Balouch (Baluch)
Baluch rugs stir
something of mixed feelings in the tribal rug world. From everything
that I've heard they are as much studied and revered as they are shunned
and reviled. There is also a broad range of rugs that are considered
"Baluch's" which take their name originally from Baluchistan
province near the Afghani / Iranian border.
Suffice it to say,
baluch rugs are genuinely tribal pieces, that are ruggedly made, with
typically simple designs.
My
two baluchs are probably not amazing pieces, but there are some striking
characteristics that drew me to them.
Baluch no.1
As you can see, this rug is far from perfect. It has an easily noticable
wear near the middle of the piece. Due to its age this is not actually
as big a deal as it looks, and in person, it's much less of a problem.
What drew me to the rug in the first place was the imrpovisational element
within the fairly standard gul design. Specifically, there are small
hour glass designs, and other geometrical shapes which differ depending
on what row the rug is at. Also, the horizontal lines are each fairly
different, the weaver freely doubling the lines and changing the diamond
pattern as she saw fit. It is this creativity within the form that is
so striking. One final example of this is the odd little occurance of
a single camel in the top left hand corner of the rug. It is the only
appearance of any animal motif in the entire rug, and as such is an
interesting little quirk. (you can see this in the fuzzy picture below).
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