What is a motif? A motif is a stylized design that sometimes repeats as pattern. It usually has a traditional or symbolic meaning. It can be pictorial (meaning you can recognize a concrete image like a dog or a house) or it can be an abstract design. Often a motif appears throughout the many art forms that a culture produces – for example, you can see the same motif repeated in architecture, ceramics, painting, and textiles. Can you guess which culture produced this “key” motif?

Where do you think these motifs originate?

Motifs in Carpet Design As an art form, carpet making incorporates all kinds of stylized designs. Many are symbolic representations, or motifs, of what is important to a culture. Sometimes the original meaning of these motifs is lost to time or becomes disconnected from the artists who use them. To weavers like Iqbal - who were not allowed to be artists, only labourers - the carpets they created contained designs and motifs that probably meant nothing to them. They were just part of the patterns laid out for them to copy.

Making Carpets Today The motifs used in carpets created in the ancient worlds of Persia, Anatolia, Turkestan, the Causcaus and the Orient are still used today in the carpets produced in the modern worlds of Iran, Turkey, India, Pakistan, Central Asia and China. Although he may not have known their traditional meanings, most certainly Iqbal would have been familiar with many of the following motifs:

Boteh The boteh motif is connected with life and eternity. It originated in ancient Persia and India. In Europe it became known as the Paisley or Persian Pickle design.

Boteh In the 1960s the boteh motif became wildly popular as a symbol of youth and rebellion. John Lennon had his Rolls Royce painted with a paisley pattern. Fender Guitars even made a “Pink Paisley” version of one of their guitars.

Gul The gul motif appears as a rectangle, octagon, hexagon or rhomboid shape. Often it contains a cross or 8 pointed star. No one is sure if it has any symbolic meaning.

Chintamani This is the “thunder and lightning” motif. It usually consists of 2 small wavy lines beneath 3 small circles. The chintamani is thought to be connected to the symbolism of pre-Islamic religions. The pattern resembles the spotted skins of animals used by shamans in their sacred rites.

Arabesque The arabesque coils around itself with ends that become more arabesques. This motif can extend in all directions without beginning or end. Some philosophers say it expresses the infinite or the search for the divine.

Arabesque When the arabesque suggests intertwining plant or flower forms, it is sometimes called the Islimi motif since it is found in all kinds of Islamic art, not just carpet-making.

Herati Motif This motif has so many variations that it is sometimes hard to recognize. It probably gets its name from the ancient city of Herat, which is now in Afghanistan. The herati is basically a rosette in the middle of a diamond shape. Surrounding the diamond are narrow, longish leaves. They can look a bit like small fish, so this motif is also known as mahi, which comes from the Persian word for fish. One legend connected with this motif says that at the time of the full moon, the fish rise to admire their reflection in the lake. This interpretation would make the herati a picture motif.

Palmette The palmette motif said to be inspired by the fan-shaped leaves of the palm or lily. Its basic shape is a bit like a pointed tulip viewed from the side.

Rosette The rosette has an oval or roundish shape with various petal shapes radiating from the centre. This motif is said to reflect a philosophy that life is like a rose: beautiful but full of thorns.

Rosette The rosette and palmette motifs are shown together in this carpet.

Mihrab A mihrab is the prayer arch found in the architecture of a mosque. A mosque is a place of worship for Islamic people. In Islamic culture, religious and artistic life merge together. A work of art must be both an object of beauty and a means to help people think about the spiritual meaning in life. Islamic carpet-making reflects this idea.

Prayer Rugs Prayer rugs are important to practicing Muslims who must kneel to pray on clean ground 5 times a day. Prayer rugs feature the mihrab motif. This motif echoes the prayer arch in a mosque, which can be a curving or angular form.

Persian Garden Design The Persian Garden design originated in what is now Iran. There the country is very dry. Keeping a garden watered was the gardener’s biggest concern, so they created rectangular gardens fed by a network of streams. The Persian Garden carpet design reflects this design perfectly. The walls of the garden become the borders of the carpet. The streams are a grid across the field of the carpet - sometimes they even contain small fish. In the squares that lie between the grid are flowers, plants, and trees; sometimes animals, and occasionally a house.

More Cultural Traditions in Carpet Making Many carpets in Central Asia are produced by people that are nomadic. These tribes move from place to place in search of pasture for their animals. Their carpets are woven from the wool or hair of their grazing animals. The colours they use come from dyes they make from plants, animals, and minerals. The size of their carpets is determined by the size of the loom that is convenient for them to pack up and carry. Nomadic people do not plan their lives and, similarly, they do not plan their rugs. The rug simply evolves. Sometimes it is just finished when the wool runs out. Kilims are an example of this kind of carpet. They are very valued for their expression of individuality and unique beauty.

By contrast, carpet weavers living in cities are part of societies that include architects, musicians, writers, and philosophers. Here their designs reflect the complexity of urban life. In cities, carpets are woven on huge looms in factories. From the first knot to the last, everything is planned in advance. Working with pre-dyed combinations of wool, silk and cotton, the weaver knows exactly what the finished carpet will look like before it is even started. These carpets are very valued for their intricate, beautifully planned designs.