coarsely knotted of the Kazak design types, with about 52 symmetric knots per square inch.
Average area is about 35 square feet. About half of Borjalou rugs have red wefts. Those with blue wefts are of later production. See “Borchalu” and “Kazak.”
Borjalou Kazak Sothebys
Borodjert. See “Borujerd.”
borpush (Uzbek, from Persian, meaning “load cover”). A Central Asian embroidery similar to a suzani, but smaller. It is often square.
Borujerd, Barujird, Borodjert, Borujird. A market center in northwest Iran for rugs of the area. These rugs are single-wefted with the symmetric knot. They have dark red designs on a dark blue field.
Bosnia and Herzegovina. Formerly, a large political subdivision of east central Yugosla via. Now, an independent state. This region was a source of kilims very similar to those of Turkey. These kilims were used as carpets and bed covers.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosque Redondo. See “Navajo rugs.”
boteh, buta, ( Persian “bush”), badem, (Turk. “almond”). A pear-shaped figure common in oriental rug design. There are a great many variations, ranging from elaborate and highly detailed interpretations to simple, geometricized versions. Usually, this motif is used in the field as an all-over repeat pattern. It has been thought to represent a leaf, a bush, a flame, or a pine cone. It probably originated in Kashmir. The boteh is characteristic of the Paisley pattern. See “islimi,” “Kashmir,” “mir boteh,” “mother and daughter boteh,” and “Paisley.”
TOP ROW: Serabend, Karabagh, Marasali, Qashqa’i
BOTTOM ROW: Talish, Genje, Beshir, India Botehs
bottom. In knotted rugs, the end of the rug towards which the knot ends or pile were pulled when the rug was woven. The end of the rug woven first.
boucherouite, boucherwit, (Arabic bu sherwit “scrap”). Moroccan Berber rugs made from scraps of clothing and other fabrics.
Boucherouite rug Alberto Levi
bouclé. A three-ply yarn, with one ply looser than the others, resulting in a rough fabric when woven.
bouharopodia (Greek, “chimney apron”). A flatwoven hanging of three panels stitched together and used above the fireplace in northern Greece.
Bou Sbaa. See “Oulad Bou Sbâa.”
Bowanat, Bavânât. A market center of southwest Iran for rugs of Arab tribes in the area. These rugs have designs that are sim plified versions of Qashqa’i designs.
Bowanat rug (detail) Manouchehr Haghighat
boy (Turk., “family, class”). Ancient tribal grouping making up the Oghuz Turkmen confederation.
boya (Turk.). Dye.
Boyer Ahmadi. See “Lurs.”
Brahui. The Brahuis are an ethnic group of Baluchistan often associated with the Baluchis. Their language is of the Dravidian family, akin to Tamil and other languages of south India, and unrelated to Baluchi, which is of the Iranian family. The Brahuis inhabit areas of Afghanistan. Pile rugs have been attributed to the Brahuis.
braid. A structure of oblique interlacing of a single set of elements, usually a narrow structure in one direction. No special tools are used in the process. Braids or braided structures are used in the end finish of rugs, in closures or fasteners for bags, and as ties for animal trappings. “Plaiting” is sometimes used interchangeably with “braiding.” More strictly, plaiting is oblique interlacing of two or more sets of elements in two or more directions. See “oblique interlacing” and “plaiting.”
braided rugs. Strips of cloth with edges folded inward are braided together and then the braids are wound to produce a circular or oval rug. The braids may be stitched together or otherwise linked. Usually, waste or used fabric was braided for the rug. This is an early American form of rug.
Braided rug Jason Nazmial
Braila. A city of Romania on the Danube and a major contemporary rug-weaving center. Also, a trade designation of quality for contemporary Romanian rugs with cotton foundation and a knot density of about 100 per square inch. See “Romania.”
Bran. A trade designation of quality for contemporary
Romanian pile rugs. These rugs are knotted on a wool foundation with knot densities of about 60 per square inch. See “Romania.”
Braşov, (Hungarian Brassó), Kronstadt. A city of Romania and a contemporary trade designation of quality for Romanian rugs with woolen foundation and a knot density of about 100 per square inch. Inventory records show that hundreds of Turkish carpets were imported into the city during the early sixteenth century. The “Black Church” of Braşov held more than 100 of these “Transylvanian” carpets it received as gifts. See “Transylvania.”
brazilwood dye. A dye made from any of a variety of leguminous trees of the genus Caesalpinia. The dye produces purple, red and black shades. The dye was a major export of colonial Brazil. This dye was used in early Chinese rugs.
brazilwood
breast beam, cloth beam. The lower beam of a vertical loom. The beam nearest the weaver in any loom where the weaver has a fixed position. On a horizontal loom, the beam nearest the weaver’s first weft. See “beam.”
(British) East India Company. Strictly, “The Honorable East India Company.” A company founded in England in 1600 to conduct trade with India. The trade included carpets woven in India. The Company’s first carpet factory was established in Masulipatam in 1611. The British East India Company played a significant role in India carpet production and trade into the middle of the nineteenth century. See “India.”
India Company Arms of the East
broadloom. A power-loomed rug. More specifically, a power-loomed rug in a solid color and/or more than 54 inches in width.
brocade. A patterning in a fabric achieved with interlaced supplementary wefts. Supplementary wefts may be continuous or discontinuous. The term is incorrectly applied to weft wrapping structures. Brocade and weft wrapping may occur in the same weaving. The term may be used to indicate patterning with metallic threads. See “embroidery,”
