ICOCs two “Persia” sessions took place in the afternoon 18 June. Raoul Tschebull and Wendel Swan where moderators. The lecturers included Jessica Hallett, Hadi Maktabi, Peter Willborg and Afsaneh Ghani.
Jessica Hallett held a speech “Three ‘Salting’ Carpets Discovered in the Palace of the Dukes of Braganza, Portugal” and told how rug enthusiasts, and among them Michael Franses, had managed to rescue these treasures.
After this speech Hadi Maktabi told about Royal Qajar Carpets. The Qajar dynasty ruled Persian from 1785–1925.
In the second “Persia” session Peter Willborg held a speech ” The Bakhtiari Province Including the Feridan District – a Re Evaluation of it´s Carpet and Textile Production”. Based on examinations of circa 1.000 rugs, interviews with rugdealers, weavers and village elders in 40 different villages, it has been possible to identify a number of hitherto unknown rugproducing villages in the Bakhtiari Province.
Afsaneh Ghani ended the “Persia” sessions with a lecture “The Designs of Tribal Bakhtiari Kilims”.
