In south of Tehran, an agriculture part exist that was been under control of Rey city. In this part, sugar beet and cotton yarn has been cultivated. The main center of this area is Varamin that is an old city and an impervious tower related to Moguls is placed in Varamin in thirteenth century. In this area rugs with unique designs are woven in traditional method since past.
Actually these rugs background is busy and Minakhani design is woven in it.
Warp is in cotton yarn and two white or grey wefts cross through warps; some older samples are woven by wool warp and weft. The density of knots is between 2500 to 4000 knots in each square of decimeter and knot is in both kind of symmetric and asymmetric. Colors are like traditional designs: blue for background and red (crimson) for flowers, aster flower or narcissus as simplified design and connected to curved pedicles is seen that are woven in rug background. Margin is in red or blue, woven by adapting of Herati method. Sometimes, on Varamin rugs, ShahAbbasi flower is woven instead of aster flower and because of zooid shapes in this rug, they are fame as Varamin crab rug or sometimes camel toe.
Minakhani design, is only seen on Varamin rugs and also some woven samples in Qarebagh and in Kurdestan. According to believes that was common between weavers verbally, this design was created because of BibiShahrbanou daughter of third Yazdgerd the last king of Sasani that was married to Imam Hosein and buried in Rey city. Today weaving rugs with Minakhani design are almost stopped.
Almost in all villages of Varamin, bergamot rugs are woven like Kashan rugs. Traditional method is also used only in villages “JafarAbad” and “Abbarik”. In Varamin, lots of nomads live that are mostly residing in villages and have sedentary life and close relationships is between them that can’t be recognized surly where the accurate origin is. Among these nomads, Shahsavans can be named that are most probably from Baghdad Shahsavan descent settled around Save and there are also populated groups of Kurdish that Minakhani design is attributed to them. These Kurds are from group “Pazouki” that have lived a time around Erzerum in Armenia. In sixteenth century Pazoukis scattered that most probably immigrated to Khorasan and a small group of them settled around Varamin. Also in Varamin some Lor tribes of “Bor Bor” and “Hadavandi” clans live that stayed up in this area since fourteenth century. Lor people besides rugs and travel bags in different sizes on horizontal loom, rugs decorated to traditional Minakhani design had woven that are thicker than Varamin rugs explained earlier and totally woven by wool and the knot is symmetric and have small sizes. Varamin rugs were woven by using horizontal loom on the floor by Lor people.
Read our other blog posts on Varamin Rugs:
