Description

Charming central Persian village rug from Kerman province, ca. 1900. The design in the red- ground central medallion on the dark blue field is echoed in the large spandrels. A spray of flowers at either end of the medallion protrudes from a vase, the field is sparsely populated with animal and people motifs which are often found in tribal weavings.

James Opie, in his seminal work Tribal Rugs. Nomadic and Village Weavings from the Near East and Central Asia. London, Laurence King Publishing, 1992, talks about the “tribalization of Kerman motifs” (op.cit., p.214) in a particular category of Afshar rugs to which our example belongs, more specifically the inclusion of the vases as a typical design element in (urban) Kerman carpets, with their drawing, however, much less refined than it would be in a Kerman carpet. The example illustrated in his publication (op.cit., p. 223) is dated to the late 19th century and is very similar to our, slightly later, piece.

Wool pile on a wool foundation with ivory coloured warps and a soft handle. All the colours are  naturally dyed. The rug is in excellent condition, with its original ends intact

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