Antique Bakshaish Rug 42860

Bakshaish Rug, Persia, Late 19th Century - The antique Bakshaish carpets of Northwest Persia are famed for adapting the bold geometric sensibility of tribal or village weaving to formal, room-sized decorative rugs. This magnificent example has a stridently graphic, almost heraldic design of shield-like palmette medallions arrayed across the field, with a scatter of minor rosettes as space fillers in the intervening areas. A crisply angular vinescroll border with larger rosettes frames the field, enclosed by several more minor floral borders. The cool, reserved palette of cinnamon and tan tones offers the perfect counterpoint to the assertiveness of the design, balancing its boldness with subtlety and restraint. The lustrous wool adds that perfect tactile touch to the dazzling visual effects.