Readings of this motif
- Scenes from herding life.
- Figures added to taste by the weaver.
How to recognise it
Look for the Gabbeh animal figures as a repeated unit rather than a single image: its scale, density and the way it sits in a border or field often tell you more about workshop and region than the form alone. The same motif crosses weaving, metal, tile and painting, so a match is a starting point for comparison, never proof of origin.
Used in these crafts
A thick, coarsely knotted pile rug woven mainly by pastoral and village weavers of the Zagros, with open fields, few motifs and a directly personal design language.
A flat, pileless woven textile made across Iran by interlocking or slit-weaving coloured weft threads over a warp, used as floor covering, storage bag, saddle cover and tent divider depending on region.
A non-woven wool textile made by matting and pressing raw wool fibres with moisture, heat and friction rather than by weaving, traditionally produced across Iran for floor coverings, cloaks and protective mats.