BAKSHAISH "LION RUG"
Northwest Persian (SOLD)

(Museum-Quality) ("Best-of-its-Type Sold in 2020”) (Museum-Quality) This monumental Bakshaish folkloric masterpiece woven at the cusp of the 19th century is of both historical and artistic significance. The 18 well-characterized lions, a motif long associated with Persia’s royal dynasties, were not part of the Bakshaish lexicon. They appear on this carpet very possibly as an expression of fealty. Yet each is without the characteristic sword in its uprising paw, perhaps as a gesture of independence. Within the astonishingly spacious reserve, a tremendously abstracted, delicately impressionistic rendition of the “Tree of Life” ascends the center of the field, the likes of which we have never seen. Its grandeur and transparency seemingly balance the royal power figuratively evoked in Bakshaish’s inimitable manner. The exquisitely drawn, overscale daffodil and rosette border also places it as an exceedingly early piece from this seminal village tradition. Learn About This Rug Type