«Mehrabi pattern» in handwoven carpet

Getting to know the hand-woven carpet of Mehrabi design

Mehrabi carpets are one of the types of beautiful Iranian carpets that are usually woven and used for special purposes. Although the origin of the Mehrabi design in Iran dates back to before Islam and has its roots in the Mehr ritual, the arrival of Islam and its connection with the worship of God gave a special sanctity to the Mehrabi design and handwovens with this design. In the following article, we are going to introduce Iranian carpets with Mehrabi designs, their background and types.

Background of Mehrab and Mehrab design in Iran

Mehrabi design actually dates back to before Islam, but with the arrival of Islam and with a slight change, it found its way not only in carpets but also in tile making and book design. This ancient Iranian design consists of two parts, "Mehr" and "Abe" meaning vaulted and dome-like, which was used after Islam in architectural spaces such as mosques and on Mehrab carpets that were used for worship and prayer. Mehrabi carpets were mostly decorated with verses from the Holy Qur'an and pictures such as cyrus, columns, lanterns, vases, trees, jasmine flowers and some other petals along with inscriptions in Kufi, Naskh, Nastaliq and Tholut lines.

The meaning of the word "Mehrab"

This word is made from two parts "Mehr" and "Abe" and "Abe" or "Aweh" means building and house. Therefore, Mehrabah means the house of Mehr. Others consider Abe to mean a hollow place and consider the current structure of the Mehrab to be a branch of this category. There are three corridors connected to each other in the Mehrabeh building, the middle corridor is wider and the side corridors are narrower and have shorter roofs. Columns were built between the corridors and they covered the columns and the corridors with an arched vault. The use of the Mehrab form in Islamic arts, like architecture and carpet, is a symbol of servitude and devotion of man in the presence of the Creator. In the Safavid era, Mehrabi carpets were considered due to their religious tendencies and the desire to promote the Shia religion. Mehrab carpets, which were produced in Kashan center, had calligraphy and motifs with Shia religious themes, which serve to propagate and promote this religion.

The design of the Mehrab in the carpet

Rituals can be considered as one of the most important drivers of art to create new designs and the link between deep concepts and beliefs and art. Praying on the carpet has led to the spread of carpets called Sajjadeh carpets or Mehrabi carpets. In these carpets, the shape of no animal or human is used, and while using all kinds of slime, the role of the Mehrab is used in their context. One of the most obvious designs that can be considered for such carpets is the reflection of the role of the Mehrab used in mosques on the background of these carpets. But one of the main and most common examples of these motifs in Iranian Mehrab carpets is the space of the sehgans from the middle Mehrab and two side parts separated by columns and decorations such as lanterns, decorative columns, headstones and inscriptions. In addition to the Mehrab, the roots of this design can also be seen in the front porch of mosques and places of pilgrimage, they know in ancient Iranian rituals. Historically, there is a place called Mehrabah in Mehr temples. The first rugs were known as "Khumra" which were woven using palm tree leaves and decorated with needlework. The carpet texture with a Mehrab design became popular from the beginning of the 11th century AH. In these designs, the Mehrab is usually covered with decorations such as lanterns, vases, and even small shrubs, and sometimes the two sides of the Mehrab are shown with large columns on which the Mehrab's roof is located. The types of designs in this group include: candle Mehrab, vase Mehrab, garden Mehrab and tree Mehrab, etc. In the Islamic culture, the Mehrab is a gate to the holy world, it is basically a holy form and changes the mood of a person in dealing with himself. In other cultures, such as Christianity, the Mehrab is also a symbol of a holy place.

The variety of patterns of Mehrabi carpets or rugs

In addition to religious prayers, Quranic verses and various hadiths on the importance of prayer, the main motifs woven on Sajjad carpets are symbolic motifs as well as Islamic motifs. Tangerine motifs, Chinese clouds, different slimes are of that category. The patterns and symbols used in Sajjad carpets, although they are patterns that may have been woven in other examples of carpets, but the point that is important and should be paid attention to is that these symbols should be seen in such carpets in relation to Islamic culture. witnessed. Some of the roles are related to natural symbols and signs, and some are visual, and among them, integrated motifs are also seen. The Mehrab is a window to the flowery garden, which is the garden of heaven, that's why arrays such as plant motifs are used, which are most related to the Rizvan shrine. Mehrab carpets have main and common decorative elements in the sense that all of them have an Mehrab space, plant patterns (generally a tree pattern) and a pattern that refers to light. Of course, secondary decorative images are also used, depending on the artistic rules of their time and place. For the Muslim artist, art must have an impersonal beauty without any sign of mental and individual inspiration. In general, the arrays used in Mehrab carpets are divided into four groups. Each of these arrays, in addition to the decorative use of the carpet, mainly have implicit implications and make the carpet far from a mere decorative use. In the following, we will introduce each type of Mehrab carpets in terms of type and role.

Types of Mehrab carpets

Mehrabi carpets are classified in different types, but from a general point of view, two main types of Mehrabi carpets can be distinguished in general:  
- Mehrabi Sajjadei  
- Decorative Mehrab

Sajadhai Mehrabi carpets

This group of carpets have small dimensions (80 x 120 and 150 x 90 cm) and are used as prayer mats. The use of Quranic verses and hadiths is customary in this group, and the accumulation of the space on both sides of the Mehrab arch with numerous spiritual texts is of special importance because the worshiper, while engaged in prayer and contemplation, is refreshed by observing the divine verses and commandments. And if necessary, he uses them in his prayer. This issue causes the prayerful person to benefit from these fruitful moments in the spiritual worlds of his practice. Mehrabi rugs have used symbolic language (the common language of all religious arts) in presenting their religious message due to their practicality in religious rituals. By focusing on the existence of God and calling to God's message, Islamic art has eliminated non-symbolic decorations and used every role in order to attract spiritual beauty.

