The Bakhtiari rug is a unique creation from one of the largest tribes of Iran, the Bakhtiari people, speaking in the Lori language. This tribe lives in the southwest of Iran among the Zagros Mountains and has a nomadic and rustic lifestyle. Nomads migrate from Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari provinces to Khuzestan province twice a year, and finding fresh pastures is their main aim, as most of their life's economy is provided by their livestock. Nowadays, most of the Bakhtiari people live in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari provinces.
Bakhtiari nomads' individuality and artistic souls result from living among meadows and mountains; let them create sophisticated handmade carpets of different types, like Gabbah, Kilim, Jajim, and saddlebags. Materials are gathered from nature and herds, like carpet yarn, dyestuff, and weaving tools. This lifestyle affected their carpet's designs, so we can say most designs represent nature, floral and tree designs, or symbols of nature. The noticeable point is that all designs are entirely imaginary, and Bakhtiari's women create all their handmade products.
Nomadic looms are horizontal and transportable, while sedentary tribes usually use stable vertical looms. They mainly use wool and cotton in their carpet structures. Typical Bakhtiari carpet designs are Kheshti, trees, medallions, vases, and Boteh, but the tribes mainly produce Kilims with symbolic and geometrical shapes in various sharp colors. Carpets have different densities, from "Khersak" carpets with long and tick piles to thin rugs called "Bibibaf" with high density.
✔ Bakhtiari rugs are woven on a cotton foundation or warp and usually are red.
✔ The most common design from the sedentary tribe is the “Kheshti” design, a composition of squares in the exact sizes near each other.
✔ Inside each square is a natural pattern: trees, cypress, Bid Majnun, Boteh, and birds like peacocks.
✔ Bakhtiari nomad production is mainly kilim rugs with sharp colors with geometric shapes in star and diamond forms.
✔ Also, nomadic carpets have many other types for different nomad life uses.
Where can I find the best antique
Bakhtiari rugs?
If you like to buy an authentic antique Persian rug of any type, the best choice is to get it from Iranian collectors and producers. In Percarin, the most popular and famous producers, providers, and collectors offer their antique products, such as antique Bakhtiari rugs. Check out Persian carpets on Percarin!
What is a bakhtiari Kheshti rug?
The Kheshti rug design, or brick rug design, is a common Persian rug design among the Bakhtiari tribes; it includes a plaid structure of equal square, diamond, or rectangle frames, filled with motifs of nature and animals.
I've started to collect some Persian rugs, are Bakhtiari rugs worth it?
All kinds and styles of Persian carpets are worth the investment as they have unique designs, but you should also consider their structure's quality and the patterns' look! Bakhtiari rugs have some of the most beautiful motifs and are the only Persian tribal rugs woven in large sizes. Most Persian vintage rugs have the Bakhtiari style, created with a more firm and stable structure than other Persian tribal rugs.