Dollhouse Miniature Rug HERIZ SERAPI - Work in Progress

Today I started stitching a new Dollhouse Miniature rug HERIZ, 1/12 scale.



I am working on 40 count silk gauze with 3 different types of silk: Gloriana, Belle Soie and Gutermann, total 16 colors.
It is first time I've started working on a rug from the center. Let's see how it will work out for me, :)))



The elements of the design and color choice of this rug have been adapted from 3 different antique Heriz rugs.

While I was studying Heriz rugs it caught my attention that Heriz rugs were weaved not for admiring as art, but Herizes were more for furnishing. I was very surprised, because I find Heriz rugs' design is very creative with a little bit of mistery at some point, than some of the rugs that are taken more seriously by the collectors.

The Heriz rugs originally have been weaved in the Heriz district located in the Iranian part of Azerbaijan. The Heriz rugs were made ONLY with one purpose: to sell to the West, for money and for no other reason. All evidence indicates that the weaving of Heriz-type carpets to fit Western living rooms was simply a function of the export boom which began in the 1870s.

The story of the Heriz rugs weaving industry is interesting, and the different localities are so related to one another in it that it is hard to make the customary division, but as now produced, the rugs of the district may be set down as Heriz proper, Gorevan, Serapi and Bakshaish.

Bakshaish.

The name of this settlement has never become prominent among the rug-sellers of America, though its rugs long ago acquired a standing among the Persian dealers, and its patterns were recognized among weavers throughout Iran.

Look at this beautiful Bakshaish Rug, Persia, 19th century; 7 feet x 5 feet 10 inches; Sold at Grogan and Company's December 2007 auction.

Price: $26,450



or this one

Bakshaish Carpet, 1st half of 19th c.; 10'7" x 7'6", Sold in January 2009 Fine Oriental Rug Auction.

Price: $54,625



Gorevan.

When it became necessary for trade's sake to change the name of the Heriz rugs, they were entered upon invoices of shippers in Tabriz as Gorevan, the name of a small village in the Heriz district — a village which had no status at all as a producer of rugs.



The carpets sold under the name of Gorevan were, at first, the traditional Heris products, closely following their patterns and color combinations. The center medallion, as well as the boundaries defining the corner spaces are more in rectilinears rather than formal curves. The corners are set off by jagged lines, somewhat like the arches of prayer rugs. The color scheme is more uniform, and the dyes are all of a peculiar tone which distinguishes the genuine Heris rugs at once from other types of Persian rugs.

Gorevan rugs are generally made by female weavers who work only in their leisure.

Serapi.



Encouraged by the success of the new Gorevans, the Heris weavers went a step further and took from Persian Tabriz rugs some designs which, while preserving the medallion forms, added floral elements in the field. These rugs were, in quality, almost if not quite as admirable as the high-class Gorevans. The general purpose of Serapi rugs was to make the whole piece light and bright, and to offer clear ground for the display of the elaborate vine and floral designs, drawn in a half impressionistic fashion and in colors strong but dull.

The Serapi is in nearly all respects a praiseworthy and desirable piece of art. These rugs were named after the village of “Sarab”, and Western dealers and collectors have converted the Persian form into Serapi. Today, some antique pieces of Serapi rugs fetch unbelievably high prices at auction houses around the world.



Wouldn't you mind to have such rug in your dollhouse?

I hope you enjoyed reading a little bit about the history of Heriz rugs.

Have a great weekend.

Natalia