Kirman carpet (cotton warp and weft, wool pile), Southeast P - Lot 193

Kirman carpet (cotton warp and weft, wool pile), Southeast Persia, circa 1880-1900 H. 500 cm - L. 300 cm AC This important rug features an elegant stylized polychrome floral design on an old-red ground. A wide navy blue border with garlands of stylized multicolored flowers is framed by four narrow counter-borders. Kirman's isolated position prevented it from playing an important role in the Sassanid era, but spared it from pillage by the Mongols. Its name, given in 928, means "place of war". Carpet weaving was encouraged during the Sefevid period, but was discontinued with the fall of the dynasty. . It did not resume until the 19th century, and the offices of European carpet merchants gradually opened here. Around 1920, the city opened up to the American market. The wool of these carpets, which comes from neighboring towns and sometimes from Khorassan, is soft and white and was hand-twisted until 1950. Kirman is also renowned for its wide variety of hues, with fifteen to thirty different tones. Kirman carpets are often decorated with intricate floral motifs. Bibliography : SABAHI, T - " Splendeurs des tapis d'Orient " - Ed. Atlas, Paris- 1987- p. 165 à 169 Slight wear