QASHQAI SHEKARLU
Southwest Persian Antique Rug

(High-Collectible) This extraordinarily animated early example from the Shekarlu sub-tribe of the Qashqai Confederacy offers a pattern language distinctive to this small and now extinct weaving group. Recognizable for the signature ivory slanted combs throughout the otherwise constantly changing field imagery, this carpet epitomizes the tribal weaving tradition's incredible outpouring of creativity. Everything seems meant to surprise the viewer, such as the Far East-inspired knotted rosettes framed by saw blade coronas, precise, nearly rectangular guls with chessboards inside, and barber pole striped "Trees of Life" whose branches end in sprouting boteh seeds. A whimsical smorgasbord of tiny canines, whirling florets, and improvised random diamonds are sprinkled throughout that, when taken as a whole, give the viewer a sense of infinite distance. Elaborated triangular amulets line the inner perimeter. The more one looks, the more one sees! A dazzling assortment of archetypal hooked rosettes in the border is paralleled by narrow bands of conjoined jewel shapes with intaglio-like S-motifs. Happily, this showpiece dazzler remains in robust condition.

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