Reflections of Chaharbagh Garden in the Persian Carpets of the West of Iran with Emphasis on Examples from Kurdistan Province

Garden and Persian carpets of among the oldest phenomena in the course of history. There are some points which indicate that garden and carpet have been closely connected. Chaharbagh structures were important works of ancient pre-Islamic Iran، at Achaemenid and Sassanid periods and Ilkhanid era، especially in the Timurid and Safavid era. Like Chaharbagh style، Chaharbagh or Golestan motifs also are notable and impressive in carpets of some periods of Iranian history. Though there no many Chaharbagh carpets left from the late Safavid era، but the few existing examples shows the spread this carpet style that is a reflection of the Chaharbagh. Examples of the carpets with Chaharbagh design can be found in west of Iran and particularly in Kurdistan، and a number of them now adorn museums and private collections outside the borders of Iran. By examining these carpets and Chaharbagh structures in the area we will understand that this relationship is longstanding. The works reflect the continuity of design and motif of Chaharbagh carpets and Chaharbagh structures which are more stable than other parts of the west of Iran until the end of the Qajar era. Evidences for this idea is the carpets which belongs to the northwestern Iran especially in cities Bijar and Sanandaj in Kurdistan Province. The samples of such Chaharbagh structures were fully operative until five decades ago. Therefore، it is assumed that that the commissioners and patrons of Chaharbagh structures and Golestan carpets have been the same social group، and it is believed that they are among the local rulers. In this paper، the background of Chaharbagh structures، Chaharbagh carpets in Kurdistan province and the relation between Chaharbagh structures and Chaharbagh carpets has been studied.