BAKSHAISH
Northwest Persian Antique Carpet

(High-Collectible) ("New Arrivals Gallery") This nearly 170-year-old Bakshaish aptly captures this fabled village's inexhaustible exploration of spontaneous expression and was seemingly woven with the foresight of the visual delight their work would inspire for generations. Testifying to this carpet's joyful, unaffected folk art origins, each motif is drawn in a measured freeform fashion. Continual nuances of shape engender them with a gently animated quality. Against a highly coveted parchment-hued background, rows of esoteric chessboard motifs alternate with super-stylized flowering shrubs in a mesmerizing interplay of geometry and organic forms. Notice how the bottom two rows are infused with beautiful "Bakshaish Blue" branches and blooms, not to be repeated in this wonderfully rhythmic pattern. Overall asymmetry endows the composition with a palpable sense of floating movement, imagined to go infinitely in all directions. The "window" we see is created by the six border frame of large aqueous rosettes, smaller "stencil" daisies, and an outer running mountain band. Its condition remains very good for its great age, with an even patina adding to the gentle glow of the magnificent quality wool used in its construction.

Read About Bakshaish Rugs

Watch Our Bakshaish Rug Video

Learn About High-Collectible Rugs