets", 1998, ISBN
3-8228-0545-9

22. Jump up^ The

Nine Books of the
Histories of
Herodotus. Thomas
Gaisford, Peter
Laurent, London,
1846, CLIO I p.99
23. Jump
up^ Hakobyan,
Hravard H
(1990). The Medieval
Art of Artsakh.

Yerevan, Armenian
SSR: Parberakan.
p. 84. ISBN 5-80790195-9.
24. ^ Jump up
a b c d
to:
Hakobyan. Me
dieval Art of Artsakh,
p. 84.
25. Jump
up^ (Armenian) Kira
kos
Gandzaketsi.


(History of
Armenia). Yerevan,
Armenian
SSR: Armenian
Academy of Sciences,
1961, p. 216, as cited
in
Hakobyan. Medieval
Art of Artsakh, p. 84,
note 18.

26. Jump
up^ Ulubabyan,
Bagrat
A (1975).
,
X-XVI
(The Principality of
Khachen, From the
10th to 16th
Centuries) (in
Armenian). Yerevan,
Armenian SSR:

Armenian Academy of
Sciences. p. 267.
27. Jump up^ David
Tsitsishvili "Rugs and
Carpets from the
Caucasus", "Avrora",
Leningrad, 1984
672(7-20); p.p. 78(total pages: 151)
28. Jump up^ ref
name="ReferenceB">
, Book 1,

Chapter 203, Volume

1,
29. Jump
up^ "Encyclopdia
Britannica: a new
survey of universal
knowledge, Volume
19, Author: Walter
Yust, 1953, p. 623
30. Jump up^ The
Silk Road represents
an early phenomenon

of political and
cultural integration
due to inter-regional
trade. In its heyday,
the Silk Road
sustained an
international culture
that strung together
groups as diverse as
the Magyars,
Armenians, and
Chinese

31. ^ Jump up
a b
to: .

,
1977 ;
205( 326)
32. ^ Jump up
a b
to: Deutscher
Kaliverein Kali p

109 Brill
Archive, 1907.
33. Jump up^ .

.
1948
.,173. - 67

34. Jump up^ Marco

Polo, Il Milione,
translated by Ulrich
Kppens from the
Ottimo-manuscript of
1309, Florence
Bibliotheca Nationale,
Inv. no. II.IV.88,
Berlin: Propylen,
1971
35. Jump
up^ Discussion of the

various manuscripts
and early printed
version of Marco Polo
in French, Italian and
German in Volkmar
Ganzhorn, Der
christlich orientalische
Teppich, Kln:
Taaschen, 1990, pp.
13-15
36. Jump up^ .

, 1948, 173
., . 67
.
Turkish carpet

Carpet and Interior of

The Harem
Room. Topkapi Palace,
Istanbul
Turkish carpets and
rugs, whether hand
knotted or flat woven
(Kilim, Soumak, Cicim,
Zili), are among the
most well known and
established hand crafted
art works in the world.

[1]

Historically: religious,
cultural, environmental,
sociopolitical and
socioeconomic
conditions created
widespread utilitarian
need and have provided
artistic inspiration
among the many tribal
peoples and ethnic
groups in Central
[2]
Asiaand Turkey. The

term tends to cover not

just the products of the
modern territory of
Turkey, but also those
of Turkic peoples living
elsewhere, mostly to the
east of Anatolia.
Apparently originating
in the traditions of
largely nomadic Turkic
peoples, the Turkish
carpet, like the Persian

carpet, developed during

the
medieval Seljuk period a
more sophisticated
urban aspect, produced
in large workshops for
commissions by the
court and for export. The
many styles of design
reached maturity during
the early Ottoman
Empire, and most

modern production,
especially for export,
looks back to the styles
of that period. Turkish
(also known as
Anatolian) rugs and
carpets are made in a
wide range of distinct
styles originating from
various regions in
Anatolia. Important
differentiators between

these styles may include:

the materials,
construction method,
patterns and motif,
geography, cultural
identity and intended
use.
History

Turkish loom and

weavers (1908).
The oldest records of
flat woven kilims come
from atalhyk Neolit
hic pottery, circa 7000
BC. One of the oldest
settlements ever to have
been discovered,
atalhyk is located
south east of Konya in
the middle of the

[3]

