Symmetrological review of the ornamental patterns of the Chiprovtsi hand-woven carpets

Especially suitable for the study of 2-dimensional symmetry, antisymmetry and colored symmetry is the large number of geometric patterns executed in textile. The tradition of carpet-making in Chiprovtsi, NW Bulgaria is selected for inscription on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of humanity in 2014 by UNESCO. The town of Chiprovtsi is rich in history and was also famous all over the Balkan Peninsula for its goldsmiths. The earliest information about Chiprovtsi carpets dates back from the 17th century. The hand-woven technique,preserving the ancient way of weaving, is used to produce two-sided flat carpets and nowadays. The present investigation arose from a desire to clarify contradictory statements regarding the decorative ornaments which are to be found on the carpeting from different regions in Bulgaria and in the Chiprovtsi carpets particularly. It is well known that there are 17 classes of symmetry groups of planar ornaments which repeat in at least two nonparallel directions; these are known as crystallographic plane groups. When each set is denoted by a color, the geometrical pattern becomes a color pattern (Senechal, 1975). In this respect, preliminary analysis can be made on symmetry patterns.