Bibikabad Rugs & Carpets

The village of Bibikabad (Bubukabad) lies to the northeast of the city of Hamadan, near Kabutarhang and just south of the major road to Qazvin. Unlike most Hamadan villages, which tend to work in scatter and runner formats, Bibikabad has, for generations, woven large sizes: kellegis (gallery rugs) and oblong carpets. This has been going on at least since the 1880s and probably much earlier. Following the west Persian rug technique, the knotting is symmetric (Turkish), but over four non-depressed warps, rather than two. The use of the Turkish jufti knot seems to be traditional and it predates the wave of [...]

The village of Bibikabad (Bubukabad) lies to the northeast of the city of Hamadan, near Kabutarhang and just south of the major road to Qazvin. Unlike most Hamadan villages, which tend to work in scatter and runner formats, Bibikabad has, for generations, woven large sizes: kellegis (gallery rugs) and oblong carpets. This has been going on at least since the 1880s and probably much earlier. Following the west Persian rug technique, the knotting is symmetric (Turkish), but over four non-depressed warps, rather than two. The use of the Turkish jufti knot seems to be traditional and it predates the wave of ‘cheat-knotting’ that overtook Persian rug weaving from the 1930s onward. Antique rugs from Bibikabad are jufti knotted in both plain and patterned areas. The knotting is at best of medium density in the small rugs and coarse-ish in the large carpets. The good quality wool and medium pile length have kept many Bibikabads in good condition despite wear and tear. The foundations are all and always handspun ivory cotton. The dyes are all natural on the antiques: walnut husks for the camel brown, indigo for the blues, madder for the red. The indigo blue was probably dyed in Hamadan by a professional while the local villagers did the rest.

Open camel tone fields with pole or pendanted medallions, often infilled with a dark blue or ivory Herati matching the corners, are the best known of antique Bibikabad patterns. An attractive alternative is a navy boteh (paisley) field with camel Herati corners. Navy or slate fields with complex, idiosyncratic allover patterns are also found. The borders, usually ivory grounded, range from bold, informal turtle palmettes to repeats of more delicate flowers and shrubs.

The twelve foot by eighteen foot sizes are unusually favored. The weavers work without paper patterns or sampler mats on vertical village looms. The relatively small design repertoire is responsible for the restricted range of Bibikabad patterns. More unusual designs likely originated with artists in Hamadan, or otherwise working with local merchants or Western importers. Small scatters are decidedly uncommon, but the pendanted medallion, Herati pattern and wide use of camel tones are carried over from the large antique carpets.