Anatolian region. The

excavations to date (only
3% of the town) not only
found carbonized fabric
but also fragments of
kilims painted on the
walls of some of the
dwellings. The majority
of them represent
geometric and stylized
forms that are similar or
identical to other

historical and
[4]
contemporary designs.
The oldest known hand
knotted rug is the
famous so-called
Pazyryk Carpet, dating
back to the 5th century
BC. It was excavated by
Russian Professor Sergei
Rudenko and his
archeology team, from
the Pazyryk burials,

a Scythian burial mound

in the Altai
Mountainsof Siberia,
near the tri- border area
of modern day Russia,
Mongolia and China, in
[5]
the late 1940s. Some
scholars associate the
knotted pile carpet with
the nomadic Turkic
[6]
peoples..

The populace of
Anatolia through the
ages have included
many ancient
civilizations, such as
the Hittites,
the Phrygians,
the Assyrians,
the Ancient Persians,
the Armenians,
the Ancient Greeks, and
the early Byzantine

Empire. After the 11th

century the Seljuks and
theOttoman Empire.
There are documentary
records of carpets being
used by the ancient
Greeks and Persians, but
there is not much
information about them
left. Some believe that
the knotted rug reached
Asia Minor and the

Middle East with the

expansion of various
nomadic tribes peoples
during the latter period
of the great Turkic
migration of the 8th and
9th centuries. Very little
is then known about the
history of rugs until the
12th, 13th and 14th
centuries from which
Seljuk examples found

in various Turkish
mosques have survived,
nearly all now in
museums or private
[7]
collections.
The geographical
regions where
inhabitants have lived
throughout the centuries
lie in the temperate
zone. Temperature

fluctuations between day

and night, summer and
winter may vary greatly.
Turks; nomadic or
pastoral, agrarian or
town dwellers, living in
tents or in sumptuous
houses in large cities,
have protected
themselves from the
extremes of the cold
weather by covering the

floors, and sometimes

walls and doorways,
with carpets and rugs.
The carpets are always
hand made of wool or
sometimes cotton, with
occasional additions of
silk. These carpets are
natural barriers against
the cold. Turkish pile
rugs and kilims are also
frequently used as tent

decorations, grain bags,

camel and donkey bags,
ground cushions, oven
covers, sofa covers, bed
and cushion covers,
blankets, curtains, eating
blankets, table top
spreads, prayer rugs, and
for ceremonial
occasions.

The Kurds, Yrk,

Yahyali, Turkomen and
other tribal groups
throughout Turkey
continue to weave much
sought after rugs.
Eastern and Central
Turkey in particular,
weaving a great number
of nomadic pieces for
the market and for
[8]
personal use.

In general, the Turkish

take their shoes off upon
entering a house. Thus,
the dust and dirt of the
outdoors are not tracked
inside. The floor
coverings remain clean
and the inhabitants of
the house, if need be,
can comfortably rest on
the floor. In traditional
households, women and

girls take up carpet and

kilim weaving as a
hobby as well as a
means of earning
money. Women learn
their weaving skills at an
early age, taking months
or even years to
complete the beautiful
pile rugs and flat woven
kilims that were created
for their use in every

aspect of daily life. As is

true in most weaving
cultures, traditionally
and nearly exclusively, it
is women and girls who
are both artisan and
[9][10]
weaver.
Turkish rugs are fairly
distinguishable amidst
carpets from other major
weaving groups, such as

Persian
or Caucasian carpets.
Aside from the classic
double knot, their color
scheme and design
features are mostly
recognizable, albeit,
there are numerous
variations province to
province. From the
faded palette and
elegance of an Uak

carpet, to the bold

colorful design motifs of
an Eastern
Anatolian nomadic piece
,
Seluk (Seljuk) Carpets

Seluk (Seljuk) carpet,

13th century
In 1272, the Venetian
merchant traveler and
explorer Marco
Polo was the first
European writer to
mention Anatolian
carpets, specifically
mentioning the
"Beautiful rugs
of Konya and Karaman".

