A Comparative Study of the Design and Pattern Structure of Khurasan’s Kurdi Rugs and the Rugs from Azerbaijan (Caucasus) Region

Due to the existence of various tribes in the field of rug weaving, Iran has a valuable treasure of rug patterns and designs. Along with the migration and settlement of tribes in different areas in Iran, cultural and artistic customs have also been transferred from one area to other areas. The main issue in this study is to find out how the design and pattern of Khurasan’s Kurdi rugs have been influenced by the rugs from Caucasus region. By comparing the design and pattern of Khorasan’s Kurdi rugs with those of Azerbaijan (Caucasus) region, this study tries to answer the following research questions: a) What is the variation of pattern and design of Khurasan’s Kurdi rugs and the rugs from Azerbaijan region? and b) What similarities and differences exist between the design and pattern of Khurasan’s Kurdi rugs and the rugs from Azerbaijan (Caucasus) region? This study, also, aims to identify the common structure of the pattern and design between Khurasan’s Kurdi rugs and the rugs from Azerbaijan region. As a result, some part of the similarity and difference of rugs from the two regions is also delved in. This study is descriptive and takes a comparative approach to describe the pattern and design of the rugs from the two regions. The pool data are selected in a targeted way. For this purpose, 4 weaving areas with 9 samples from Kurd Khorasan and 5 weaving areas with 10 samples from Azerbaijan have been studies. The data have been gathered through filed and library methods. The results indicate that many similarities exist in geometric forms of the medallion and the field and border motifs in the rugs from the two regions. The most similarities of the patterning relate to the form of the medallion, border stripes and abstract and plant motifs in the field. The most significant difference is in the high density of motifs in Azerbaijan rugs and the ample application of abstract plant motifs in Khorasan’s Kurdi rugs. Key words: rug, design and pattern, Kurd Khurasan, Azerbaijan, comparative study