Wednesday 13 April 2011

Tribal Yalameh Carpets

Tribal Yalameh Carpets


Yalameh is a well-known name in tribal Persian rug weaving. Yalameh is the name of a village in Char Mahal Bakhtiar state in southern Iran, which, since 1920 has become home for Turkish-speaking Qashqai nomad families. Natural vegetable dyes are widely used in Yalameh carpets and the wool used is locally produced and famous for its soft texture and beautiful sheen.
The colours used in Yalameh Persian carpets are very limited and don't exceed more than 10 shades. Deep and light reds, cedilla blues, yellow and gold, are the colours found in most Yalameh carpets.
 Wool is used in the warp and weft of these rugs as well as the pile. 


Until recent days most Yalameh rugs were woven on horizontal looms, but these days you see many upright looms in Yalameh homes as these take up less space in the room. 

Knot count in Yalameh rugs is between 25-35 Raj (Raj: knot counts in a row of 7.5 cm) and the finest pieces are woven in a village called Aliabad. The distinctive motifs and colours used in Yalameh carpets make them easy to distinguish.  

Majid Mirmohamadi, March 2011
www.majidcarpets.com