Arak Handwoven Carpet

Introduction to Arak handwoven carpet

The carpet of Arak and its surrounding areas currently has one of the most original and traditional designs, colors and weaving methods in Iran. Carpets with henna flower, geography, betemiri, and chicken and fish designs are specific to Arak region and are famous and have many fans in the domestic and foreign carpet markets of Iran. The hand-woven carpets of this region are in the category of coarse-woven and expensive carpets. In this article, we are going to introduce you to the special features of the Arak hand-woven carpet.

History of carpet weaving in Arak

Arak is a new city that was built in 1231 AH during the reign of Fath Ali Shah and was known as Sultanabad until 1316 AH. Contrary to popular belief, carpet weaving in Arak has a rich history. In fact, the existence of historical evidence and the reputation and quality of woven carpets in the past years in Arak prove that this region had a brilliant history. In some areas of the outskirts of Arak, such as Farahan and Sarouk, the art of carpet weaving goes back many years. So, it is not unlikely that we consider Arak as one of the oldest and well-known regions in the production of handwoven carpets.

Arak carpet in the travelogue of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar

Naser al-Din Shah Qajar, in his travelogue, on his return from the shrine of Atbat in Iraq, mentions his visit to Arak and describes that Azerbaijani merchants and some of the city's own residents are engaged in buying and selling carpets in Arak. Also, he continues to say that many carpets are sent from this city to Russia and Ottoman (Turkey) countries every year. These descriptions, in addition to referring to the quality of Arak carpets, also show that carpet production has been popular in this region since ancient times.

Establishing foreign companies for Arak carpet trade

Around 1266 AH, the fame and economic value of Arak carpets reached such a point that an English businessman established a branch of his company called "Ziegler and Partners" in this city in order to be able to order woven carpets from Arak weavers in accordance with the taste of European countries. And give American. The results of surveys conducted on carpet weaving in different regions of Central Province show that the city of Arak has a long history in carpet weaving, and more than 15 foreign companies have been operating in this city in the field of production, buying and selling of hand-woven carpets. It is one of the most important regions of Central Province in the field of handwoven carpets production. Ziegler and Partners Carpet Company, Sharq Carpet Producers Company, Salim Shahanian Company, Telefian Company, the Italian company of Nir Cocastelli Brothers and Taushandchian Company were among the foreign companies that were active in the production and trading of handwoven carpets in Arak.

Design and pattern in Arak carpet

The designs used in carpet weaving in Arak are often original and native to the same region. Some of these designs, such as chicken and fish designs and henna flowers, are specific to the Arak region and are not woven anywhere else. In the following, we will explain the types of designs used in the weaving of Arak carpets.  
- Chicken and fish design: This pattern, which is one of the most special designs of the Arak carpet, has slight differences from the appearance of the tangled fish carpet. In the text of this carpet, the image of a fish-eating chicken is depicted, which is hunting fish. The twists and curves and soft and beautiful movements of chicken and fish give a special effect to this type of carpets. At present, the weaving of carpets with chicken and fish patterns has been stopped in Arak.  
- Bete Miri pattern: Bete Miri or Bete Sarabandi pattern is one of the special motifs in Arak region carpet, the original type of which is woven in Malmir village in Saraband city. The name "Bete Sarabandi" is also taken from this city. In this design, the entire text of the carpet is filled with the motifs of bateh jakeh, which are placed in a row in the middle to the left and right. Bete Miri or Bete Sarabandi is a very famous motif among Iranian motifs, which, in addition to carpets, has been inspired and widely used by Iranian artists in other arts such as traditional embroidery, fabric printing, and even in jewelry.  
- Mustofi pattern: this design is also one of the original and special patterns of handwoven carpets in Arak.  
- Fish design: This design is one of the oldest hand-woven carpet designs in Arak region and especially in Farahan village. Similar fish pattern is woven in other regions of Iran such as Kurdistan, Tabriz, Zanjan and South Khorasan. But the difference between the fish motif in Arak is that the artists of Arak design and weave this motif with methods known as Mahi Boori and Mahi Farahan.  
- Henna flower design: This design is one of the most beautiful and original carpets in the Arak region, which is also known as "Tere Madz", which is the place where it is woven. In this design, the text of the carpet, which often has an all-over design, is covered with fawn-red flowers using large flower bushes.  
- Geography design: This special design is woven in Arak with two styles called "solar geography" and "flower-bush geography". The geography design is one of the original motifs of Sarouk Arak region, which in the past made the name and fame of this hand-woven carpet all over America and Europe and has many fans and still has.  
-    Underground design: This design, whose texture has become more popular in Arak in recent years, is usually used in the villages of North Arak and around the city of Mahalat, in carpet weaving. In this design, in the text and border of the carpet, objects such as vases, jars, bowls and teapots and similar objects are woven among the motifs of flowers and leaves. In fact, these objects represent underground and antique objects.  
- Pot design: The texture of this design is also common in some other carpet weaving areas of Iran, such as Qom, and is not specific to Arak. This design includes a vase or vases in the text of the carpet, from which flowers and bushes come out and cover the entire surface of the carpet.  
- Flower bouquet design: This design is one of the old patterns of Arak region and is currently woven in all the carpet weaving areas of the central province.  
- Single batte design: This design consists of the role of a large batte in the carpet text. In some examples of this design, the end of the part of this pattern is designed wide, which is also known as "Bete Tabari" due to its resemblance to the shape of an axe.

