Mohammad Noorae
Catherine Spotswood Gibbes
Igor Iwanek
Nicolas Gauthier
Alisa Ali Cherkasova

Tuesdays, February 28 - March 20 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. 4 sessions
King's Chapel Parish House, 64 Beacon Street (last class held at Noor Oriental Rugs, 769 Concord St., Cambridge)

This four-part course examines the ancient art and craft of traditional handmade Persian rugs – unique and renowned products of human ingenuity and skill – in their historical and cultural context and explains their relation to the other high arts of Classical Persia, including architecture, calligraphy, poetry, and especially music. The final class, held at Noor Oriental Rugs in Cambridge, will include demonstration of major rug-making techniques by Master Weaver Mohammad Nooraee, and ample opportunity for question-and-answer.

Session 1: The physical setting: geography, topography, climate, water sources, vegetation, domestication of sheep, nomadic vs settled populations; cultural cross-fertilization; history and development of weaving (materials, looms, dyes) woven textiles for utilitarian purposes (tent coverings, wall hangings, blankets, clothing and shoes, salt bags, saddle covers) Excerpts from the film GABBEH.

Session 2: The archaeological and historical background for rug-weaving, including references in literature. Evolution of pile rugs due to constellation of favorable factors (qanats, trade routes, seasonal migrations, availability of fiber and dyes). Possible origins of characteristic palettes and motifs: Alisa Cherkasowa on Sumerian symbols, Mohammad on Zoroastrian influence. Rug-making as an expression of Persian culture; the unity of art (including music and poetry). Presentation on Classical Persian music [Igor Iwanek].

Session 3: Persian rugs on the international scene [Nick Gauthier]. Carpets in the Medieval and Early Modern periods; the Silk Road; depictions in Renaissance art; interaction with Ottoman empire; Safavid Court Carpets. History of the international rug and carpet trade. Increasing presence of westerners in Persia; travelers’ accounts, Western influence on/subsidization of local rug-making industry. Role of the merchants of Tabriz. Ustad and Shaagerid (i.e., master and apprentice). Rug-making as a cottage industry.

Session 4: At Noor: Construction of rugs. Materials, tools, techniques, and stages of weaving. Wrapping the loom. Planning the design, proportions, and colors of a rug. Traditional and regional motifs and palettes. Chanting a design. Demonstration of pile knotting. Finishing a rug (where does fringe come from?) and shearing the pile. How to identify a rug. How does one judge quality? Music, poetry, and hospitality.

Mohammad Noorae

Mohammad Nooraee, as a young child in Isfahan, began his apprenticeship with a master weaver. His natural aptitude for and dedication to the fine art of rug weaving led to his winning a national design competition at the age of only sixteen. After completing his master’s degree at Tehran University, Mohammad arrived in Cambridge, MA, in 1979 with a full scholarship personally awarded by the last Shah in order to pursue his two advanced degrees at Harvard Law School. When the Shah was deposed Mohammad supported his studies by expert restoration of rare handmade Persian rugs, a specialization in which he continues at Noor Oriental Rugs, the company he established three decades ago. The challenges of restoration include intimate knowledge of complex traditional weaving techniques and also cultural history, topics he will address in some detail in our seminar.

Catherine Spotswood Gibbes

Catherine Spotswood Gibbes, a native of Virginia and a Fellow of the American Academy in Rome, is an archaeologist and linguist with advanced degrees from Bryn Mawr and Middlebury Colleges. Her professional career has included teaching appointments in MIT’s Humanities Department, cataloguing music, collaboration in the writing, translation, redaction and production of scholarly publications originally in languages as various as Polish, Czech, Russian and Farsi, and engagement with the performing arts. Her association with Mohammad Nooraee dates to his museum-quality restoration of a rug from her Mother’s estate, and their realization that their talents and interests are complementary. She helps organize and present educational programs for Noor, and works on publications for and with Mohammad Nooraee.

Igor Iwanek

Igor Iwanek, a native of Poland, is a doctoral student of Music Composition at Boston University. In the fall of 2008 his piano music won a special prize at the Second International Paderewski Composition Competition. He is the winner of many awards and grants including the Kaji Aso Composition Prize and Roger Sessions Memorial Composition Award, and the Emerging Artist of New England Award from The Saint Botolph Club Foundation. In addition to composing he is an active proponent of music for piano, left hand alone. His musical inquiry has led him to explore Persian and Indian musical traditions in addition to the Western Classical idiom.

Nicolas Gauthier

Nicolas Gauthier of New Haven, Connecticut is currently pursuing his B.A. in Archaeology at Boston University. His interests include the archaeology of the Near East, Iran, and Central Asia, as well as linguistics and gene-culture coevolution. At Noor he has been delving into the historical and cultural background and changing economic conditions of the Persian rug-making tradition.

Alisa Ali Cherkasova

Alisa Ali Cherkasova, a native of Moscow, Russia, is currently specializing in International Relations at Suffolk University in Boston. Her particular interests include languages, linguistics, literature and spirituality. A perceptive member of the Noor research team, she has been investigating ancient Sumerian symbols and their possible persistence as an influence on motifs of Persian rugs.