
Friday, January 2, 2009
Gabbeh



'Gabbeh' carpet is much thicker and coarser than other Persian carpets; sometimes it is as much as one inch in depth. In fact, it is more of a variety of kilim than carpet. The word 'Gabbeh' comes from the [Persian languagePersian] meaning raw, natural, uncut. This is a rough and primitive carpet.
Gabbeh patterns are of a very basic kind with only a limited number of decorative, mostly rectangular objects resembling mainly animals. In Gabbeh usually bright colors, such as yellow and red, are used. Although large fields of solid color are used in Gabbeh designs, the color is variegated (the color varies throughout the rug).
Gabbehs are made of natural, handspun wool yarn and all the colors are created with natural plant dye. Due to its relative ease of production (less precise pattern, small number of (knots per square centimeter, etc.) a Gabbe is one of the less expensive varieties of Persian carpet.
These days weavers from India and Pakistan are copying Persian Gabbehs. For example, they are producing natural-dyed, hand-spun Gabbeh rugs in the Peshawar area in north-west Pakistan. However there is a major difference between an authentic Persian Gabbeh and an imitation or Indo Gabbeh carpet . Mostly this can be determined by the quality of the wool - the Persian variant is much softer. The Persian variant is also much more durable and the quality is better.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Giveh (oldest shoes from persia)


'Giveh', prnounced /gi:ve/ in Persian or /gi:wæ/ in Kurdish, also known in Kurdish as 'klash' is a kind of soft, comfortable, durable and handwoven-top shoe common in several parts of Iran especially in rural and mountainous areas of Kermanshah Province. . The production centers of Giveh in Kermanshah Province are Paveh, Harsin, and Kermanshah.
Giveh is made up of two parts: sole and upper. The sole is usually rubber or leather the upper is woven thread. Before the arrival of rubber industry to the area Giveh-makers would use a kind of wild-bull leather to make giveh and the upper was of wool or cotton thread. Most rich people would wear them. With the arrival of rubber industry lower class people use rubber in the sole of their shoes.One famous kind of Giveh is Horami klash. The giweh-makers of Horaman make the sole of giveh from old rags pressed firmly together and sewn with catgut. This kind of Giweh is quite different from those of Kermanshah and Harsin.