With the Kirman the Tabriz shares the reputation of having the most graceful floral designs. They are purely Persian and have suffered little from outside influence. Many of them are so closely woven that they are apt to curl on the edges.
This particular piece is a good example of the average design with its floral medallion and many border stripes.
WHY SO NAMED.--After a town in Western Persia in the province of Kurdistan. Sometimes called Sarakhs because they are made by tribesmen who came from the old city by that name and settled around Bijar.
KNOT.--Ghiordes. Number vertically six to ten; number horizontally eight to twelve; number to the square inch forty-eight to one hundred twenty.
WOOF.--Heavy wool, occasionally camels' hair.
NAP.--Heavy lustrous wool. The field is often of camels' hair.
ENDS.--Selvaged, sometimes a fringe woven on. The web of one end is frequently turned back and hemmed.
BORDER.--Usually from two to four border stripes.
PREVAILING COLORS.--Field frequently the natural color of the camel. Rich reds, blues, and greens; also white, old ivory, and yellow.
DYES.--Usually good except in some of the modern pieces.
DESIGNS.--Generally floral, often medallion centre with elaborate corner pieces. Inscriptions frequent. Patterns irregular. Modern ones inclined to be rectilinear. Antiques frequently have figures of birds, animals, and human beings.
SIZES.--Modern ones in carpet size; antiques three to five by five to eight.
REMARKS.--The antiques are very rare and the modern ones are much inferior. Many of them are so thick and heavy that they cannot be folded but must be rolled up.
Maj. L. B. Lawton's Description.--A complete rug in rare design. Usually such rarities are cut up so as to show the breaks in pattern, and fortunate collectors get one fraction. The soft colors in this are unusual even in Bijar.
WHY SO NAMED.--After the city of Kermanshah from which they are shipped, it being a great caravan centre.
WHERE MADE.--In the vicinity of Tabriz and of Sultanabad.
KNOT.--Nearly always the Senna, seldom the Ghiordes. Number vertically eight to sixteen; number horizontally eight to twelve; number to the square inch sixty-four to one hundred ninety-two.
[Illustration: BIJAR RUG Size 3'9" × 2'9" PROPERTY OF MISS EMILY DAVIS, BUFFALO, N. Y.]