"The Iron Rugs of Persia"

Bidjar is a city located in the Kurdistan Province of northwestern Iran populated primarily by Kurdish tribes who can trace their weaving tradition back for centuries.

Bidjar carpets are universally famous for their durability... The carpets have a tightly compacted triple-weft weave. The high tension of the weft pulls the warps into two layers, this gives the carpet great rigidity making Bidjars particularly strong and heavy. 

For this reason a Bidjar is capable of withstanding up to 200 years of heavy use. We have quite a few vintage and antique Bidjars in-stock that are ready for another 100 years of hard wearing. The longevity and charming colors and designs of the Bidjar makes them desirable to consumers worldwide. This desirability has lead to a strong retail value for most Bidjar rugs, condition plays a large part in the ultimate valuation though.

Interestingly, the weavers of Bidjar made rug samples, called "wagireh," to use as a design cartoon in carpet weaving. Wagireh rugs have partial design motifs of the background, borders, and medallion to enable weavers to follow the pattern. To complete a carpet the design would be duplicated by mirror image; for a larger carpet the design would be woven numerous times. Occasionally, these unique samples can be found, for example we believe one of our in-stock antique Bidjars may be a wagireh due to it's unbalanced and off center design - click here to visit it's product page.

Bidjar carpets are counted among the best Oriental carpets for everyday use, modern Bidjar workshop carpets are still of excellent design and construction. Stop by our Portland, Maine gallery to see our full selection of both old and new Bidjar carpets.