The Charm of the Qashqai
Nothing stirs my imagination quite like the sight of black goat hair tents dotting the landscape of south west Persia, no clue given to the warmth of the people and vibrancy of colour inside…
The Qashqai are a proud nomadic tribe located in south west Persia. More accurately, they are a conglomeration of tribes descended from Turkic peoples who arrived in Iran from central Asia around the 11th or 12th century.
Despite government efforts from the 1960s to incorporate this minority group into mainstream Iranian society, many have resisted and have retained their nomadic lifestyle. Every year, they travel with their flocks of sheep from summer highland pastures north of the town of Shiraz to winter pastures on lower (and warmer) areas near the Persian Gulf, roughly 500km to the south.
Weaving has always been a major part of the Qashqai tradition, using the fabulous wool from their sheep and natural dyes to produce rugs, kilims, bags and decorative items. The weaving is done almost exclusively by the women of the tribe on horizontal looms which can be quickly disassembled. As Walter A. Hawley said in his 1913 book "No wool in all Persia takes such a rich and deep colour as the Shiraz wool. The deep blue and the dark ruby red are equally extraordinary, and that is due to the brilliancy of the wool, which is firmer and, so to say, more transparent than silk, and makes one think of translucent enamel”.
The designs are woven from memory (hence the asymmetric nature of Qashqai rugs) and passed from each generation to the next.
Because of the intrinsic quality of the wool and the artistry of the designs, antique Qashqai rugs can age quite beautifully and have become sought after. Here are a few of my favourite examples:
