Armenians Armenians ( hy, հայեր, '' hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diasp ...

wove Lilihans in Lilihan village in what used to be called Kamareh (now

Khomeyn Khomein ( fa, خمين, also Romanized as Khowmeyn) is a city and capital of Khomeyn County, Markazi Province, Iran. At the 2015 census, its population was 76,706 in 17,399 families. Khomein is located to the south of the province, in a fertil ...

) district in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. 1 The term Lilihan is better known in the US, in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

it is not as widely used.2

Structure

Although a wide range of

carpet A carpet is a textile floor covering typically consisting of an upper layer of pile attached to a backing. The pile was traditionally made from wool, but since the 20th century synthetic fibers such as polypropylene, nylon, or polyester hav ...

and mat sizes are produced, the most common sizes found are 4 x 6 to 8 x 10 feet.3 The use of a longer pile traditionally appealed to

Americans Americans are the citizens and nationals of the United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many dual citizens, expatriates, and permanent residents could also legally claim Ame ...

.4 The Lilihan rugs are executed using the

Hamadan Hamadan () or Hamedan ( fa, همدان, ''Hamedān'') (Old Persian: Haŋgmetana, Ecbatana) is the capital city of Hamadan Province of Iran. At the 2019 census, its population was 783,300 in 230,775 families. The majority of people living in Ham ...

( single-wefted) weave, typically this means that they have one heavy

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...

weft Warp and weft are the two basic components used in weaving to turn thread or yarn into fabric. The lengthwise or longitudinal warp yarns are held stationary in tension on a frame or loom while the transverse weft (sometimes woof) is dra ...

and are made with thick, first quality

wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. ...

. The Lilihan rugs are the only

fabrics Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

in the Sultanabad region to be single-wefted. Lilihan carpets and rugs are coarsely, but tightly flat woven, making them extremely durable.

Design

Lilihan carpets and rugs are similar to Sarouk rug carpets in colour, style and thickness.6 According to Leslie Stroh of Rug News, there are about 3000 different designs for

rugs. This is attributed to 1500 villages in the Hamadan region that each produced two styles of designs. While some geometric

patterns A pattern is a regularity in the world, in human-made design, or in abstract ideas. As such, the elements of a pattern repeat in a predictable manner. A geometric pattern is a kind of pattern formed of geometric shapes and typically repeated li ...

can be found amongst Lilihan carpets, the more prevalent

designs A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...

are

traditional A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

floral motifs.7

Colour

The pink colour of the weft, distinguishes the Lilihan carpets from all others. Khaki and brown also accentuate the primarily salmon field colour.8

References

*Neff, Ivan C. and Carol V. Maggs. Dictionary of Oriental Rugs. London: AD. Donker LTD, 1977.

External links

*http://www.farsinet.com/arak/ {{Rugs and carpets Rugs and carpets Armenian art