Shiraz Rugs: The O'Connell Guide


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Shiraz Rugs are an easily recognisable group in the marketplace but the rugs come from a mixed origin. As a group they draw on the traditions of the weavers. There are Qashqai, groups formerly in the Khamseh Confederation, Afshar, Lori, Bahktiari, and even Baluch as well as persian Vilagers. As families settled and underwent Persianification particularly under the White Revolution the rugs changed. Sure we can at times see the origins of rugs but even if we know that a rug derives from Qahqai for instance a Shiraz rug will still be enough different to be a seperate type. One of the key differences is that while there has long been a commercial aspect to Qashqai rugs their Shiraz derivatives are made to sell and not to use

Hajji Rahimpour is the leading dealer in the Vakil Bazaar in Shiraz Iran. Hajji Rahimpour is known as a man to trust and has been raised to near mythic proportion by the writings of the world renowned Author, dealer, and lecturer, James Opie.

Shiraz Rugs: The Vakil Mosque of Shiraz, Fars Province

A tale of two Shiraz Rugs on eBay

Hello Barry,
I hope you haven't unleashed a flood by taking questions about eBay rugs, but I'm going to ask anyway. I recently purchased what was described as a late 19th early 20th Shiraz rug (10x7; paid $695). I have yet to receive it and so can say little about it. Then today the same seller put up for auction another rug that appears almost identical both in size and design http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=318902888. I was very surprised of course, perhaps unnecessarily so. But I'm wondering how common was it for older rugs to have such similar designs. I have asked the seller and he said he purchased them as a pair from the same source, and that while they are similar they are not identical. The eBay record of my rug is :http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=306075416 (I will also attach photos in case they are pulled of eBay).

Any other comments you may have about these rugs would be appreciated. Is a Shiraz rug simply a general category that may include Qashqai, Khamseh etc. or may it refer specifically to Persian rugs from this area?

Sincerely,
Daniel Hsieh

Hello Daniel,

Glad you sent this in. What could be better than learning about rugs with friends.

It is common for Persian rugs to be made in pairs. Often times they are sold separately. Back when I was selling rugs very rarely were people willing to buy a pair. What happened with your rug is that the seller bought a pair and sold the one with a repair first. I think at $10 a foot you got a very good deal. The other rug is a very good deal as well. I do not know the seller and have not seen the rugs so I am going by the pictures and the auction description. I think the age estimate is a bit over the top but it is not new.

There is a constant cycle over the last thousand years or more of ethno-linguistic groups settling and then returning to herding. What we call tribes are actually political confederations. The Khamseh were a Qajar era confederation that were disbanded under the Pahlavis. The Qashqai still are an IL or tribal confederation or at least were up until recently. A good rule is never trust the CIA. avoid them and never put your faith in anything they tell you. The Qashqai revolted against the Ayatollah Kohmenni in 1980. The CIA set them up and got them too revolt and after 30 days the CIA pulled the plug on the war and refused anymore arms and aid to the Qashqai. The Qashqai held out for two years against the revolutionary guard but they paid dearly in blood. I hate to sound glum but it has been a tough week and a very tough day and then as I sit here and think about the IL-Khan Naser Khan Qashqai and how he was hunted down like a dog. Hiding in the caves in the upper pastures of their winter pastures because if he used a tent the helicopters would spot him. I think of Naser Khan as he buried his son Abdollah in an unmarked grave so that the Revolutionary Guard would let him rest in peace. Why? Because he trusted us. We talk about Democracy and the American way but instead of offering Democracy we offer lies and deceit. We manipulate people and let them die for a foreign policy that is so misguided that it does more to hurt than to help us.

Anyway back to rugs: As the herders settled in villages they began to weave coarser village rugs. This rug is a village product I suspect. It is the village rugs that we call Shiraz.

Best wishes,
Barry

For Further Reading:

Persian Rugs and Carpet

Turkish Rugs

Turkmen Rugs

JBOC's Notes on the Bible

Persian Miniature Painting

Caucasian Rugs

Thanks and best wishes,

J. Barry O'Connell Jr.

Persian Rugs the O'Connell Guides

Tabriz Rugs