Description
Gorgeous floral Bakhtiari rug in mint condition.
Exact size is 8 ft. by 5 ft. 8 in. 1970s.
Natural wool pile on natural cotton warp & weft.
Colors include brick red, blue, green, black, salmon or pink, gray and white. Besides the brick red, the carpet has 3 or 4 other shades of red that seem to complement each other.
The carpet was hand-woven in the city of Faradonbeh, which is a very old city located in the Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province of Iran. About 12,000 people live there, many of them of nomadic Turkic origin.
In Persian and Caucasian Rugs this floral pattern is called the Gol Farang. Also written as Gul Farang, Goli Farngi, Gol-e Farang, Golfarangi, etc.
Gol is Persian (Farsi) for flower and Farang is Persian for Frank in the sense of French. At the time the European Crusaders encountered the people of the Middle East, all Europeans were known as Franks or Farang. It was common for Persians, Muslims and Mongols to call Christian Europe Frangistan.
The gol farang, also gül farang or gul i farang (in Eagleton), Gol-i-Mirza Ali or Gol-I-Frank (in Edwards) literally means ‘foreign flower’. The design goes back to European demand for French Savonnerie and Aubusson designs during the 19th century. It is found in different variants in Senneh, Karabagh and Afshar rugs as well as rugs such as this Bakhtiari. The motif also appears in Bessarabian kilims from former Ottoman regions such as Yugoslavia, Moldova, and Bulgaria.
Since the Gol Farang refers to European flowers or roses — what makes a flower European in particular? Generally, it is rendered from a perspective not normally seen in Oriental Rugs.
Shipping is $34 within continental U.S.
Please email me with questions or to request more photos. Thank you.
(BA0109 O3)
