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During the 16th and especially 17th century, a large group of Armenians and Georgians moved to central Persia. Many of them were settled in and around Isfahan, where they remained Christian and live there to this day. The Church of the Saintly Sisters (Vank) in Isfahan is a fascinating demonstration of how cultures from two distant corners of the Persian empire came together and manifested in a form that still astonishes the viewer.
However, not all Armenians settled in Isfahan. Some joined the existing tribes of the area—namely the Lors and Bakhtiaris—and over time, melted into the nomadic culture through intermarriage and generations of living together.
As part of the shared culture, both peoples have woven carpets for millennia. The Armenian carpets of the Caucasus have their own distinctive style, while the Bakhtiari rugs are bold and vibrant with their unique character. But years of coexistence influenced the weaving traditions of both, resulting at times in a hybrid of nomadic and village rugs—such as the one here.
This rug is an Armenian–Bakhtiari piece woven in the early 20th century. The simple and minimalistic approach to design and the aesthetic choice of colours, in the humble opinion of the writer, places this rug in the category of modern art—though it was made by a young nomadic girl, far away from the world of galleries and entirely unexposed to the notion of modernity.
