TEHRAN – Gabbeh rugs have long been a popular feature when it comes to interior decor. Gabbeh is a traditional flooring similar to carpet but they differ from one another in motifs, size, colors, and the number of its long and thick wefts. Such a rug is one of the most popular handicrafts in the southwestern province of Bushehr.

They are woven usually by nomadic people using handspun wool. Their patterns are of a simple type with only a few elements of decorative, mostly rectangular objects containing animals.

They are common in almost all the villages and even some of the cities of the southwestern province. The motifs and patterns of Gabbeh are not the same as the carpet. Gabbeh may do not have any margin, or may not be symmetrical. Many of its motifs look like paintings of children, quite simple and primitive, but inspired by nature and surroundings.

Patterns of Gabbeh are created by the memory of their weavers. They are completely free to use any motif and they can place it anywhere they desire in the pattern. Another major difference between Gabbeh and carpet is the color palette used in them, according to Visit Iran, the official travel guide to the country.

A major part of the Gabbeh is weaved using wools in their raw color. The Bushehr Gabbeh has plain backgrounds in white, cream, brown, black, and grey, and the patterns are made in black, red, dark blue, and other similar colors.

The weavers are mostly women and girls who each have a special kind of motif on their minds and they skillfully weave them. In general, the common feature of the Gabbeh of Bushehr is the traditional patterns that have been evolved through generations and are artistically valuable.

The materials used in the process of Gabbeh weaving are produced from the wool of the sheep that are bred locally. Today European countries and the Arab states of the Persian Gulf are reportedly the two major buyers of Bushehr Gabbehs.

Therefore, the makers have begun dying the wool with herbal pigments such as orange, blue, green, and yellow to use in the background. The motifs of these products are animals and doll-like.

The coastal province borders with the Persian Gulf on the west and bounded by the regions of Hormozgan and Fars on the southeast and east and Khuzestan on the northwest.

AFM