Iran Daily: Persian Carpets: A Living Heritage

Iran Daily: "Persian Carpets:
A Living Heritage

The carpet industry needs to be looked at in a more scientific and realistic way in order to find its true position and outlook in national development and growth as well as its economic, artistic and technical impact on the country’s economy.
Iran’s carpet industry has been suffering due to shabby treatment by businessmen, middlemen and profiteers for many years. These groups have managed to influence economic experts and officials to think of the industry as an underdog and insignificant when compared to modern industrial parameters, says an article in the Persian daily Sharq.
Businessmen, traders and exporters prefer to see carpet as a commodity that can only bring in foreign exchange. Carpet producers and bureaucrats try to justify their policy of mass production by arguing that more carpet factories and workshops are needed in order to supply the overwhelming demands. But no one really cares if the Iranian hand-made carpet industry is constantly and unfairly compared to other carpets produced around the world and that its limited market share is largely controlled and dictated by foreign elements.
It is also totally untrue to state that hand-made carpets produced by households in rural areas have been an obstacle to national development and growth.

Businessmen, traders and exporters prefer to see carpet as a commodity and foreign exchange earner.

History
Iran’s carpet-industry dates back to 3,000 years ago. There are records of the magnificence of the carpets woven during the Safavid era. In those days Iranian carpets had high status and value. Iran used to take orders from European kings of the time and export carpets to their palaces. Therefore, hand-made carpet was a prosperous industry, enjoyed high technical and artistic levels and was well developed nationwide, particularly during the Qajari era.
As mentioned in several historical records and documents, after the Safavid era, carpet weaving flourished during the reign of Karimkhan Zand and Nader Shah amid conflicts and wars. Its growth and development has also been well documented in the economic book of Charles Isavi and many others such as ’Industrialization of Iran’ by William Flor, and those written about the industry and economy of Qajari era, as well as carpets and products exported to other countries.
After the 16th and 17th centuries and during the renaissance of Iranian carpet industry, the Dutch reported that “in 1713 Persian silk carpets for Japan’s emperor were no longer available in the same amount and design, and that it could take a year to order one from the market. Every year the Iranians made several hand-made carpets in velvet and gold and then sent them to the king of Bavaria and sometimes as presents to the Netherlands.“
Several Iranian cities, which were major producers of carpets such as Arak, Bijar, Sananadaj and Malayer, do not have a history more than 200 years. But when building the city of Arak, it had a complete map with proper government buildings, offices, schools, mosques and public bathrooms. The officials invited artists, industrialists and workers from other parts of the country to help them build and develop the city. They also invited carpet designers and weavers from other cities and set up central workshops for them.

Travel Account
A historian Dr. Borieh says in his travel account that “before building Arak there were other towns such as Sarouq and Diz Abad, which had many carpet weavers. Those who think that Iranian carpet industry was initially introduced and developed in Arak are completely wrong.“
In Bijar, magnificent carpets woven during the time of Amir Nezam Garousi, the samples of which are still in the mosques of Bijar, Sanandaj, Malayer and other cities, also prove that hand-made carpet industry’s development dates back to many centuries earlier. Charles Isavi’s in his ’History of Economy’ wrote that “Today, in the middle of the 19th century, Russia and Turkey are the only markets for Iranian exports. These goods, as recorded by Tabriz Customs House, include silk, scarf, carpet, leather, cotton, dried fruits and many other products that are exported to Turkey.“
In 1850, Amir Kabir ordered to dispatch fine samples of carpets, Kerman scarf, Kashmiri design, Roman scarf, silk, mirror frames, pearls, guns and several other handicrafts to an exhibition of Iranian handicrafts in London. There are also reports about “giant carpet factories in Tabriz in which over 1,500 workers were employed, working in huge sections allocated for weaving carpets and coloring at the close of the 19th century.“

Iranian carpets have enjoyed a great reputation for several centuries.

Way of Life
Carpet weaving was a way of life both in rural areas and towns for many centuries. Iranian carpets enjoyed a great reputation for several centuries. However, production and transportation costs severely affected and limited the industry’s development and growth. The industry faced huge demands from America and Europe in the middle of the 19th century. The British consul in Tabriz reported in 1874 that “there was a huge demand for Iranian carpets last year, even though exports doubled.“ He went on, “Carpet is produced in all parts of the country but those woven in the following areas have better quality and longevity: Farahan, Soltan Abad, rural areas in Mashhad, Javin, Sananadaj, Azarbaijan, Qareh Bagh and Bakhshayesh.“
He also wrote about 󈬢,000 carpet weavers working in carpet workshops nationwide.“ He said the carpets were exported to the European markets, France, England and the United States. It was right after this period that foreign traders, companies and profiteers realized the true potential of the carpet industry and decided to get into such a profitable business.
It is important to point out another issue mentioned in Ebrahim Dahgan’s book about Ziegler and Partners’ Co. The company was so obsessed with its own interests and products that it practically took drastic measures to create obstacles for Iranian businessmen in the carpet industry. It even refused to use Iranian designs on its carpets. Therefore, Iranian hand-made carpet was not just an old art of the past, but a beautiful and practical art that easily managed to find its special place and position amid hostilities of governments and tough competition by machine-made carpets.
Political and economic interferences of the British Empire in Iran during the Qajari era became tenfold but trade volumes with Russia, Turkey, the Caucasus, Georgia and even Egypt reached so high that even the colonial empire was forced to admit its defeat in controlling the market. For that reason, Britain limited the volume of Iranian exports to India and exported products from Manchester.

Exports
Hand-made Iranian carpets have always had the potential for exports in the world markets and have always managed to attract all types of buyers. From the middle of the 19th century, with the introduction of trade zones and frontiers, Iranian carpets managed to conquer world markets, capturing the imagination of thousands of designers, artists and buyers in Europe and America. The success reached to a point in which the country was no longer able to supply world market demands.
But are hand-made carpets an impediment to national development and growth? The answer is negative.
Ravandi wrote in his ’Social History of Iran’ that “The Qajari statesmen did not support domestic products because of national, social or economic concerns. It was not because of nationalism either. It was because they used to receive bribes from foreigners to let them import foreign goods into the country. Therefore, they were largely blamed for closure and failure of domestic workshops.“
Another book, entitled ’Iran and Iranian Issue’, wrote that “the main policy of Europe regarding Iran was to export more products to the country to paralyze its handicrafts and manufacturing industries, put off the ongoing industrialization phase, import only raw materials and transform it into a half-colonized territory.“
Important Role
It was only in the 20th century that national industries experienced some sort of growth. During this particular period, hand-made carpet industry played an important role in the development process by means of creating jobs for some 250,000 people in rural areas.
The hand-made carpet industry needs to be protected, and preserved as a magnificent art by means of supportive and benevolent ideas"