A co-presence Study of Two Traditional Woven Crafts of Yazd Province: Meybod Zilu and the Bafq Badbezan-e Hasiri (wicker Fan)

The woven crafts of Yazd Province are indigenous products, produced in close harmony with the environment and grounded in local knowledge. A clear manifestation of this principle of sufficiency can be observed in the badbezan-e hasiri (wicker fan) of Bafq, crafted through the purposeful use of discarded parts of the date palm. Despite the geographical distance separating Meybod and Bafq, zilu and badbezan-e hasiri share elements of co-presence, including geometric motifs, inscriptions, and an underlying chromatic order. The shared intellectual foundations and the similarity of worldview among artisans, particularly weavers, within the common ecological and cultural setting of Yazd Province have given rise to a process of convergence and a dialogic relationship between the zilu of Meybod and the badbezan-e hasiri of Bafq. It appears that zilu, as an endowed floor covering widely used in sacred spaces, functioned as a rich visual text, from which wicker weavers drew inspiration. The question thus arises as to what kinds of intertextual relationships can be discerned in the co-presence of visual elements found in the Meybod zilu and the badbezan-e hasiri of Bafq. The aim of this intertextual study is to identify and interpret instances of co-presence based on shared visual characteristics.. Field data were obtained through direct observation and semi-structured interviews with nine active wicker weavers in Bafq and one zilu weaver in Meybod. The interviews were conducted using a semi-structured format over the period from April 2024 to May 2025. Based on three modes of intertextual relation, quotation, reference, and allusion, the visual elements of zilu and the badbezan-e hasiri are understood as co-present. In other words, geometric motifs appear on the “Noqli” badbezan-e hasiri (wicker fans) of Bafq as direct quotations from the zilu of Meybod. Reference is likewise manifested in the color system of both “Esmi” and “Noqli” fans, which is structured around the combination of white (the natural, un-dyed palm fibers) and blue. As a visual sign, this chromatic palette directly refers to the dominant white-blue bichromatic system characteristic of Meybod zilu. Allusion, as the most implicit form of co-presence, emerges in the written weaving (inscriptive texture) of the “Esmi” fan from Bafq. This practice of inscriptive weaving evokes the presence of inscriptions and written motifs traditionally found on the zilu of Meybod. The most explicit level of intertextuality, manifested in the form of quotation, becomes evident in the geometric motifs of the noqli wicker fan of Bafq, which directly echo those of the zilu of Meybod. Another mode of intertextual relation, namely reference, is realized in the chromatic system of the esmi and noqli wicker fans, a system grounded in the juxtaposition of white, derived from the natural, uncolored fibers of the date palm, and blue. Ultimately, this study demonstrates that the badbezan-e hasiri of Bafq is not merely a utilitarian object; rather, it constitutes a rich text embedded with multiple forms of intertextual co-presence, through which its geometric motifs (quotation), the two-color system (reference), and the woven inscriptional texture (allusion) collectively substantiate its cultural and aesthetic affinity with the reference text, namely the zilu of Meybod.