Decorative Mehrab carpets

The first non-religious and decorative use of Mehrab carpets was when the carpet was hung on the wall as an indicator of the Qiblah direction to act as an Mehrab. Gradually, decorative Mehrab carpets underwent changes in dimensions, coloring, and arrangement of paintings and lost their purely religious use. This group has a unique variety in design and color, and due to the lack of religious use, human, animal and bird motifs were also used in its texture.

Classification of Mehrabi carpet according to the type of design

Mehrabi rugs can be divided into four categories according to the design type: 1- Mehrabi with inscriptions 2- Tree-shaped Mehrabi 3- Potted Mehrabi 4- Lamped Mehrabi

First group: Mehrab carpets with inscriptions

Mehrabi design is also called inscription design because of the pattern of the inscription that is woven into it. Therefore, in this group, the main and essential part of the carpet motifs, in addition to the main role of the Mehrab, which itself has a deep connection with the establishment of prayer; It contains inscriptions with Quranic phrases, names of Allah, mention of prostration, supplications, blessings and martyrdoms. The shape of the Mehrab with the recess of the niche, which is decorated in different ways in different regions, has a great spiritual impact on the worshiper. Above the Mehrab and hanging in the center of its ceiling, a lamp was hung in a balanced state, which is a sign of knowledge and a reminder of this Quranic verse: "Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth." The original design of the Mehrab, which became popular from the third century of Hijri onwards, attracted the attention of artists, inspired by Islamic knowledge, the artists devoted themselves to decorating the Mehrab in such a way that this motive itself became the source of the development and evolution of other arts.

Second group: Mehrabi carpets with candles

Mehrabi carpets with candles have one-sided patterns using designs that in some Mehrabi carpets include a candle design that hangs from the Mehrab arch and the text is decorated with bates and Shah Abbasi flowers. Qandeel is one of the most important symbols used in Sajjad carpets, which is the reason for its spiritual function and shows the importance of this symbol in Islamic culture. This symbol is taken from verse 35 of Surah Noor and is a sign of God's light and essence.

The third group: tree Mehrab carpets

A tree Mehrab is a design in the same order as a vase Mehrab, with a cedar-shaped butte in the center of the Mehrab. The evidence indicates that the Garden of Paradise was considered in the design of this landscape, because in such a design, the pond of water and heavenly fruits are also observed. The symbol of the tree is one of the old and ancient motifs that have been noticed in human works of art, and the most famous of them is the tree of life or cypress. Cypress is always known as a green tree; The upright cedar is sacred and has been a special symbol of Iranians for a long time. According to Iranian traditions, Zoroaster brought this tree from heaven and planted it in front of the fire temple. In Persian poetry and literature, many adjectives such as true, tall, proud, rebellious, fresh, young, new, shady, stable, stable, Bostan Azadi, etc., have been used. There is an example of a wooden Mehrab carpet, belonging to the 17th/11th century and woven in the northwest of Iran, which is now kept in the Turkish state museum. This carpet also has similar inscriptions on the border, text and Mehrab like the examples of the first group. with the difference that the role of trees and their foliage in the lower part of the carpet text differentiates it and has the effect of a garden and its trees full of flowers. Because the use of the role of trees is not unrelated to the gardens of heaven, which God promised in the Qur'an, many times, to good servants and is a sign of God's forgiveness. The word "horror" or "heaven" means the best life, which is embodied in the form of a lush, lush and beautiful garden. With this description, there are few things that can bring to mind the idea of ​​perfection sooner than the tree, because the tree had the possibility of growth in space and time to achieve perfection, and it is one of the main motifs of the carpet and the concept of heaven. Combining the symbols of the cypress tree, Qandeel and Mahramat around them, all of which have religious characteristics and concepts. It gives a beautiful effect to the carpet and it can be included among the valuable Mehrab carpets. Among the precious concepts of prayer, which have been considered in the carpets of this group using religious, literary and mystical interpretations, the essence of prayer, that is, remembrance of God, monotheism, avoidance of polytheism and sin, forgiveness and divine forgiveness, and glorification. It is a display of the elements of creation before God.

The fourth group: Mehrab rugs with vases

The last group of Mehrab rugs includes the potted Mehrab design; A design with various types of decoration, in all of which two roles are repeated: the Mehrab and the vase. In one of these types, the image of the Mehrab can be seen, which is covered by a figure of tarah, with a figure of cedar in the middle of the Mehrab, which has a vase full of flowers in it, and above the cedar, usually a figure of Qandeel can be seen. Another type is a design consisting of a large vase that joins the Mehrab from above. The large vase is surrounded by paintings with Slimi motifs and Shah Abbasi flowers.

Final word

As we have seen, Mehrab carpets have special characteristics. This is the reason why an independent group of nineteen types of Iranian carpets have been assigned to themselves. The word Mehrab means the presence of God, the front of the assembly and a place in the mosque that shows the direction of the Qibla. The name Mehrab means a place to fight with the devil and contains sacred meanings and special usage and is related to the religion of Islam.

You can inquire about  Buying Handwoven Carpets , Buying Handwoven Kilim and Mats , and Buying Handwoven Pictorial Rug Tableaus      online from the  Hoveida Carpet Store   and register all your orders and Wherever you are in the world, deliver it to the desired address in less than 4 working days.  

If you are interested in reading other articles in the field of  Handwoven carpets      or  Handwoven Pictorial Rug Tableaus , please refer to Hoveida Carpet Commercial .