Inspiration Everywhere – Framed Garden

Bridging the gap between Art -Nouveau and the beloved traditional and transitional design elements of Bakhtiari carpets, this week’s “Inspiration Everywhere” features Framed Garden from the Orley Shabahang’s Art Nouveau collection. Continue reading to learn more about Framed Garden’s design, transitional Bakhtiari elements, and hand-knotted construction. 

Measuring 10’0” x 14’3”, this hand-knotted Orley Shabahang carpet belongs to the Orley Shabahang collection. Framed Garden was crafted in a village neighboring Arak, Iran, circa 2004. Its hand-knotted pure wool pile in lush hues of forest green and blush pink evokes the sensation of walking through a golden rose garden in bloom. Gold, red and blue tones accent the design and echo the traditional Persian Garden rugs of decades past. 

The all-over interior field showcases stylized roses, detailed in shades of dark green, light green, and soft gold wool. Repetitive and rectangular, the design showcases the rose motif and its stages of growth. Within Persian carpets, the rose motif symbolizes patience. The carpet’s border, serving as a walkway around the garden, encloses the interior with similar rose motifs. Contrasting red and pink hues provide an incredible depth for the rich green, gold, and soft brown floral details. 

Many of the design elements found within Framed Garden include traditional Persian design elements, primarily from Bakhtiari carpets. These Bakhtiari carpets are renowned for their ornate designs, which incorporate the symmetry of city carpets alongside the character of tribal rugs – the best of both worlds. Bakhtiari carpets also utilize lozenged compartments, which house floral, fruit, or tribal-inspired motifs. Framed Garden honors these design elements while combining them with a modern color palette and Art Nouveau-inspired motifs. 

Adding to the uniqueness of this piece is Framed Garden’s signature weaving style. Continuing the traditional Persian weaving process, Orley Shabahang sources the highest quality raw materials to craft these one-of-a-kind carpets. This style of rug creation guarantees that Orley Shabahang rugs are not only functional but beautiful as well. The hand-knotting process begins with wool shorn from the necks and backs of Persian fat-tail sheep, from the neck and the back where the wool is highest in lanolin. This luxurious and durable fiber is then handspun using a time-honored spindle technique, its asymmetrical yarns resulting in the incredible abrash, or striations, found within the design. Dye-masters utilize small-batch organic dyes, preferred by weavers for their non-toxic, naturally available, and steadfast properties. After dying the wool, weavers rinse the batches in river water and dry them under the hot sun to set the patina. Once prepared, weavers may finally begin the process of hand-knotting each thread of pile onto the cotton warp and weft foundation.

In keeping with the traditions of Persian carpet weaving, a family of artisan weavers created Framed Garden in their own home. An art form passed from generation to generation, there is typically a separate room in the home reserved for weaving. Working individually or sometimes side by side, these artists imprint their creative touch on every piece. It is the human touch that elevates an Orley Shabahang carpet to a level unlike any other in the contemporary marketplace. The exceptional skill, care, and love that goes into every rug make each piece one-of-a-kind.

 If you are in love with Framed Garden’s transitional and Art Nouveau style, check out Orley Shabahang’s Art Nouveau collection at orleyshabahang.com. And if you can’t get enough there, stop by our Digital Showroom at 1stdibs.com to see the rest of our available online inventory!