Khamseh
means five in Arabic, and it refers to “the Confederacy of Five” or the five tribes
(the Arab, Nafar, Baharlu, Inalu, and the Basseri) that lived to
the southwest of Qashqai territories in southern Iran near
Shiraz. The Confederacy was dissolved 1956. Their weavings often
include “bird rugs” – rugs with multiple bird images. Classic
rugs of the Five Tribes had 3 repeated central medallions, and
often were rather improvisational in nature unlike other Persian
rugs that were woven rigidly in the same design generation after
generation. Repeating stripes, also known as “cane patterns”,
can be seen in Khamseh weavings from time to time.
I have decided to create the three central medallions out of
negative space letting the cane patterns show through. The overall
image was planned to suggest a stylized key hole without a key present. The viewer can see through the key hole, but
cannot unlock the secret. Going further into the symbolism of a
key hole and a missing key, the piece is meant to offer the idea
that beauty and harmony are the key and the solution to problems
of the Middle East, and they are already here – in the land and in
the weaving. We don’t need to look for a missing key to solve
the puzzle; the problem and solution are one and the same.
The bead work on this
piece is a lot more intricate than anything I’ve done so far. There
isn’t an inch of the plain field anywhere, the design is all over.
It is much more difficult to weave curves than straight geometric
lines. The curves can be appreciated in the close-up views above.