[11]

Konya carpets are

named for the region in
which they were made.
Renamed from the
Greek Iconium when the
Seljuk Sultanate of
Rum made it their
capital, Konya is one of
the largest and oldest
continuously occupied
cities in Asia Minor.
When Polo wrote of the

Konyas, he had probably

seen them in
manufactories that were
attached to the Seljuk
courts. In the early 20th
century, large carpets
were found in
the Aleddin Mosque in
Konya. They are now
housed in the Turkish
and Islamic Arts
Museum in Istanbul. The

original carpets
discovered in Konya's
Alaeddin Mosque dating
from the first half of the
13th century are
products of Seljuk
Anatolia and show the
development in pile
carpet weaving up to
that period.

They have also come to

be considered by some
experts, prototypes, for
all post-Seljuk carpets.
The details of their
origins are still a matter
[12][13]
of speculation.
A high point in the art of
carpet making was
achieved during the
three centuries of the
Seljuk Period, but

unfortunately there are

no surviving examples
from the period called
the "Great Seljuq
Empire", 10371194.
There are however,
surviving carpets and
fragments from the
"Anatolian Seljuk
Period", 12431302.
These pieces have been
designated as the

"Konya Carpets",
however, this is a
misnomer. The sources
of the evidence come
from three finds: those
from Konya, those
from Beyehir and those
from Fostat.

Left File: Yellow

Oriental carpet in Hans
Memling altarpiece of
14881490. The
"hooked" motif defines
a "Memling carpet".
[14]
Louvre Museum.
Right File: Konya 18thcentury carpet with
Memling gul design.
In spite of the
fragmented condition of

most of these samples, it

has been possible to
piece together what is
believed to be, the first
expression in a
consistent development
of design and quality.
Thus this group can be
called the first group of
Turkish carpets,
recognizable as the
forerunners of carpets of

later periods, even up to

the present. Today the
total Seljuk carpet
collection consists of
eighteen pieces, fifteen
of which are fragments.
Eight of these were
found in Konya, three in
Beyehir, and seven are
from Fostat. Only two
within the group are
quite similar, both of

which are now in the

Museum of Turkish and
Islamic Arts in Istanbul.
The others, all having
varying colors and
motifs, are completely
unique. Such variations
indicate the existence of
considerable creative
potential on the parts of
those who produced
them.

In essence, a study of
the Seljuk group reveals
that the prototypic
designs were derived
from the infusion of
highly stylized floral
motifs into geometric
designs, and from border
compositions consisting
of Kufic patterns. In
some cases, the

geometric forms are

created by the repetition
of motifs in rows. Floral
motifs, if one can
identify them as such,
are not only stylized but
highly abstract, certainly
representational figures
are unknown. A
thorough examination of
each of these fragments
may well reveal that

generalizations must
give way to the unique
and stunning quality of
each piece.
Famously depicted in
European paintings of
the late Middle
Ages and Renaissance,
beautiful Anatolian rugs
were often used from
then until modern times,

to indicate the high

economic and social
status of the owner.
Among other names,
some of these rugs have
come to be known as
"Lotto carpets",
"Holbein carpets", and
"Memling" or "Memling
gul carpets". These
terms make reference to
their depiction in minute

detail in paintings
by Lorenzo Lotto, Hans
Holbein the
Younger and Hans
[15]
Memling. In addition,
there are a great number
of other known and
unknown artists who
also represent Anatolian
carpets of the Seljuk
Empire era in their
[16]
paintings.

Ottoman Court Carpets[

Silk Hereke Rug. Over

1200 knots per square
inch
A weaving workshop
was established in 1843
in Hereke, a small
coastal town 60
kilometers from Istanbul
[17]
on the bay of Izmit. It
also supplied the royal
palaces with silk
brocades and other

textiles. Known as the

Hereke Imperial Factory,
the mill was
subsequently enlarged to
include looms producing
cotton fabric. Silk
brocades and velvets for
drapes and upholstery
were manufactured at a
workshop known as the
"kamhane". In 1850 the
cotton looms were

moved to a factory in
Bakirky, west of
Istanbul, and one
hundred jacquard looms
were installed in Hereke.
Although in the early
years the factory
produced exclusively for
the Ottoman palaces, as
production increased the
woven products were
available in

the Kapalar or Grand

Bazaar, in the second
half of the 19th century.
In 1878 a fire in the
factory caused extensive
damage, and it was not
reopened until 1882.
Carpet production began
in Hereke in 1891 and
expert carpet weavers
were brought from the
famous carpet weaving

centers
of Sivas, Manisa and La
dik.
The carpets were all
hand woven, and in the
early years they were
either made for the
Ottoman palaces or as
gifts for visiting
statesmen. The number
of looms steadily

increased to meet the

demand and, when
Hereke carpets went on
sale in Istanbul, their
fame quickly spread to
Europe. Soon the
Hereke factory was
receiving many
commercial orders and
business flourished.
Hereke carpets are
known primarily for

their fine weave. Silk

thread or fine wool yarn
and occasionally gold,
silver and cotton thread
are used in their
production. Wool carpets
produced for the palace
had 6065 knots per
square centimeter, while
silk carpets had 80100
knots.

