BAKHTIARI

Bakhtiari is the name of a an old nomadic population that descends from the Luri, and lives in the central area of the Zagros mountains. Early in the 19th century the Bakhtiari began to settle down and the majority of the people abandoned the traditional nomadic lifestyle. They settled in the Chahar Mahal region and established small towns including: Shahr Kord, Chale Shotor, Shalamzar, Farah Dumbeh and Saman. The famous princess Soyara, wife of the last Shah of Iran came from this group. Bakhtiari textile production centres on one particular decorative motif: a pattern of squares or panels based on the ancient Safavid "garden" design. The field is divided into panels by a grid of octagonal links that replaces the original channels and streams. Each panel is decorated with stylized flowers or trees, with the willow and cypress being the most frequent; sometimes there are also botehs and small mihrabs. There are other, through less frequent patterns such as the typical - and unique  design of Farah Dumbeh. As to workmanship, the Bakhtiari produce a wide range of types from the coarser rugs (60.000/80.000 knots per square meter) to rather fine qualities (200.000/300.000 knots per square meter) that are also known as "Bibibaf".