What are Hand Knotted Gabbeh Rugs?

Whilst many Persian carpet designs have a clear historic heritage the story of Gabbeh style is more vague. I've heard many interpretations of word Gabbeh. Rough or raw when the word is applied to their form, but when describing the style it means "free-form" or "whatever you like".

They are usually woven on horizontal looms that can be quickly staked out on the ground and just as easily taken up when it is time to move camp. Releasing the tension on a half woven rug is usually disastrous, but Gabbehs are normally hopelessly out of shape anyway.

They are usually woven on horizontal looms that can be quickly staked out on the ground and just as easily taken up when it is time to move camp. Releasing the tension on a half woven rug is usually disastrous, but Gabbehs are normally hopelessly out of shape anyway.

Contrary to popular belief, rug design tends to follow the market rather than any tradition. The development of Gabbeh rugs over the last 25 years is a good illustration of that. When I first came across Gabbeh rugs they had very long shaggy pile. The wool was crudely hand spun. Undyed in raw cream and brown shades. The rugs were poorly washed and thick with lanolin that left them greasy to the touch. They were made as sleeping mattresses to provide insulation from the cold ground and resistant to the damp. They had little commercial value other than to the collectors of tribal artifacts.

Some of the rugs had crude shapes or designs woven into them. Quite often it would be a stylised image of a chicken, a goat or flower. Sometimes even little stick people.

With time the designs have become more sophisticated. The quality of the wool, the weaving and the washing all improved to make Gabbeh rugs a viable commercial product that brings in valuable income for the weaver. 

DESIGNS

If there is a need to categorise, then there are several distinct designs that Gabbeh rugs can be grouped together