TEHRAN – A gigantic handwoven kilim carpet was unveiled on Sunday during an official ceremony held in the town of Ghirokarzin, southern Iran.

“The kilim carpet, measuring 84 square meters (14 by 6 meters), was made in 35 days by eight prominent local weavers,” Ghirokarzin’s tourism chief, Mohamadjafar Ebrahimqiri said, IRIB reported.

The colorful kilim carpet was made to order by Qatar, the official said, addressing the unveiling ceremony attended by Ghirokarzin’s governor and a host of local officials and craftspeople.

“Last year the largest kilim of the country, covering an area of 60 square meters, was woven in this town that is considered as a hub of hangwomen flooring,” Ebrahimqiri explained.

Kilim is a pileless floor covering handwoven in most places where pile rugs are made. The term is applied both generally and specifically, with the former use referring to virtually any rug-like fabric that does not have a pile.

When used specifically the term refers to a more limited number of techniques, including slit tapestry, warp sharing, and various forms of interlocking tapestry weave.

The kilims are often woven on narrow looms, and two mirror-image pieces are sewn together along the long edge to produce the completed kilim. The vertical color junctions involve a discontinuity of the wefts, the colored yarns that produce the design. At these boundaries, there are small slits in the fabric. Extremely fine kilims of silk were woven for the Safavid court (1502–1735), possibly in Kashan.

Persian carpets are sought after internationally for their delicate designs and their good quality. Among Persian carpets, particularly those of the classic period, the medallion may represent an open lotus blossom with 16 petals as seen from above, a complex star form, or a quatrefoil with pointed lobes.

Medallion carpet is any floor covering on which the decoration is dominated by a single symmetrical centerpiece, such as a star-shaped, circular, quatrefoil, or octagonal figure. The name, however, is sometimes also given to a carpet on which the decoration consists of several forms of this kind or even of rows of medallion figures.

AFM/