Recently, I visited with my friend, Geoffrey Orley. He and his business partner of 37 years, Bahram Shabahang, sell a premier collection of antique carpets – and contemporary carpets designed by Bahram. Hopefully you will find this introduction to the history and process of carpet weaving as fascinating and interesting as I do. Geoffrey and Bahram are extremely gracious – and are always ready to share their knowledge!
In 2001, Bahram set out to create his own signature Persian carpets. Faster, mechanized ways of production have threatened the authenticity and quality of this art form and the techniques once used to create the masterpieces we associate with antique Persian carpets. Bahram’s interest and knowledge is an extension of a long family tradition. His family has been purveyors of carpets starting with his ancestors who oversaw the work of the rug weavers in the royal workshop of King Tahmass Safavieh in the 16th Century. Taking on the challenge of reintroducing the lost art of carpet weaving, from cultivating the right materials to integrating ancient artistic methods with contemporary design concepts, Bahram manages every step of the process to create truly functional art.
Pedigreed sheep are bred specifically for weaving carpets. These sheep are valued for their fine wool and are raised in the most suitable conditions throughout Iran’s Ghashghai region. The four-season climate of this region creates a wool that has superior tensile characteristics and color absorption. The best wool is very long-stranded, and has exceptionally high lanolin content. This lanolin-rich wool maintains a natural sheen that enhances the color over time.
Wool is spun using traditional techniques that require every step to be done by hand. While this process is very labor intensive and far more expensive than machine-aided approaches, the resulting quality is far richer. The hand spinning twists the wool uniquely, resulting in an uneven diameter. This method also causes the density of wool to change throughout the ball of yarn. This asymmetry absorbs color differently, creating striated color, called abrash, while maintaining the wool’s integrity. The irregular coloration produces a carpet pile that is more textural and color that is more profound, while maintaining the wool’s integrity.
Colors for the carpets come from natural resources: flowers, roots, fruit, bark and other ingredients found in the Persian countryside. The wool is then boiled and dyed in large inground copper tubs with mordants added to cause the wool to be more receptive to the dye. The dye becomes one with the wool rather than a colored skin that sits on its surface. This process facilitates this natural reaction without destroying the lanolin, unlike a chemical treatment. Afterwards, the wool is placed in a river current to help set the colors and then laid in the sun for further natural curing. This traditional technique ensures deep color intensity while slightly varying from strand to strand.
Weaving is a craft that is deeply connected to the culture and the customs of the people of Iran. Passed down from generation to generation, weaving is solely done by women and is not easy to master. Only a gifted weaver can create a carpet with a fluid design translated from a two-dimensional pattern. Carpets are woven house-to-house, village-to-village, throughout the regions of Iran best known for their specialized types of weave. The looms are usually located in a weaving room in the home, integrating craft and daily life. The finished carpet is baked in the sun to enhance and stabilize the colors.
Orley Shabahang strives to be the most original creators of Persian Carpets in the world. Bahram Shabahang finds his strongest inspiration in nature: flora, fauna, and landscapes, as well as Persian architectural elements. It is his original eye for color and shape, along with the techniques and materials used that set Orley Shabahang carpets apart from the rest. Here are some samples of the finished product:
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Where can one see examples? Can one buy one of these carpets in the US?