Bidjar Paddington Artwork 18

Back to the roots! The Erased Heritage collection pays homage to the traditional oriental carpet. Finding inspiration from old patterns, techniques, and standards of quality, Jan Kath also turns to old master weavers to bring these designs back to life. Knot by knot, they hand produced Egyptian Mamluks, Iranian Bidjars and Turkish Konyas using the original colours. Every community, region and cultural group in the east has developed a particular style of carpet. Over the centuries, different areas have developed different signature features and styles. “With the Erased Heritage collection, we are helping to make sure that these ideas survive into the modern age,” explains Kath. While most carpet weavers read the pattern from a drawing, directions for pieces in the Erased Heritage collection are sung aloud. The loom master, head of the carpet weavers, reads out commands, translates them into a kind of chant and sings the next steps to those tying the knots in a sonorous voice. The results are carpets with a revolutionary look that combine old and new in a way that has never been done before.