Wagireh Antique Rugs and Carpets

The Wagireh or Sampler rug is perhaps the most enigmatic of carpets. Made as a template or pattern for the design and production of larger carpets, they are generally small pieces the size of a scatter rug or mat. They did not show the entire design, but only the basic or fundamental portion of the various larger decorative elements of the field and borders, along with selected individual motifs, which could then be expanded according to established symmetrical repetitions to produce the complete composition. The utility and need for such patterns or guides is certainly clear. They provided an abbreviated and readily portable means of preserving and transmitting designs that could be used over and over in different variations and circulated widely. Indeed it is likely that wagirehs were jealously guarded and highly sought after by rug weaving communities or commercial entities since they provided the basic creative matrix for making a large, complex carpet that would fetch a good price in the marketplace. When and if Wagireh carpets changed hands, they probably commanded price far beyond their value as a small rug.

Agra •  Art-Deco •  Aubusson •  Bakhtiari •  Bakshaish •  Bessarabian •  Bezalel •  Bidjar •  Chinese •  Esfahan •  Farahan
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