The enchanting beauty of Heriz rugs lies in the imaginative minds of their weavers, who intricately design the medallion (lachak-toranj) patterns in their imagination before recreating them on the loom. This imaginative process doubles the beauty of Heriz rugs, securing their prestigious place among the world's finest village-woven rugs.

The History of Heriz Rugs

One of the most important and renowned rug-weaving centers in Iran is Heriz, located in East Azerbaijan province. Heriz rugs are often woven by local artisans without predefined patterns, following their cultural aesthetics and personal creativity. Many factors influence the formation of these imaginative patterns, including the weaver's age, gender, geographical environment, social conditions, customs, and religious beliefs.

Heriz rugs are considered the best in the Azerbaijan region, known for their heavy, durable, and affordable qualities. Undoubtedly, rug weaving has been common in this area since the early 19th century and possibly even earlier. Cecil Edwards notes that Western countries desired medallion-patterned rugs rather than the narrow, repetitive designs previously produced in villages. Thus, it became essential for a merchant to introduce a medallion pattern to Heriz and observe how the village weavers utilized it. As expected, the weavers embraced and executed the design beautifully.

In the past, Heriz weavers also produced extremely fine silk rugs, whose masterful craftsmanship and interesting designs were sometimes mistaken for Tabriz rugs.

The Unique Handkerchief Patterns (Cheshni) of Heriz

Heriz weavers use three methods for weaving patterns: "Nakshe," "Ornak," and "Cheshni." Nakshe refers to using graph paper for the pattern, while Ornak involves a small woven sample of different designs that the weaver references during weaving. However, the most important method is Cheshni, more commonly used by Heriz weavers. Cheshni are small cloth templates, usually less than 30 by 30 centimeters, with designs drawn on plain white fabric using ink and brush. Although these handkerchief patterns are always drawn with curved lines, the final rug shows these lines as semi-geometric and semi-curved shapes.

Characteristics of Heriz Rugs

These rugs are often woven with a two-weft structure and high, coarse pile, with a knot density of 20-30 knots per square inch, while silk rugs can have 50-60 knots per inch. The knots in Heriz rugs are symmetrical (Turkish), and the contemporary rug sizes are generally 6.5 x 10 feet and 8 x 11.5 feet. Despite being woven in a single style, Heriz rugs rarely look identical to each other, typically featuring a broken branch style.

The common design in Heriz rugs is the lachak-toranj pattern with a samovar border, varying based on the shape of the medallion. The long history of rug weaving in the area, combined with the fusion of traditional and imported curved designs, led to the creation of new patterns. These common patterns can be classified into three categories:

1) Broken and geometric imaginative patterns

2) Lachak-toranj Afshan broken branch patterns

3) Curved urban patterns.

Design and Colors of Heriz Rugs

The famous pattern of this region is the broken lachak-toranj, locally known as "Gosheh-Gobak." The medallions are often large, sometimes reaching close to the borders. The central medallion dominates the rug's background, covering a large portion of the field, while the corners (lachak) usually resemble the medallion. Heriz rugs are known by various names based on their patterns, such as Ghaach Khatoun or Dash-Khatoun (plain background medallion), Haj Azimi (lozenge medallion), Yeddi Gol (seven pools), Tajeri (stepped lachak), and Samad Khani (circular medallion).

Oak leaves and Shah Abbasi flowers are used to decorate the borders of Heriz rugs. Heriz is globally renowned for its design, colors, and natural dyeing techniques. Heriz weavers choose their preferred colors from shades of reddish-brown, light and dark pink, light and dark blue, and ivory. The predominant color of the rug fields is red with navy blue borders, and the main colors include dark red, light red, navy blue, black, yellow, and green.

Conclusion

Heriz rugs stand out for their unique imaginative designs and rich history. These rugs reflect the cultural heritage and artistic creativity of the Heriz weavers, making them a treasured part of the global rug-weaving tradition. Don’t forget to check out our collections for Heriz Rug!