Recognition of Various Types of Māhī Darham (Twisted Fish) Design in Farahan Carpet

Māhī Darham (Twisted Fish) pattern is one of the oldest carpet designs in Iran, which had been woven and presented in most of Iran’s schools and centers of carpet weaving for a long time. Farahan is one of these centers that introduced to the world from the middle of Qajar era by Tabriz merchants with local and then its classic carpets such as Sarooq. The pattern of the Māhī Darham, in the local term as Herāti, is one of the most important and prominent designs of the Farahan region, which in the past was woven and presented in various forms and structures. In this article, while introducing examples of Māhī Darham design from different regions of Iran and the world, various forms of Māhī Darham forms in Farahan carpets are analyzed and described. Existence of eleven forms in Farahan Māhī Darham is one of the most important findings of this research which are: Māhī Zanbūrī, Fandoqī, Ādābī, Ḥaydarzādeh, Sag Māhī, Morḡ va Māhī, Māhī Mašāyeḵī, Māhī Lačak va Toranĵ, Māhī Toranĵ dar Toranĵ, Māhī Sar tā Sarī (Yek Sareh) and Māhī Kaf Sādeh. This is a basic research based on and descriptive-analytical research method with data collected through Library and mostly field study.