Description

Glorious Kurdish carpet with an all over design of florals set within a loosely drawn grid of off white tendrils, a contemporary rendition of the classical vase carpets.

The term  shamim for the design is a reference to the multitude of flowers depicted, the Persian word sham meaning fragrance or scent. The carpet has a lateral symmetry along a central vertical line from which the primary grid of the white tendrils extends. A secondary grid of red tendrils intersects with the white grid, thus subtly and not immediately visibly providing a structure for the abundance of floral patterns. These consist of either large flower heads mainly in shades of red and mostly placed along the tendrils, or shrubs with smaller flowers in red or a combination of red and white. Some of these are reminiscent of the arrangements found in Mughal carpets (see additional image). The whole garden is set on a blue/green ground which is beautifully abrashed.

The main border on a dark blue ground is a meander of small shrub-like arrangements around large flower heads, both referencing the patterns of the field. Two minor meandering borders on a light blue ground flank the main border.

The carpet is of the highest quality not just in terms of design but also as far as the materials and the weaving skills are concerned: a very dense weave of excellent wool which is dyed with natural dye stuffs and woven on a cotton foundation, down to the beautifully knotted fringes.

The carpet is signed and dated, in keeping with its place in the classical tradition of vase carpets.

This is a master piece of contemporary carpet weaving.