"My Beloved Zabol"

Hello! This is Hirai.
This time I would like to talk about the appeal of a rug that is thought to have been made in the Zabol area, which is one of my favorite Baluchi rugs.

Zabol is the name of a town in Sistan and Baluchestan province in southeastern Iran.
The area around Zabol is home to Baluchi people who weave rugs.

It's located on a map of Iran, jutting out towards neighboring Afghanistan, so it's easy to remember where it is!

Zabor or Zabol?

Let's start by solving this problem.
It doesn't really matter which one you choose, but I'm personally very concerned about where to extend it.
It's bothering me so I want to clear it up.
Perhaps because it is often written as zabol in English, it became difficult to know where to extend it.
In such cases, looking at the Persian version will help you find expressions that are closer to the local language.
زابل
The way it's written makes it seem like it's actually Zabol.
I think Zabol is easier to say, but I'd like to go with Zabol for Layout.

By the way, it was called "Sistan" until around the 1920s.

I want to see the rug

That's right. I haven't shown you any rug photos yet to talk about my love for rugs.
Let's have that wonderful girl make her appearance right away!

There's an aura, isn't there?
It is said that the relatively subdued colors used are a characteristic of Baluchi rugs from Sistan, where Zabol is located, but I think there is something more charming about them than just being subdued and calm.
I have always felt that this "charm" is very important, and when choosing a Layout rug, whether it is exciting and charming is an important point!
The person I know who represents charm is our store manager, Mr. Komatsu, and it seems that both rugs and people are drawn to charm.

I wondered where this rug's charm comes from.

It doesn't have to be perfect

The main design of this rug is a gul, but the shape of the gul appears to be that of the Turkmen Teke group.

It is said that the area north of Zabol was once under the control of the Turkmen people, and this may have been influenced by the fact that it was subject to Teke raids from the early 18th century to the end of the 19th century.
It's hard to imagine inter-tribal attacks just by reading about them, but this is something that happened only 300 years ago.
This makes sense, as I often hear that the Teke people were warlike among the Turkmen.
Comparing it to the Turkmen Teke Gul, it appears that the color scheme and bird's foot-like design have been reproduced.
The overall shape is square, unlike the plump, round Teke.

Compared to the original, Zabol's Gyul is definitely more charming!
I love the Teke gul because it is so well-formed and beautiful that there is nothing to criticize, but take a look at this angular gul of Zabol's Baluchi.
I think there's a difference between a painting by a professional artist and one by a child, and that's what makes it so good.

Wool Trio

Let's take a look at the structure!
The warp, weft, and pile threads are all wool, making for a delightful trio!
Let's start with the warp threads.

The warp threads are off-white wool (is the yellowish color dyed? Or has it been dyed by the pile color?), and the left side has a dark brown wool thread twisted together. There's no rule that everything has to be the same thread, because that's what this thread was there for.
I love that instinctive side of him.

The weft threads are two strands of smoky grey wool of the same thickness.
The weft threads are a behind-the-scenes process that cannot be seen from the front, but I believe that the colour of the weft thread changes the overall colour atmosphere of the rug.
The grey weft thread may be responsible for the sophisticated look of this rug!

The pile is Persian knotted and opens to the left.
The pile thread is intertwined with two warp threads, and this knot is often used for Baluchi, which is asymmetrical when viewed from the front and has the ends flowing to the left.
The warp threads do not overlap front to back, and the flexible structure called Tuffbaft gives it an irresistible soft feel.

Fascinating Stripes

Let's find out some other charming points!
I discovered some beautiful stripes late in the weaving process of this rug.

You can see the cute abrasions in the red part of the field.
Whenever I see the pale red of abrasion, I am reminded of marbled Wagyu beef and feel the urge to eat some delicious meat.
It has a nice marbling!

Zabol-esque

The border design is a cross motif that stretches out in all four directions, a motif often used in Zabol rugs.
I like the color of the caramel macchiato.
A hot caramel macchiato instead of an iced one. It's the season for delicious hot drinks.
Among the Baluchi rugs, those around Zabol are always good at using brown, and I think that's one of the reasons why I like rugs from this area.

After taking a good look at this Zabol Baluchi rug, I thought to myself, "Ah, I really love this!"
I haven't been to the Zabol area yet, so I'd like to see for myself where these creatures were made!

(Text: Hirai)