(High-Decorative) ("New Arrivals Gallery")The village weaving cottage industry was a vital source for many of the runners seen in Western hallways today, and among the most famous were the fine weavings of Malayer. Here, formal designs from neighboring cities were given a more stylised and innovative expression. In this 125-year-old runner, enormous Shah Abbas palmettes in luminous shades of azure, ivory, coral, and carnelian emerge from the dark ground in chiaroscuro, like an Italian Renaissance painting. The textural ground is a fascinating array of highly abrashed bands of dark chocolate, mink brown, and inky dark blue. Intriguingly, the entire spectacular arrangement appears 'off center' because the column of palmettes on the right side seems to drift beneath the borders. This is not a result of being woven without a written design, but a deliberate effect crafted by a master weaver as a cosmic reminder to the viewer that this celestial garden of paradise extends infinitely in all directions. Asymmetries like this, combined with the extensive use of abrash, make this piece a captivating study for a lifetime and an essential element of grace for an important hallway.

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