Heris handwoven carpet

Heris handwoven carpet

Heris is located in the west and south of the Sablan mountain range, and most of the people in that area speak Turkish. According to Cecil Edwards in the book "Qali Iran", carpet weaving in Heris has been common since the beginning of the 19th century AD and maybe even before this date. Heris is world famous for producing carpets with unique patterns and patterns. In the following articles, we intend to introduce you to the characteristics of the famous Heris handwoven carpets.

Geographical location of Heris

Heris city is located 60 kilometers from Tabriz and in the northeastern part of East Azarbaijan province, with the center of Heris city, and from the east to Sarab and Meshkinshahr cities, from the west to Tabriz, from the north to Ahar and Warzghan cities, and from the south to the city Bostanabad is limited. This city includes two parts, Central and Khajah, the central part of which is Heris. Cecil Edwards introduces this city in the book Ghali Iran as follows: "Heris is located in the west and south of Sablan mountain range. Its population is mainly Turkish-speaking and they use Turkish knots in carpet weaving. Undoubtedly, since the beginning of the 19th century, and probably before this date, the profession of carpet weaving has been common in Heris County.

History of carpet weaving in Heris County

Azerbaijan is one of the important areas of carpet production and trade in Iran, and carpets with special characteristics are woven in each of the urban and rural areas of that land. Heris is considered one of the most important carpet weaving centers in the Azerbaijan region, and carpets similar to the designs and colors of Heris are woven in all the nearby cities and villages. But in terms of color, design and texture, they have similarities and differences, but they are at a lower level than Heris. Carpet weaving in Heris has a long history and dates back to before the 13th century. Before that, people were working in the fields of carpet and jajim weaving. The carpet industry in Heris was transferred to this area through Tabriz merchants and most of its maps were registered in the name of the same merchants; such as the maps of Tajari, Tawakli, Chalengari, Ismail Bey. Currently, due to the prosperity of the carpet market, and on the other hand, due to the geographical location of the region, which has resulted in the absence of employment-generating factories, most people, especially women and girls, are engaged in carpet weaving, and carpet weaving is considered one of the main occupations after animal husbandry. .   
Cecil Edwards says: "I imagine it is possible to recount with relative certainty what happened during this time. The merchants of Tabriz knew that the countries of the Maghreb wanted carpets that were woven with tangerine designs instead of long and narrow carpets with repetitive designs that were prepared in the villages until then. Therefore, it seemed necessary for one of the merchants to send a design of the usual rotating designs, i.e., "Lechak and Taranj" design, to Garavan or Bakshaish or Heris and observe how the village carpet weavers use it. Finally, what was expected happened; That is, the carpet weavers of this area, who could not weave revolving designs, turned this design into a broken one. That is, they made it in the form of vertical, horizontal and oblique lines. In this way, the Heris or Gravan design was born. This is the Heris carpet weavers' impression of the "Lachak Tareng" design.

Texture and color in Heris carpet

Heris carpets are considered the most important type of carpets in Azerbaijan due to their semi-geometric and revolving design. These rugs are heavy and durable. In the past, most of the carpets in this region were made of hand-spun wool and in some cases of silk. Local weavers used wool from the sheep of the Shahson tribe. But nowadays, they use the woolen skeins of the spinning machine, which are spun and dyed in Tabriz. In these carpets, turkish tufting is done in the Turkish way and in most cases by women on the rug. Dar or (Henna device in local language) is vertical. Unlike most areas of carpet weaving in Iran, the density of weaving in this area is not calculated by census; Rather, the selection is based on the number of arish (tar in the local language) and the unit of measurement is also calculated based on the arish (Turkish zare 112 cm). The most common colors used in Heris rugs include maroon, light and dark pink, light and dark blue, and ivory.

How to dye fibers

Heris is one of the carpet weaving areas of Iran, where dyeing is carried out in a unique way, as in the past it was done in a traditional way using natural dyeing materials, and due to the fact that there were mineral water springs in Heris, the wool It has been placed in these springs for a day so that under the influence of the use of these mineral waters, the wools will have a special transparency and shine; So that after many years, the color of Heris carpets had stability, clarity and quality. Heris's designs, whether they are imitations of urban designs or whether they have emerged in the context of the aforementioned features of rural art, over a short period of time, they have enjoyed such a high quality and identity that the possible roots of connection with neighboring areas, including Tabriz, are separated and have an identity. They have become independent with the name of Heris design and role throughout the geography of carpet weaving in Iran and the world.

