Jewel Tone Bijar Long Kilim, Iran (c. 1950)

Bijar Kilim — Iran, c. 1950

Jewel Tone Bijar Long Kilim

The Piece

In business and in life, candor is a virtue. This is a candid rug, exactly the same on inspection as it appears at a distance: a dense, hard-wearing thing woven in the middle of the last century using wool dyed in strong, clear primary colors.

The rug’s field is vermillion, mottled throughout with darker barn red, lending variation and depth. At the center, a lozenge-shaped medallion in powder and steel blue anchors the composition, capped at each end by stacked medallions woven in indigo. A slender border in deep marine blue provides a frame, inset with göz (eye) motifs in vermillion, peach, asparagus green, powder blue, and citron.

A Kurdish Weaving Tradition

This rug was woven by hand in the middle of the last century in Bijar, a frontier trading post and market town in western Iran that links greater Kurdistan to the west with central Iran to the east. The region is rugged and sparse, and its kilims—including the present piece—reflect this in the durability of their compact structure and dense weave.

Though spontaneous and contemporary in its execution, the rug expresses classical Persian flatweave design. The stacked medallions on a plain field, emblematic of the ‘Mianeh school,’ give the visual impression of a totem pole rising from an open ground.

Tanavoli, Persian Flatweaves (2002), pp. 50–52.

A dense, hard-wearing thing woven in the middle of the last century using wool dyed in strong, clear primary colors. A Midcentury Bijar

Condition & Use

The rug is in excellent condition. It is a dense and heavy weaving that will withstand the toughest floor traffic. Despite its heft, a rug pad is recommended to prevent the rug from ‘walking’ on hard surfaces.

Its color palette is bright and colorful. It is recommended for use in contemporary settings—or wherever a dash of unapologetic color is needed.

Details & Specifications