The oldest Hereke

carpets, now exhibited
in Topkap and other
palaces in Istanbul,
contain a wide variety of
colours and designs. The
typical "palace carpet"
features intricate floral
designs, including the
tulip, daisy, carnation,
crocus, rose, lilac, and

hyacinth. It often has

quarter medallions in the
corners. The medallion
composition used in rugs
made in Usak, in
western Turkey, since
the 16th century was
widely used at the
Hereke factory. These
medallions are curved
on the horizontal axis
and taper to points on

the vertical axis. Hereke

prayer rugs feature
patterns of geometric
motifs, tendrils and
lamps as background
designs within the
representation of
a mihrab (prayer niche).
Once referring solely to
carpets woven at
Hereke, the term
"Hereke carpet" now

refers to any high

quality carpet woven
using similar techniques.
Hereke carpets remain
among the finest and
most valuable examples
of woven carpets in the
[18]
world.
Construction method
Turkish Knot

Persian Knot
A variety of tools are
needed in the
construction of a
handmade rug. Some
tools, such as a loom,
are an absolute necessity
for all weavers, and
other tools, such as a
hook, are used only by
certain weaving groups.

In general, different rug

weaving areas use
slightly different
versions of the same
tools. Some common
tools used in rug
weaving are: vertical
looms, horizontal looms,
floor looms, design
plates, knives, scissors,
spindles, hooks and
[19]
combs.

Most pile rugs from

Anatolia utilize the
symmetrical ghiordes do
uble knot or "Turkish
knot". Each knot is
made on two warps.
With this form of
knotting, each end of the
pile thread is wrapped
all the way around the
two warps, pulled down
and cut, creating a

stronger rug than the

much more typical
asymmetrical single
knot senneh or "Persian
knot".
The Seljuk rugs found at
Konya, capital of
Anatolian Seljuks, are
knotted with the
Turkish ghiordes knot,
in the same style as the

carpet fragments found

by Rudenko and his
team during the Pazyryk
excavations in the Altai
mountains. Ottoman
court rug designers also
started the use of silk in
the warp and weft on
looms
in Constantinople (Istan
bul) and Bursa. After
each row is woven, a

length of yarn is passed

through it and this
single-warp knot creates
the denser knotting
which permits finer and
more intricate designs to
be created. In some of
the carpets, a relief
effect is obtained by
clipping the pile
unevenly.

In 1891, the first carpet

factory with 100 looms
was opened
by Abdulhamid II at
Hereke and even today,
rugs in Anatolia,
especially around
Kayseri, Sivas, Konya,
Kars, and Isparta, follow
these traditional
[20]
patterns.

Materials

Turkish rug weaver

in Konya.
Only natural fibers are
used in handmade rugs.
The most common
materials used for the
pile are wool, silk and
cotton. Sometimes, goat
and camel hair are also
used by nomadic and
village weavers.

Wool is the most

frequently used pile
material in a handmade
rug because it is soft,
durable, easy to work
with and not too
expensive. This
combination of
characteristics is not
found in other natural
fibers. Wool comes from
the coats of sheep.

Natural wool comes in

colors of white, brown,
fawn, yellow and gray,
which are sometimes
used directly without
going through a dyeing
process.
Cotton is used primarily
in the foundation of
rugs. However, some
weaving groups such as
Turkomans also use

cotton for weaving small

white details into the rug
in order to create
contrast.
Wool on wool (wool pile
on wool warp and weft):
This is the most
traditional and often the
most "authentic" (if such
a word can be used) type
of Anatolian rug. Wool

on wool carpet weaving

dates back further and
utilizes more traditional
design motifs than its
counterparts. Because
wool cannot be spun
extra finely, the knot
count is often not as
high as a "wool on
cotton" or "silk on silk"
rug. Wool on wool
carpets tend to be more

tribal or nomadic using

traditional geometric
designs or otherwise
non-intricate patterns.
Wool on cotton (wool
pile on cotton warp and
weft): This particular
combination facilitates a
more intricate design
pattern than a "wool on
wool carpet", as cotton
can be finely spun which

allows for a higher knot

count. A "wool on
cotton" rug is often
indicative of a so-called,
"city rug". Wool on
cotton rugs feature floral
designs and flourishes in
addition to traditional
geometric patterns.

