The Nature of Abstract Motifs in Ghashghaie Hand-woven Objects

One of the key questions concerning nomadic hand-woven objects in Iran deals with designs and motifs used in them; with the nature of the motifs and the techniques applied to create them. Generally, the intended designs and motifs used in nomadic Persian hand-woven objects are broken (abstract) in shape and as simple as possible. In addition, they are often woven quite subjectively or intuitively; a feature that has made such hand-woven objects unique in terms of aesthetic criteria. Another outstanding feature is the application of a wide variety of weaving techniques. This is true especially in Ghashghaie hand-woven objects. In fact, the weavers take advantage of various techniques (sometime a combination of them), through making different arrangements with wefts and yarns. First, various kinds of nomadic Persian hand-woven objects were classified in terms of application and weaving techniques. Then, the views of three distinguished experts, Parviz Tanavali, Armen Hangeldin and Cecil Edwards, concerning the nature of broken and/or abstract designs and motifs used in nomadic Persian hand-woven objects were reviewed and examined. Finally, the views of the experts were compared with those of the nomadic weavers themselves in order to discover the real explanation for applying such motifs and designs. In order to extract the nomadic views on the rationale behind applying the indented motifs, the weavers were asked two key simple questions. This study is descriptive-analytic in nature. Data were gathered based on library sources and field studies.