A Comparative Study of KheshtiRugs MotifsinRegions of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province

Iranian rural carpets are major sources for the study of Iranian rural art and culture. Applications of motifs and colors of these carpets reflect the culture, customs, art and lived experience of the local people. The presence of common aspects in frames of Kheshti rugs and their colors, indicate the presiding spirit of the works, inspired by their interaction with nature. There are differences in both theappearance and technique thus to better recognize the Kheshti rugs of different regions of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province it is essential to study the visual characteristics of motifs within the frames. The aim of this paper is to better recognize the Kheshti rugs’ motifs, describing and categorizing these motifs, and increasing the knowledge to distinguish the rugs coming from these regions and also besides exploring each and every motif theoretically, the visual components, color, size, abstraction or simplification of motifs, etc have been taken into account. The following questions have been focused on:1.What are the most frequent motifs in kheshti carpets coming from the different areas of the province? 2. What are the differences between the rug motifs of these areas? Drawing on published material and field research, the method in this article is comparatively analyzing documents, books and the Kheshti rugs’ motifs from different areas of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province leading to a comparative study of the Kheshti rugs’ motifs from different regions of the province. Kheshti rugs’ motifs vary greatly and change depending on the weavers’ taste, but the general theme and motifs within the frames mostly involve vegetation and trees while birds and beasts are less frequently depicted. Kheshtirug motifs coming from the villages ofSaman, Farrokhshahr,shalamzar, Sefieddasht and Ardalare abstractedbut inChalshotorand Shahrekordrugs are more realistic.