Silk on silk (silk pile on

silk warp and weft): This
is perhaps the most
intricate type of carpet;
featuring a very fine
weave. Knot counts on
some superior quality
"silk on silk" rugs can be
as high as 2828
2
knots/cm . Knot counts
for silk carpets intended
for floor coverings

should be no greater
than 100 knots per
square cm, or 1010
2
knots/cm . Carpets
woven with a knot count
greater than 1010
2
knots/cm should only
be used as a wall or
pillow tapestry. These
very fine, intricately
woven rugs and carpets

are usually no larger

than 33 m.
Carpets by regions

Antique Oushak (Usak)

carpet, late 19th century
Rugs have been woven
in Anatolia since before
the 13th century. Carpets
derive their names from
the localities in which
they are produced, tribal
groups they are
associated with, as well
as from the techniques
of their manufacture, the

characteristic patterns of
their ornamentation, the
layout of the design and
the intention of their use.
The motifs employed in
Turkish carpets are so
varied and can be
classified into so many
subcategories that they
constitute, as it were, a
great fan stretching from
Thrace to Kars. From

the Sivas region emerge

the Sarkisla, Zara,
Kangal and Divrigi
carpets characterised by
a remarkable wealth of
symbolic expression
forming one of the links
in the rich chain of
Turkish tradition. Motifs
differing markedly in
form and detail can be
found in Anatolian

kilims from Yagcibekir

to Dosemealti, from
Kula to anakkale.
The most important
distinguishing feature of
the motifs employed in
Anatolian carpets is the
"symbolisation"
imposed by the
traditional weaving
techniques. The linear

values of these woven

fabrics constitute the
symbolic representation
of the ideas which the
Turkish woman wishes
to express. Perhaps it
would be an
exaggeration to say that
all the motifs employed
in carpets and kilims
bear a symbolic
significance, but it is

usually possible to find a

hidden connection
between the "visible
motif" and the "under
lying motif". The
symbolic values
conferred upon the
objects are stylised by
the Turkish weaving
technique itself. The
language of the motifs is

the language of any-one

[21]
who can understand.
Well known weaving
cities, towns, and
districts include (but are
not limited
to): Uak, Bergama, Mil
as, Hereke, Konya, Nev
ehir, Nigde,Antalya, an
akkale, Kars, Kayseri, M
alatya, Siirt, Tapnar, Si
vas, Yahyali, Izmir, Gazi

antep Manisa, Ladik and

the Van Province.
Gallery

Antique Anatolian
Kurdish Yastik

Anatolian carpet with

double medallion, late
16th century

Kirehir praying rug.

18th century. Mevlna
Mausoleum. Konya

Edirne Selimiye Mosque

interior and prayer rug
Saph

Early 20th-century Siirt

Battaniyesi. Child's
mohair prayer
rug/blanket

Nomadic Eastern
Anatolian Kurdish tribal
uval. Circa 1880

Newspaper carpet,
Aksehir 20th century

Small pattern Holbein

carpet, Anatolia 16th
century

An antique Uak carpet

Antique Eastern
Anatolian nomadic
tribal rug. Circa 1880

Silk on silk Turkish

carpet; Hadosan, Urgp

Ancient Kirehir prayer

rug in the Tilavet room;
Mevlna Mausoleum,
Konya

Vintage Turkish Kilim

geometric patterned rug

Pile rug, circa 1875;

Southwestern Anatolia

Central Anatolian lambs

wool Yatak

Vintage Central
Anatolian Yahyali tribal
rug

Antique Gaziantep
double prayer rug

Turkish uval

The Sultan Ahmet

CamiiPrayer Rug Saph.
"The Blue Mosque",
Istanbul, Turkey 2006

Turkish tribal kelim

Vintage Uak

Taspinar rug

Vintage Konya prayer

seccade

Central Anatolian tribal

weave rug. Early-mid
20th century

Anatolian nomadic
Cicim; floor loom made.

