Afshar is a handwoven rug style produced by the Turkic

Afshar tribe Afshar ( ; , ; ; ) is a tribe of Oghuz Turkic origin that split into several groups in Iran, Turkey and Afghanistan. Afshar means "obedient". According to Rashid-al-Din Hamadani, Afshar, the eponymous founder of the tribe, was a son of Yildiz ...

, a semi-nomadic group principally located in the mountainous areas surrounding the modern region of

Iranian Azerbaijan Azerbaijan or Azarbaijan (, , ), also known as Iranian Azerbaijan, is a historical region in northwestern Iran that borders Iraq and Turkey to the west and Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the Azerbaijani exclave of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republ ...

. An additional population of Afshar tribes-people is located in the

Kuchan Quchan (; ) is a city in the Central District of Quchan County, Razavi Khorasan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. It is approximately 97 km south of the border city of Ashgabat, capital city of n ...

area in Razavi Khorasan Province of Iran and city of

Kerman Kerman (; ) is a city in the Central District (Kerman County), Central District of Kerman County, Kerman province, Kerman province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. History Kerman was founded as a def ...

. Carpets in the Afshar style are known for their stylized floral geometric designs, tribal artistry, and a characteristic palette of rust and blue color tones.

History

Since the

Safavid The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

period, the Turkic tribal group Afshar migrated from their origins in

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

to settle in

Azerbaijan republic Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

, and

Eastern Turkey The Eastern Anatolia region () is a geographical region of Turkey. The most populous province in the region is Van Province. Other populous provinces are Malatya, Erzurum and Elazığ. It is bordered by the Black Sea Region and Georgia in th ...

. This background has led to the inclusion of regional influences on Afshar weaving, resulting in a distinctive aesthetic that incorporates elements of several village and nomadic Persian rug styles, as well as Southern Persian design influences. Caucasian rug influences are also strongly felt.

Design

Antique Afshar rugs from the 19th century are characterized by their quality of craftsmanship and wool. Colors are saturated: deep

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carnelian Carnelian (also spelled cornelian) is a brownish-red mineral commonly used as a semiprecious stone. Similar to carnelian is sard, which is generally harder and darker; the difference is not rigidly defined, and the two names are often used int ...

saffron Saffron () is a spice derived from the flower of '' Crocus sativus'', commonly known as the "saffron crocus". The vivid crimson stigma and styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly as a seasoning and colouring agent ...

and

ochre Ochre ( ; , ), iron ochre, or ocher in American English, is a natural clay earth pigment, a mixture of ferric oxide and varying amounts of clay and sand. It ranges in colour from yellow to deep orange or brown. It is also the name of the colou ...

tones predominate. While complex repeating all-over designs are prevalent, Afshar weavers also drew upon Southern

Persian carpet A Persian carpet ( ), Persian rug ( ),Savory, R., ''Carpets'',(Encyclopaedia Iranica); accessed 30 January 2007. or Iranian carpet is a heavy textile made for a wide variety of utilitarian and symbolic purposes and produced in Iran (histo ...

imagery, with boteh motifs, shrub and occasionally "

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" compositions also encountered. Kurdish influences are evident in angular medallion format rugs, as well as in the general spontaneity encountered in several original flower and bird designs. Afshar rugs are usually found in the area size format, ranging in size from 3 ft x 4 ft to 4-5 ft x 7 ft. Larger room size pieces are seldom encountered.Winitz, Jan David (1985). ''The Guide To Purchasing An Oriental Rug'': Publishers' Group West, pp. 22. Longer corridor carpets (5 ft x 10 ft) are occasionally found, as are the small mats and bag faces consistent with their nomadic tribal heritage.

References

{{reflist Persian rugs and carpets Afshar tribe