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Shateri M, Karami M. (2026). The Narrative Warp and Woof, Quranic Stories on the Narrative Rugs in Qajar Period. Parseh J. Archaeol. Stud.. 10(36), 215-238. doi:10.66224/PJAS.1074.215.2
URL: http://journal.richt.ir/mbp/article-1-1074-en.html

Abstract
Carpets and rugs are one of the most important ancient crafts of Iran. The flourishing of visual arts began in the Safavid and Qajar periods, it appeared on many works such as books, tiles, wall paintings, calligraphy fabric, carpets and rugs, and reached its peak. The beginning of relations with the West and the adaptation of Western images, the printing and photography industry had a significant impact on Iranian works of art. A group of these works are religious-narrative rugs, which are considered a subgroup of pictorial rugs. This group can be divided into different categories and each category deals with the narration of one or more stories taken from Quranic stories. In this research, with the main aim of identifying, typology and analysis of religious narrative rugs with the theme of Quranic stories, an attempt was made to answer the following questions: Which Quranic stories of the prophets are depicted the most? And which centers were the main weaving centers of these rugs? This research has been done in a descriptive-analytical way and the statistical population includes 30 narrative rugs with the theme of Quranic stories, all of which belong to the Qajar period. Collecting information by means of finding and field studies, by referring to the reliable sites of museums and auctions, has been done in a purposeful way and the findings indicate that the Quranic stories engraved on these rugs are stories that are approved by all three major religions of the world, namely Islam, Christianity and Judaism, the most famous of which are the narrations related to Abraham and Ismail(pbuh), Mary(pbuh) and Jesus(pbuh), Suleiman(pbuh), and Yusuf(pbuh). Most of these types of rugs are woven in the cities of Kerman and Kashan, so they are considered important rug weaving centers of the Qajar period.
Keywords: Religious Rug, Qajar Period, Pictorial Rug, Narrative Rug, Quranic Stories.

Introduction
In response to the need to protect himself from the cold, man turned to the weaving of various types of carpets. Carpet and Rug weaving have been noticed by humans for a long time. The Pazyryk Rug attributed to the Achaemenid period is an example to prove this claim. It can be said that many carpets and rugs have been woven from the Achaemenid period until now, due to their decomposability, only a few examples of them are currently available. But the progress of this art can be seen in the quality of fibers, color, pattern and attention to details over many years. The art of carpet weaving in the Safavid period had a significant growth along with other arts and this trend continued in the Qajar period as well. Qajar period carpets and rugs have various animal, vegetable, geometric, human, mythological motifs and later inscriptions, which have displayed original images with different themes and combinations. One type of them are Pictorial carpets and rugs, which can be divided into several groups. A group of them is called “narrative rugs” that include different topics. The reflection of the religious beliefs of the people of the Qajar era in this art has caused the emergence of narrative rugs with the theme of Quranic stories. The aim of the upcoming research is to identify and introduce, typology and analyze religious narrative carpets of the Qajar period with a focus on Quranic stories and these are the questions: 1- Which Quranic stories and related to which prophets have been narrated in religious narrative rugs in Qajar period? 2- In which centers are the religious narrative carpets of the Qajar period mostly woven? Due to the fact that carpets decorated with the motifs of Quranic stories are parts of the art of the Qajar period, and at this time, they have attracted the attention of people and weavers. We need to analyze them.

The Subject of Pictorial rugs
The weave of such Rugs is considered a great development in the Qajar period, which may have its roots in the Safavid period. Pictorial rugs have various divisions based on the subject they presented. These subjects can inspire the reader with stories of historical, geographical events, epic, love stories, religious and mystical stories in the form of sweet stories. These stories have old roots and most of them have been written into poetry during the past centuries by the great poets of Iran and have been illustrated many times by painters and artists (Shabani Khatib, 2008: 89, 90). Qajar kings always resorted to religion to legitimize their rule. Reciting prayer, Taziah in Muharram and public mourning days are part of the religious ceremonies that were prevalent in the Qajar period (Shamim, 2008: 357). Of course, the educational aspect of such rugs in the direction of religious teachings for the less educated people of the society cannot be ignored.
The impact of new industries
The art of the Qajar period entered a new stage with the influence of intellectual currents, economic, social and artistic relations of the West and the entry of photography and printing industries. The art of illustration, which was used only to decorate the pages of books and the walls of important buildings, was manifested this time in the art of rug weaving. The rugs considered in this research can be divided into 5 groups in terms of subject matter: the stories of Gabriel (pbuh), Ibrahim and Ismail(pbuh), Maryam (pbuh) and Jesus(pbuh), Solomon(pbuh) and Yusuf(pbuh).

Discussion
It appears that from the mid-13th century AH, the commissioning and consumption of pictorial rugs particularly those featuring religious themes and narratives based on various Quranic stories followed an upward trend that continued into the subsequent century (the 14th century AH). The primary themes employed for this category of rugs are Quranic stories that are also recognized by other major world religions, such as Judaism and Christianity, and are recounted in the Torah and the Gospels. Undoubtedly, among the Quranic narratives, the stories of Abraham and Ishmael, Mary and Jesus, Solomon, and finally Joseph are the most well-known. At the same time, the most prominent and well-known events have been selected from the various life stories of each of these great figures. The primary motifs are depicted within the rug’s central, predominantly rectangular panel, while the borders featuring Flowers and foliage patterns, as well as verses in Nastaliq script set within medallion shaped frames reinforce the themes of the central imagery.
The study revealed that Kerman and Kashan were the two major centers for the production and weaving of pictorial rugs during the Qajar era; notably, out of the 30 rugs examined, 25 originated from Kerman and Kashan. Despite the vast distance separating these two production hubs, the details within the woven patterns bear such a striking resemblance that the similarity cannot be attributed to mere coincidence. Undoubtedly, therefore, extensive professional, artistic, and commercial ties existed between these two centers of production.

Conclusion
The Quranic stories engraved on Qajar religious narrative rugs refer to the most prominent and well-known stories of divine messengers. Among the mentioned 5 groups, rugs focused on the life stories of Prophet Yusuf(pbuh) with 11 rugs, represented more than one third of the quantity of existing rugs and represented the success and acceptance of the subject by weavers and customers. Kerman and Kashan, two main poles of the production and weaving of such rugs, because 25 of the 30 rugs examined are woven in Kerman and Kashan and they are woven only in the size of a rug (1*2 m). In addition to being time-consuming, the weaving of such rugs is also expensive and they were woven only on the orders of kings and nobles, and their use was only visual-decorative, and they were not woven to furnish the ground, but were offered as a vow or endowment to religious places. Maybe it was used to tell a story (Naqali). The many commonalities in each of the groups, despite being produced in different centers, indicate the connection between artists and craftsmen in the Qajar period. These rugs were woven from the end of the 13th century AH to the middle of the 14th century AH (the fall of the Qajar rule).