Bijar 8.3 x 11.10 Ft

Bijar (Bidjar) is a market center in Northwestern Iran, about 150 miles south of Tabriz. The flat, dusty town of Bijar (Bidjar) and the surrounding countryside are populated mainly by Kurds, whose artistic sense and culture is clearly seen in the region’s grand antique carpets. A small city of 20,000 at the turn of the century, Bijar (Bidjar) was the center of a major weaving area. Superbly crafted rugs were produced in the small workshops of Bijar (Bidjar) itself, the finest of the area size rugs being called “Halvai.” Many of the best antique Bijar (Bidjar) rugs, especially the largest antique carpets, have been commissioned by Westerners and the Persian nobility for the last several hundred years. Spontaneous, asymmetric antique tribal carpets were woven at the family level throughout the surrounding countryside.

Bijar (Bidjar) carpets are world renowned for their superb artistry, craftsmanship, and excellent material, and can be distinguished by their heavy wool foundation (cotton in twentieth-century carpets). As the weaver tied each row of knots, she added an extra weft and literally pounded down the knots. The stiff, heavy foundation that is thus created allows antique Bijar (Bidjar) carpets, known as “the iron rugs of Persia,” to withstand up to 200 years of heavy use.