Important Notice

BIRJAND, KHORASAN, IRAN, CIRCA 1930
Handspun and handwoven wool, natural dyes
60 x 152.75 in (153 x 388 cm)


Nomadic and semi-nomadic pastoral communities once lived across most of Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Central Asia and the Middle East. Weaving was central to their way of life and they made a number of textiles including the tent or chador for shelter, saddlebags to carry their belongings, carpets to sit on, and coverlets to keep them warm. The jajim, a Turkish word for a warp-faced flat weave, was central to nomadic life in the tent. It was used as a spread on the floor, a hanging on tent walls, a cover for piles of bed clothes and a blanket on cold winter nights. It was also used as a room divider, separating the woman's area and the kitchen, from the more public spaces of the tent.

Birjand lies in the east of Iran, near the border with Afghanistan; the Baloch who live here are seminomadic. The women weave the jajim on horizontal looms where the heddle rod is anchored in the ground. The jajim is always woven in narrow strips to maintain an even tension in the weave. These strips are later stitched together along the selvedge. Each strip is woven in a flat-weave, making it a warp-faced textile. While the patterning is not symmetrical, the colours of the narrow bands in green, maroon and black are repeated periodically. Within them are designs in white, a series of lozenges and motifs that represent flying birds.

The edges of this jajim have a fringe and indicates that this may have been prepared by the urbanised households. Jasleen Dhamija acquired the present lot in December 1970 in Birjand.

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