James Opie 10X14 Gold Wool Area Rug

Description

Bidjar is a town in northwest Iran known for producing some of the finest Persian rugs. Bidjars are identified not by their designs, but rather by their weave, which is among the densest and most durable of all oriental rugs. Bijar carpets are often produced in a classical medallion format as well as in allover designs, with designs that can be classically precise or tribal in nature.


The Bidjar is noted as being the stiffest carpet made; they are very heavy in relation to their size, and very thick and durable. All of the knots are symmetrical and the rows are beaten down during the weaving process producing a dense compact fabric. Given their thickness and construction Bidjar rugs can be difficult to fold. 


James Opie makes traditional, classic, hand-knotted rugs that are either replicas or inspired by their predecessors found in printed archives, museums and private collections. Opie directs the design and weaving of these extremely fine oriental rugs with a simple philosophy: make modern copies of antique rugs using traditional methods. Make them in the nation that needs help the most, ensure that these new rugs look as much like the originals as possible, and make them fully floor-worthy for several generations.


At first glance, James Opie’s handmade rugs might seem “ordinarily” beautiful. But rugs of this quality are costly to produce, and it is extremely difficult to find textiles of this quality in the markets today. The cost comes from labor-intensive demands to produce carpets with exceptional character in color and finely detailed design.


Opie’s rugs require a great deal of time and highly skilled weavers who are rarely available today. More often for the consumer, in order to see such exquisite classic rug designs, you must travel to a textile museum or in the home of a private collector to see comparable antiquities from which these new carpets were inspired.