Iranian Journal Of Antheropology

Iranian Journal Of Antheropology

The Carpet as a Memory of Migration: An Anthropological Study of the Formation of Carpet-Weaving Identity in Khorasan

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
Majidreza Moghanipour
Ashkan Rahmani
Associate Professor. Dr., Shiraz University, Faculty of Art & Architecture, Department of Art, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran.
10.22034/jasi.2026.2090382.1637
Abstract
Migration has been one of the principal forces shaping the circulation of knowledge, technologies, and cultural traditions throughout history. Within this process, handmade carpets preserve material evidence of human mobility by incorporating technical practices, aesthetic conventions, and collective memories that accompany migrating communities. This study investigates how migration contributed to the formation of Khorasan carpet-weaving identity from the perspective of material culture anthropology. The research adopts a qualitative historical-anthropological approach based on descriptive and analytical methods. Documentary evidence, historical sources, anthropological studies, and specialized literature on Iranian carpets were examined alongside field research conducted through semi-structured interviews with experienced carpet weavers, designers, dyers, merchants, and regional specialists from North, Razavi, and South Khorasan. The collected data were interpreted through comparative historical analysis to identify the influence of migration on the development of regional weaving traditions. The findings indicate that the identity of Khorasan carpet weaving emerged through the cumulative effects of both collective and individual migration. The movement of Kurdish, Baluch, Arab, Turkmen, and other communities transferred weaving techniques, design traditions, color preferences, and systems of cultural memory into the region, while the migration of master weavers, designers, and merchants introduced new production methods, workshop organization, and commercial networks. These processes gradually transformed the formal, technical, and symbolic characteristics of Khorasan carpets while integrating diverse cultural traditions into a distinctive regional weaving identity. The study concludes that Khorasan carpets should be understood as material archives of migration in which historical mobility became embedded in techniques, visual forms, production practices, and cultural memory. Their identity therefore reflects centuries of cultural interaction rather than the heritage of a single ethnic tradition.
Keywords
Cultural contact
Khorasan carpet
Material culture
Material memory
Migration
Subjects
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Iranian Journal Of Antheropology
Volume 23, Issue 42 - Serial Number 42
September 2026
Pages 55-82