Qajar's mihrabi vase rugs; Exploration the visual structure and pattern of the Saruq's and Farahan's carpets

Farahan is a county and Saruq is a city both located in Markazi Province in Iran. Carpets woven in these two regions are characterized by the mihrabi vase rugs as the specific design, which have rooted in Qajar period. The purpose of this paper is to study the form and pattern features of the design of mihrabi vase rugs in these two regions in the Qajar period. This research concentrated on firstly, recognition the structure of the design of mihrabi vase rugs, and secondly exploration the similarity of the of mihrabi vase rugs woven in the Qajar period in Saruq and Farahan regions. The type of research is analytical with the qualitative approach. The method of collecting data was literature review, surveying the carpet museums, as well as field studies. The statistical population includes 16 samples of carpets, 8 of which from each region, selected in a purposeful manner and based on the type of design and the highest frequency. Findings indicate that the structure of form and pattern of the selected rugs is similar with a slight difference in details. Moreover, based on this exploration it can be said that this group of vase rugs is a special type of mihrabi rugs due to its composition and constituent elements. Finally, based on the special design, pattern and structure of this selected group of carpets may prove this assumption that mihrabi vase rugs were the custom-woven in the Qajar period.