Anatolian Yoruk tribal

rug

Ottoman Era Kayseri

silk prayer rug. Circa
1880's

Anatolian Ortakoy
Region rug

Urgup rug featuring

Kufic inner border
See also[edit]
Turkey
portal
Types of Turkish
carpet[edit]
Bergama carpet
Hereke carpet

Konya Carpets and

Rugs
Milas carpet
Ushak carpet
Yrk rug
Other related
carpets[edit]
Armenian carpet
Kurdish rugs
Persian rug
Turkmen rug

Carpets in art[edit]
Islamic Art
Oriental carpets in
Renaissance painting
References[edit]
1. Jump up^ The
Brukenthal Museum:
The extraordinary
value of the Anatolian
Carpet.
Brukenthalmuseum.ro.

Retrieved on 2012-0127.
2. Jump up^ The
historical importance
of rug and carpet
weaving in Anatolia.
Turkishculture.org.
Retrieved on 2012-0127.
3. Jump
up^ atalhyk.com:
Ancient Civilization

and Excavation.
Catalhoyuk.com.
Retrieved on 2012-0127.
4. Jump up^ Ancient
Kilim Evidence
Findings in
atalhyk.
Turkishculture.org.
Retrieved on 2012-0127.

5. Jump up^ The State

Hermitage Museum:
The Pazyryk Carpet.
Hermitagemuseum.org
. Retrieved on 201201-27.
6. Jump up^ The
Grove Encyclopedia
of Islamic Art: The
debate on the origin of
rugs and carpets.
Books.google.com.

Retrieved on 2012-0127.
7. Jump up^ Konya
Carpet Findings.
Turkishculture.org.
Retrieved on 2012-0127.
8. Jump up^ The
Turkotek Salon:
Anatolian Rugs, Tribal
Distinctions.
Turkotek.com.

Retrieved on 2012-0127.
9. Jump up^ The
Dominant role of
Turkish Women and
Girls in Turkish carpet
weaving.
Turkishculture.org.
Retrieved on 2012-0127.
10. Jump up^ CA
Geissler, TA Brun, I

Mirbagheri, A Soheli,
A Naghibi and H
Hedayat (1981). "The
Role of Women and
Girls in traditional rug
and carpet
weaving". American
Journal of Clinical
Nutrition 34 (12):
27762783. PMID 73
15779.

11. Jump up^ Marco

Polo in Konya. Art
Fact.com. Retrieved
on 2012-01-27.
12. Jump up^ Seluk
Carpets. Old Turkish
Carpets (2012-01-20).
Retrieved on 2012-0127.
13. Jump up^ Kurt
Erdmann
(1970). Seven hundred

years of Oriental
carpets. University of
California Press.
pp. 45. ISBN 978-0520-01816-7.
Retrieved 27 January
2012.
14. Jump up^ King
and Sylvester, p.
[clarification needed]
57
15. Jump
up^ Memling Guls.

Rjohnhowe.wordpress.
com (2010-10-14).
Retrieved on 2012-0127.
16. Jump up^ Carpets
of the Ottoman Period.
Oldturkishcarpets.com
(2012-01-20).
Retrieved on 2012-0127.
17. Jump up^ Hereke
Silk Carpet.com.

Hereke Silk
Carpet.com. Retrieved
on 2012-01-27.
18. Jump
up^ Reference:
Yetkin, Serare.
Historical Turkish
Carpets. Istanbul:
Turkiye Is Bankasi,
1981. Turkish
Culture.org. Retrieved
on 2012-01-27.

19. Jump
up^ Construction
Methods and Tools.
Goldenyarncarpet.com
. Retrieved on 201201-27.
20. Jump up^ The
Turkish Cultural
Foundation:
Construction Methods
of Seljuk and Ottoman
Court Era Rugs.

Turkishculture.org.
Retrieved on 2012-0127.
21. Jump up^ The
Turkish Cultural
Foundation: Our
Traditional Cultural
Heritage: Anatolian
Turkish Hand-Woven
Carpets And Kilims.
Turkishculture.org.

Retrieved on 2012-0127.