Other hand-woven carpet designs in Central Province

In the carpet-weaving areas of the central province, in addition to the above-mentioned designs, other motifs and designs are also woven, such as Shah Abbasi, Afshan, and Gol Farang designs. Also, in this area, imitations of Bakhtiar clay carpets are sometimes seen, which are mostly seen among the carpets of recent years in Central Province. The local and specific designs of Arak region, which are usually also subjective, have often occupied the productions of Arak in the past years and especially in the early part of this century. Farahan is the biggest place of supply of these original and local carpets. The old productions of the famous Saroq carpets have a very high artistic and economic value in terms of design and color, and they have many fans in the domestic and foreign markets of handwoven carpets. Carpets woven in Sarooq are often famous for their fringe pattern.

Colors in Arak carpet

Currently, unfortunately, in most cases, the fibers used in carpet weaving in Arak region are dyed using imported chemical dyes. Farsh Iran is the only joint-stock company that is one of the oldest companies in the field of carpet production and sales in Arak and still dyes the fibers used in its products using natural materials. The most common colors used in Arak carpets and its surrounding areas are: navy blue, lacquered, green, cream, beige, copper, fawn, brown and blue, each of these colors are used in different dark and light types in the carpet texture of this area. Placed. One of the most important features of Farahan carpet, which is actually the criterion for its recognition, is the use of bone cream and buttermilk color in the carpet, while the flower stems are woven with green color.

Technical characteristics of the weave in Arak carpet

In the following, we will explain the technical characteristics of the handwoven carpet of Arak region, such as the material, the type of knot, the number, etc.:

Raw materials used in Arak carpets

Cotton yarn as the warp and weft, and wool fibers for the carpet pile, are the only raw materials used in the carpets of this region. Silk fibers are not used in carpet weaving in this area.

Common dimensions of Arak carpet

In this area, they usually weave hand-woven carpets in back dimensions, one and a half cubits, two cubits, 6 meters, 2.5 x 3.5 meters and even larger than these dimensions. Also, among the Arak carpets, you can see sides with a length of four to six meters, which is one of the dimensions whose texture has been popular in this region since ancient times. In general, the carpet of Arak region has a high diversity in terms of dimensions.

Rajshmar in the Arak carpet

The hand-woven carpets of Arak and its surrounding areas are diverse. The villages in the north of Arak, such as Saroq, Jiriya and Ghiyasabad, are currently weaving carpets in the dimensions of carpets with a count of 40 to 45. But in the south of Arak, which produces carpets known as "Meshkabad" and "local carpets", they often have a count between 20 and 30 at most and are classified as coarsely woven carpets. Meshkabad is the name of a place around Arak, whose carpets usually have small dimensions, coarse texture and long piles. Meshkabad carpet designs usually include Meena Khani, Herati and Gol Hanai. The knot of the carpets of this region is Persian or asymmetric, and its characteristic is that the color of the weft is blue. Meshkabad carpet has very good dyeing, has unprecedented and impressive designs and the wool used in it is of high quality, and for this reason it is world famous. Of course, it should be mentioned that most of the original and old carpets in the villages around Arak, such as Sarouq, have a low index between 20 and 25 and they were coarsely woven in terms of index.

The type of knots, carpet hangers, and pulls in Arak carpets

All hand-woven carpets in Arak region are woven with Persian knot. Carpet weaving in this area is also done in Persian method and fixed looms are used for carpet weaving and weaving.

How to weave in Arak carpet

The original and old carpets of Arak region, especially the carpets in the north known as Farahan, are all woven using a weft (thick weft). Therefore, these carpets are flat woven in terms of weaving mechanism. The old carpets of Mahal and Meshkabad were also of the type of thick one-weave and two-weave half-loop weaving. But currently, all the hand-woven carpets in Arak are of double weft type (one thick weft and one thin weft) and in terms of the weaving mechanism, they are all looped.

Shiraze weaving and finishing in Arak carpets

All the carpets of Arak and its surrounding areas are twisted when weaving Shirazeh. Finishing and covering of carpets in this area is also done during weaving and using scissors.

Famous designers and weavers of Arak

In the field of Arak carpet design, we come across famous names such as Asadullah Dakhi, Abdul Karim Rafiei, Jafar Chegani, Zabihullah Abtahi, Haj Agha Eshghi Golbaz, Ezzatullah Ebrahimi and Mohammad Astana, who are among the most famous carpet designers in this region and their designs are still used by weavers. .  
Among the prominent producers of Arak carpets, foreign companies such as Qali Sharq Producers Company, Salim Shahanian Company, Telfyan and Navsahandchian Company can be mentioned, which are among the most important producers of Arak carpets. The Mushtaqhi and Madani families are among the private producers of Arak carpets.

Conclusion

In a general view, it should be said that Arak carpet is of medium and high quality in terms of quality and relatively cheap compared to other regions, and the reason for its cheapness is because of its coarse texture and heavy weight. Arak carpet is world famous due to the use of original and special designs of this region such as bete miri or bete sarabandi, henna flower, chicken and fish, and geography.

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