Designs and patterns in the Heris carpet 

The investigation of the Iranian handwoven carpet from its artistic aspects is often studied around its design and role, and these designs have evolved during the historical period under the influence of the ruling culture and have been passed on to the next generations. In the meantime, Heris carpet is world famous due to its semi-geometric and semi-rotary design and pattern, along with the use of natural plant colors. The design of Heris carpets is broken and geometric, and most of its lines consist of straight and angled lines. Its design method is mental and weaver's, that is, at first, the weaver saw a design, then according to his mind and creativity, he cultivated it and implemented it in a geometric way and broken lines on the carpet weft. The variety of designs and motifs in Heris carpets had a considerable extent before the popularization of today's checkered maps and until the use of handkerchief maps as common patterns of designs and motifs in the weaving of carpets.   
Cecil Edwards says in relation to the design and role of the Heris carpet: "The tendency of the carpet weavers of this area to change the curved lines to straight, or to turn the twisted to broken, can still be seen in each of these villages today. They should only be asked to show their design, and this design is a piece of leather on which the design of a quarter of a carpet has been drawn and painted on it without skill. This design is revolving while it is always broken when it is brought on the carpet. The weavers of this area are also skilled in other work, they mock the designs that are drawn on checkered papers or the master craftsman who reads the map; Because for this purpose, they install a piece of carpet on the opposite wall with a pin, and by looking at it from time to time, they can weave the carpet to any order they order. This is an amazing skill, an instinctive and sensual skill in planning.

Common Heris rug designs

In the following, we introduce some of the most famous motifs and designs of the famous Heris carpet.

spray plan

In this design, all the clauses and images are scattered in the text of the carpet, and at the same time, they are connected with each other. The design of Afshan in the carpets of Heris region has a great variety and extent. In some cases, it has a simple background or with small motifs, or in the form of a large rhombus in the middle of the text of the carpet and a simple background, or the pattern of small motifs in a broken shape and sometimes geometrically woven, and the border is in the form of round and frame flower borders. In this design, they use light background color such as blue, cream and white.

frame design (transmissive)

The repetition of the pattern of the frame in different places of the carpet, which forms a special pattern, is called the pattern of the frame. Its main design is in such a way that the whole carpet is divided into regular parts both lengthwise and widthwise, and each part is joined to the adjacent parts by lines or straps, and in this way, the whole design is created by joining these parts and their straps. . In this design, slimy is used a lot in the text and the margin, and the width of the margin is small, but its number has increased. In most cases, the color of the text is light and the border is dark blue or gray.

Toranj elastic design 

This group of carpets has a "Lachk Torang" design, which is divided into “Lachk Torang” with a simple floor" and “Lachk Torang” with a dense background". Most of Heris's designs are based on the "Lachk Torang" pattern, which is actually the original and old map of this region, which, while maintaining the characteristics of Shah Abbasi's “Lachak Toranj” patterns, gave it a geometric combination and, using angular lines, gave it an identity completely independent of urban carpets. It is set for that.

Torang Lachak design simple floor plan

The characteristic of this group is the bergamot design with a simple background, the bergamot and the head of the bergamot are large and the corner of the bergamot is small.

Torang Lachak design with dense background

In this group, the bergamot design is with a dense background of motifs, and the bergamot head is woven in a large form in most cases, and the corner is woven in a small form in some designs. In this design, the borders of "Samouri" and "Baliq Shamama" are used.

Contemporary

This period, which dates back to the early 20th century, saw Heris carpet designs lose their former variety and breadth, and a limited number of earlier designs were woven by weavers. Today's Heris rugs are often woven with specific details and limited colors, and the size is specified in the design. In the past, map napkins were used for carpet weaving, these map napkins were a cloth measuring 30 x 30 cm, on which the design was drawn in a circular manner. By looking at these patterned handkerchiefs, the weavers created a design with semi-geometric lines and more patterns, which increased the power of imagination and the scope of the mind of the weaver artists. However, with the gradual removal of map handkerchiefs and the arrival of checkered maps from Tabriz to this region and the fact that weavers are bound to imitate the motifs part by part, the power of imagination and creativity of weavers decreases and the variety of patterns and designs gradually decreases and the number of designs according to the order of merchants And the taste of the market is formed and a number of specific and well-known designs become common.

Today's popular designs in Heris rugs

Today, Lach Taranj design, whose local name is "Goshagobek", is popular in this region. The difference between the designs at present, which is often in the form of elastic bands, is based on the structure and combination of motifs. Common designs in today's Heris carpets are: Samad Khani, Tajri, Yedi Gul (Seven Ponds), Saburi, Ismail Bey, Bashabash (Sarasri) and as the names of the designs suggest, most of them are named after people. These people were either carpet producers themselves or local merchants who ordered a design and provided it to the weavers for weaving. In contemporary Heris carpets, generally, a bergamot is in the shape of a square rhombus and in some cases, the bergamot is in the shape of a circle, the head of the bergamot is in the shape of a Shah Abbasi flower, and the frame is slim and the loops are repeated in the four corners, which has a similar corner, and the border in most cases is in the shape of It is samouri and in some cases it is in the form of balik shamama. As mentioned before, in today's common designs, the variety and breadth of the past are no longer visible and a limited number of these designs are woven by weavers, these carpets are woven with specific details and limited colors, and the size is specified in the design.

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