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The answers from the last issue
Jajim
An oriental flatweave
Nomads often have jajim (or djadjim) rugs in their tents. But this oriental flatweave is not widely encountered in the carpet trade, perhaps due to its limited pattern options. For unlike kilims and many other flatweaves, the pattern of the jajim is formed by the warp threads rather than the weft. This tech- nique used is called warp rep.
Jajims are typically woven in the form of long, narrow strips which are then cut to the desired length. The individual woven strips are then sewn together into a single wider fabric. Jajims are thinner than kilims, and their typical design is a striped pattern, sometimes with symbols, highly stylized animals or figures. Jajims are woven in a region that extends from east- ern Turkey across the whole of Iran over to Turkmenistan.
Poshti
Small carpet format
The poshti is one of the
most well-known Iranian
carpet formats. Partly be-
cause of their small size,
poshtis have been a popular item for advertising promotions. Poshti rugs have dimensions of approx. 40 x 70 cm. Their name stems from the Persian word “posht”, which means something like “behind or back”. In Iran, poshtis are mainly used as backrest cushions.
Shearing
A processing step in carpet making
Wool carpets help regulate room climate, and have a pleasant feel. The material is furthermore sustain- able and dirt-repelling. The first step in producing wool is shearing the sheep. The animal’s fur may be shorn using special sheep scissors, but typically a shearing machine is employed. The shaved sheep’s fur is called ‘fleece’. The further processing steps include sorting, carding and finally spinning of the wool. Did you know? After knotting and an initial washing, rugs undergo shearing as well. This is done so the pile threads have the same length, defining the rug’s appearance as finished product.
Mir
A popular all-over pattern
“Mir” rugs are rugs bearing a highly popular all-over pattern of little botehs (paisleys) ar- ranged in staggered rows, quite similar to the designs seen on fine Indian textiles.
On carpets the pattern first ap- peared on rather coarsely knot- ted carpets from the Persian town of Seraband, and became well-known as the pattern of finer sarough mir rugs. Where the name tag “mir” comes from is not known with certainty. One possibility is that it is a reference to Mal-e-Mir, a town in the Sera- band region. Because of their great popularity, the Sarough Mir were reproduced on a large scale in India.
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PHOTO:IPEK